Writers’ work built on women’s labour

‘Uncounted hours and years of women’s labour … has gone into male authors’ work, as typists, indexers, decipherers of meaning and supporters of ego.’ Photograph: Old Visuals/Alamy

Setting aside the grandiose claim that JRR Tolkien was “one of the most influential literary figures of all time” (‘Reduced to nonsense’: JRR Tolkien’s irritation with typist revealed in archive, 6 March), the focus on his derision of his typist serves yet again to conceal the uncounted hours and years of women’s labour that has gone into male authors’ work, as typists, indexers, decipherers of meaning and supporters of ego, without which their work wouldn’t have seen the light of day. I daresay this worker was thinking “Not another elf!” as she put her unacknowledged effort into enhancing Tolkien’s reputation.
Karen Adler
Nottingham

• I’ve been completing your quick crossword since 1972. I now wonder if it’s becoming more difficult, or if I am getting too old to know all these strange words? Wednesday’s answer “wysiwyg” was the last straw!
Sarah Akhtar
Stoke-on-Trent