J.R.R. Tolkien’s posthumous work The Silmarillion was published in 1977.
The Silmarillion appeared on 15 September 1977, four years after Tolkien’s death. His son Christopher Tolkien edited the material and worked with the fantasy writer Guy Gavriel Kay to prepare the text for publication. The book presents the mythology and history behind Middle-earth, beginning with creation and continuing through major events of the First Age.
Its central sections include the Valaquenta, the Quenta Silmarillion, the Akallabêth, and the account of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. The title refers to the three Silmarils, jewels made by the Elf Fëanor and central to the First Age narratives.
The Silmarillion is not a conventional single novel. It combines mythic narration, annalistic history, genealogical material, and shorter legends. Readers sometimes assume it was published during Tolkien’s lifetime, but its 1977 edition was assembled from unfinished and variant writings left in his papers.