XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien   
   From: omeallymd@geemail.com   
      
   In a letter to Sir Stanley Unwin (_Letters_ #124), Tolkien states,   
   "Ridiculous and tiresome as you may think me, I want to publish them   
   both -- _The Silmarillion_ and _The Lord of the Rings_ -- in   
   conjunction or connexion. 'I want to' -- it would be wiser to say 'I   
   should like to'....   
      
   In way of background, Tolkien had recently conversed with another   
   publisher, Milton Waldman, who offered to publish Silm along with LotR,   
   which Allen and Unwin were reluctant to do.   
      
   Americans will use "I want to" and "I would like to" pretty much   
   interchangeably, but you seldom if ever hear an American say "I should   
   like to".   
      
   What subtle difference was Tolkien getting at in his letter?   
   --   
   Bill O'Meally   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)