Twenty-year-old recordings document the 'Hobbit Dinner' that took place on March 28, 1958

Washington: A reel-to-reel tape of JRR Tolkien that was recorded 20 years ago reveals the true meaning of the author's classic The Lord Of The Rings.

It was discovered in 1993 by a Dutchman named Rene van Rossenberg, a Tolkien expert who owns a shop in the Netherlands devoted to all things Middle-earth (TolkienShop.com). The recording documents the event 'Hobbit Dinner' that took place on March 28, 1958 in Rotterdam put on by Tolkien's Dutch publisher and a bookseller.

Recently Jay Johnstone, one of the founders of the fantasy/sci-fi site Legendarium.me, persuaded van Rossenberg who kept it hidden away to share his treasure. The tape in some way proves that Professor Tolkien was, in fact, the hobbit and it also includes Tolkien revealing the true meaning of The Lord of the Rings.