Tolkien and Esperanto

Tolkien is undoubtedly enjoying cult status at present. I think that he would have been surprised at this. Many of his literary friends would also have been surprised; for they were almost equally divided concerning the literary value of his novels. The world which he created has never appealed to me as it seems to be Wagnerian without the genius of Wagner's musicality. However, no-one can doubt Tolkien's scholarship and his incredible linguistic knowledge; so his learning of Esperanto and his positive appraisal of Zamenhof's creation cannot be put to one side lightly.