In 1938 a German publisher wrote to Tolkien, asking if he was "Arish," meaning n...

In 1938 a German publisher wrote to Tolkien, asking if he was "Arish," meaning non-Jewish, as they wanted to publish a translation of THE HOBBIT, but did not publish works by Jewish authors. Tolkien replied, "I regret that I appear to have no ancestors of that gifted people." He added that he was of German ancestry, but that if he received any further "impertinent and irrelevant inquiries" of this sort, then "a German name will no longer be a source of pride" (Letters, 37-38).


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