Who completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumous book The Silmarillion?

Christopher Tolkien completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien's posthumous book The Silmarillion.

The Silmarillion was published in 1977, four years after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death. Christopher Tolkien, his third son, assembled and edited material that Tolkien had developed, revised, and expanded across many decades.

The book presents the mythology and history of Tolkien’s imagined world, beginning with the creation of Eä and continuing through the First Age and later events. It includes “The Ainulindalë,” “Valaquenta,” “Quenta Silmarillion,” “Akallabêth,” and “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.”

Christopher’s editorial task was unusually complex because his father left multiple versions, unfinished passages, and conflicting details. He used editorial decisions to produce a readable volume, rather than simply reproducing one complete manuscript. Christopher later published further collections showing how Tolkien’s ideas changed over time.