J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion was published posthumously in 1977.
Tolkien died in 1973, leaving behind a vast and complex collection of stories about the earlier history of Middle-earth. His son Christopher Tolkien edited the materials into a publishable volume, with assistance from the fantasy author Guy Gavriel Kay. The book appeared on 15 September 1977.
The Silmarillion begins with a creation account and continues through the history of the Ainur, the Elves, the Silmarils, and the great conflicts of the First Age. It is more mythic and compressed than The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings, and it contains several interrelated narrative sections rather than one continuous adventure.
Because Christopher had to organize multiple versions and unfinished texts, the published book represents an editorial construction based on Tolkien’s writings. It should not be confused with Unfinished Tales, another posthumous collection published in 1980.