Tolkien and CS Lewis manuscripts among treasures made available to public in 2023

The first page of a holograph manuscript of JRR Tolkien’s The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, circa 1962. Photograph: The Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford © The Tolkien Estate Limited 2023

Manuscripts and books belonging to CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien – creators of two of the most popular fantasy worlds in literary history – are among the cultural objects being made available to the public this year.

The brains behind Narnia and Middle Earth were close friends and fellow dons at Oxford University. Their previously unpublished correspondence is among an archive belonging to the estate of the literary adviser Walter Hooper that is being donated to the nation through the Acceptance in Lieu and Cultural Gifts schemes.