The Silmarillion is the 1977 book edited by Christopher Tolkien that presents J.R.R. Tolkien’s mythology of the First Age. It was published after Tolkien’s death and gathers stories describing the creation of the world, the Valar, the Elves, and the wars against Morgoth.
The book is divided into sections, including the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth, and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. The central Quenta Silmarillion recounts the history of the Silmarils and the long conflict caused by their theft.
Christopher Tolkien assembled and edited material from many drafts because his father never completed a definitive final version for publication. The Silmarillion is therefore more mythic and compressed than The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings. Unfinished Tales, published later in 1980, is a different collection of narratives and notes.