Who completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien’s unfinished mythology for publication as The Silmarillion?

Christopher Tolkien completed and edited J.R.R. Tolkien’s unfinished mythology for publication as The Silmarillion.

J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 without preparing a final version of the book. His son Christopher worked through a large and often contradictory body of manuscripts, selecting, arranging, and editing material into a publishable form. The Silmarillion appeared in 1977, four years after Tolkien’s death.

The book presents the creation of Eä, the history of the Valar, the awakening of the Elves, and the wars over the Silmarils. It is divided into major sections, including the Ainulindalë, Valaquenta, Quenta Silmarillion, Akallabêth, and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age.

Christopher Tolkien later published extensive editorial commentary and earlier versions in series such as The History of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is therefore not a straightforward novel written and finalized by J.R.R. Tolkien, a distinction that helps explain its elevated style and occasional differences from The Lord of the Rings.