What was the name of J.R.R. Tolkien’s youngest son, who edited many of his unpublished works?

J.R.R. Tolkien’s youngest son was Christopher Tolkien, who edited many of his unpublished works.

Christopher Tolkien was born in 1924 and became the principal literary executor of his father’s papers. After J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, Christopher organized, edited, and published material that expanded the history and mythology behind Middle-earth.

His major editorial projects included The Silmarillion, published in 1977, and the twelve-volume The History of Middle-earth, published between 1983 and 1996. These books preserve drafts, alternate versions, notes, and commentary showing how Tolkien’s ideas developed.

Christopher was not the author of those fictional histories in the ordinary sense. His role was that of editor and arranger, although his decisions were essential in turning incomplete and sometimes contradictory manuscripts into readable publications. He later edited The Children of Húrin and other posthumous works.