Remembering Priscilla Tolkien, daughter of J.R.R. Tolkien

Growing up as a child of The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien meant growing up in a house of books. Not only were the shelves packed with them, but the entire home echoed with the ghosts of books not yet written. They spilled out in fragments in the bedtime stories he invented for his children, and were afterwards scribbled down here and there on disorganized scraps of paper.

Many of Tolkien’s early works were written this way, as amusements for his children — from the all-time classic The Hobbit to lesser-known works like Roverandom or Mr Bliss. And all four of his children played their part in shaping them.

Now, the last of Tolkien’s children, Priscilla, has passed away at the age of 92. Her death marks the closing of a door on a generation of the Tolkien family. And while her youngest brother, Christopher, is the best known of Tolkien’s children due to his 40 years of scholarship as the editor of his father’s posthumous publications, Priscilla also played an important role, both in supporting her father’s work during his lifetime and in stewarding his legacy after his death.

Priscilla Tolkien’s early years

Like all of Tolkien’s children, Priscilla grew up with her father’s bedtime stories. In a 1977 talk, Priscilla remembered her father “re-telling the story of Raspunzil [sic] and of how her prince sang to her […] telling her to let down her golden hair.” She noted how this classic fairy tale was repurposed by her father for the Beren and Lúthien story in The Silmarillion: “when Lúthien escapes from her prison in the beech tree by letting down her hair”. (Amon Hen 29)

Priscilla’s influence on her father’s storytelling is most evident in Letters from Father Christmas. This posthumous publication brings together a collection of letters written and illustrated by Tolkien for his children, purportedly from Father Christmas. As the youngest of Tolkien’s children, Priscilla was the last to give up this family tradition, and the later letters are addressed solely to her. Even years later, Priscilla recalled “the intense excitement of waking in the dark on Christmas Morning and finding that Father Christmas had been”. (Amon Hen 23)

Of course, the most famous story that Tolkien invented for his children was The Hobbit. While Priscilla was too young to have heard The Hobbit as a bedtime story during its composition, she vividly recalled her father working on the illustrations for the published volume. “[W]hile he was painting the picture of Bilbo coming to the Huts of the Raft-elves I learned from him the use and beauty of white as a paint,” she remembered in a 1976 article. “I also remember the ‘Eagle’ picture being painted.” She explained how Tolkien carefully studied one of the children’s wildlife books in order to get the bird just right. (Amon Hen 23)

Priscilla also recalled her father’s evolving artistic interest during the composition of The Lord of Rings. During this period, she noted that he moved from paint and India ink to “drawing with coloured chalks and in experimenting with different coloured paper.” She also recalled that “it was a great disappointment to him when these pictures could not be included in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ for economic and practical reasons.” This disappointment was finally addressed last year, with the publication of the illustrated edition of The Lord of the Rings. (Amon Hen 23)

Priscilla Tolkien’s work on The Lord of the Rings

During the long writing process for The Lord of the Rings (which began in 1937 and ended with the publication of The Return of the King in 1955), Priscilla was the most consistent presence at home with Tolkien. She lived with her parents until 1950, while her older brothers had moved out earlier for university, work, and as part of the war effort.

Although Christopher played the most active role among Tolkien’s children in the composition of The Lord of the Rings (he provided his father with feedback on early drafts and even drew the maps in the published books), Priscilla was also involved. At the age of 14, Priscilla helped her father by “typing out early chapters of The Lord of the Rings” as he was “unable to afford the luxury of a professional typist.” Even in those early stages of composition, Priscilla recalled feeling “intense excitement at the outset of the story and […] terror of the Black Riders’ pursuit of the hobbits as they left the Shire.” (The Tolkien Family Album)

Priscilla might have had an even greater influence on The Lord of the Rings had Tolkien not revised his early drafts. As Christopher explains in The Return of the Shadow (a book charting the composition of the first part of The Lord of the Rings), the protagonist of the story was originally named Bingo Baggins. And this name supposedly came from a family of stuffed bears kept by Priscilla.

Although Bingo eventually turned into Frodo, this name is still present in the final published version of The Lord of the Rings. In the Appendices, Bingo is included in the Baggins family tree, as an uncle of Bilbo’s. Even more significant, however, is the presence in that same family tree of Prisca Baggins, who is listed as a second cousin of Bilbo’s and one of the guests at his Farewell Party. This is significant as Prisca was the Tolkien family’s nickname for Priscilla.

Priscilla Tolkien’s education and career

Priscilla left home in 1950 to pursue her education and eventual career. She was already studying English at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford at the time, and graduated in 1951.

Following her graduation, Priscilla began her career in secretarial work in Bristol and Birmingham. In these cities she observed urban poverty and moved into a career in social work. She returned to university, studying social sciences at the London School of Economics and then working as a probation officer in Oxford.

She even followed in the footsteps of her father and her brother Christopher by returning to Oxford University, where she taught social work. Later in her career she taught English at a local college and tutored literature classes from her home.

Her Oxford alma mater described Priscilla as “one of the generation of women who, after the Second World War, pioneered the entry of women into the professions.” Indeed, Priscilla herself was conscious of her position as Tolkien’s only daughter, and stressed her father’s “complete belief in higher education for girls.” She said: “[N]ever in my early life or since did I feel that any difference was made between me and my brothers, so far as our educational needs and opportunities were concerned.” (The J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment)

In a 1977 talk, Priscilla went into more detail on the role of women in her father’s stories. “As my father’s only daughter I have been conscious over the years of all that has been said about the position of women in his stories,” she said. Referring to The Silmarillion, she added that “Women do not appear in these stories as merely passive or domestic creatures, and share the courage, physical hardships and pride of men.” (Amon Hen 29)

Preserving a legacy

While her father was still alive, Priscilla balanced the demands of her education and career with an unwavering support for her father’s work. She accompanied him in 1972 when he was appointed a CBE by Queen Elizabeth II. And she was also with him when he received his last public honour in Edinburgh in 1973. (The Tolkien Family Album)

But Priscilla’s role in supporting her father’s legacy became much more pronounced after his death. Recognizing the value of what he had left behind, Priscilla helped to sort through her father’s papers and arrange for their preservation at the Bodleian Library in Oxford. She also became the family’s photographic archivist, a project which led her to publish The Tolkien Family Album in 1992 with her brother John.

She also worked closely with Humphrey Carpenter as he wrote the authorized biography of J.R.R. Tolkien. Carpenter even said to readers of the book “I hope you will give at least as much, if not more, credit than to me, to Priscilla and to her brothers.” (Mallorn 10)

Priscilla also showed early support for adaptations of Tolkien’s work, meeting with Ralph Bakshi, who directed the 1978 animated film of The Lord of the Rings. Bakshi recalls being “taken by Priscilla to an exhibition in Oxford of J.R.R. Tolkien’s personal drawings from The Lord of the Rings.” He remembers that she warned him, “No matter what you do, ten per cent of all Tolkien fans aren’t going to like how you design the characters,” demonstrating a keen insight into the demands and passions of Tolkien’s fans. Although, as Bakshi noted, “At ten per cent she was being nice.” (Amon Hen 38)

The Tolkien Society

One of Priscilla’s greatest contributions to the preservation of her father’s work, came through her years of engagement with the Tolkien Society, a membership organization and charity devoted to promoting the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien.

While her brother Christopher, who was known to fans as the editor of Tolkien’s posthumous works, lived in France for most of his life, Priscilla remained in Oxford, and became engaged in fan communities. Christopher was only able to attend one event by the Tolkien Society during his lifetime: the 1992 Centenary Conference. Priscilla, on the other hand, was an annual presence at the Tolkien Society and became particularly known for generously hosting fans at her home. (Amon Hen 281)

At a 1976 Tolkien Society event, Priscilla compared herself to her father’s most famous Hobbit: “I have perhaps certain in common with Bilbo, after all I do have Hobbit blood in me,” she said. “[B]ut may I hasten to add that I am absolutely delighted whether it’s 25, 30 or 35 who cross my doorstep, and if I do at times appear to be a little flustered, I can assure you that there is always plum cake in the larder.” (Mallorn 10)

In recognition of her engagement with the Tolkien Society, Priscilla was made Vice-President of the organization in 1986, a position she held until her death. Her decades-long involvement with the Tolkien Society meant that “no one knew Society members and Tolkien fans better,” as Tolkien Society Chair Shaun Gunner said following Priscilla’s death.

Priscilla Tolkien’s later years

Priscilla remained active in her father’s legacy in her later years, providing the opening speech at the Tolkien Society’s conference in honour of the 50th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings in 2005. Priscilla also played a leading role as part of the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust – organizations established to protect J.R.R. Tolkien’s works and distribute some of the proceeds to charities.

During these years, she also published a piece of writing unrelated to her father’s work; she contributed to Oxford: One City, Many Voices, a book that features reflections on living in Oxford from a number of notable writers, including Philip Pullman.

One of Priscilla’s most recent roles in preserving her father’s legacy came through the development of the Maker of Middle-earth exhibition in 2018. This exhibition explored Tolkien’s work as an artist, poet, linguist, author and academic, while also providing some rare insights into his private life. Priscilla attended the opening of the exhibition in Oxford; it later went on tour, moving to New York and Paris. Priscilla also signed all copies of the collector’s edition catalogue of the exhibition, which is still available for sale through the Bodleian Library shop at Oxford.

Priscilla’s final contribution to the Tolkien legacy is due to be published later this year in the form of The Great Tales Never End, an essay collection in memory of her brother Christopher. The press release for this volume suggests that Priscilla will provide “family reminiscences” which may offer fans some fascinating insights on the publicity-shy Christopher and his role in bringing so many of Tolkien’s posthumous works to publication.

The end of an age

With Priscilla’s death on February 28, 2022, it feels as if we are passing from one age to another, as one of the last remaining direct links to J.R.R. Tolkien passes into the West.

Although Christopher will remain the best-known of Tolkien’s children, due to his tireless efforts to bring his father’s unfinished works to publication, Priscilla played a vital role in preserving his legacy with respect and dignity.

Living in the shadow of a famous father can be difficult. But Priscilla always spoke of her father’s work with pleasure and pride. At one Tolkien Society event she said: “I am deeply touched that my father’s memory is honoured […]. Not only on a very splendid occasion like this, but on all the days in between when we don’t meet. The fact that you meet together and discuss his works, and the fact that you are all deeply touched by his works, is an enormous comfort to me.” (Mallorn 10)

In that same speech, she also remarked on the title The Fellowship of the Ring and how appropriate the idea of fellowship was to her father and to organizations like the Tolkien Society. With Priscilla’s death, it may feel as if the last part of an original fellowship has been broken. But fans can do honour to her memory by continuing to preserve and cherish that fellowship we all share in our passion for J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, for today and for future generations.

Amon Hen and Mallorn are publications of The Tolkien Society. The issues referenced in this article can be accessed by members of The Tolkien Society through their digital archive.

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