Who edited and arranged J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion for publication?

Christopher Tolkien edited and arranged J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Silmarillion for publication.

The book appeared posthumously in 1977, four years after Tolkien’s death. It is not a single novel completed in final form by Tolkien; instead, it brings together myths, histories, genealogies, and narrative texts developed and revised across many decades.

Christopher Tolkien worked through his father’s extensive manuscripts, selecting and organizing material into a coherent published volume. He also wrote editorial commentary and explained some of the textual decisions. The result presents the creation of Eä, the history of the Valar, and the tragic stories of the First Age.

The Silmarillion is sometimes described simply as Tolkien’s “second book,” but its structure differs greatly from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Christopher later published many additional versions and drafts in The History of Middle-earth.