I am doubtful mysef about the undertaking [to write The Silmarilion]. Part of the attraction of The L.R. is, I think, due to the glimpses of a large history in the background: an atrction like that of viewing far of an unvisited island, or seeing the towers of a distant city gleaming in a sunlit mist. To go there is to destry the magic, unles new unttainable vistas are again revealed. (Letters p.33)