House of the Wolfings: The William Morris Book that Inspired J. R. R. Tolkiena *s The Lord of the Rings

In a 1960 letter, J. R. R. Tolkien referred to The Lord of the Rings when he wrote, “The Dead Marshes and the approaches to the Morannon owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme. They owe more to William Morris and his Huns and Romans, as in The House of the Wolfings or The Roots of the Mountains.” With a foreword and introduction, this is the text of that classic tale.