Written by English author J. R. R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion is a collection of mythopoeic tales and legends of the fictional universe Eä. It was posthumously edited and published in 1977 by his son, Christopher Tolkien, with aid from fiction writer Guy Gavriel Kay. Though it received a lukewarm reception compared to other Tolkien’s works it topped The New York Times Fiction Best Seller list that year. The Silmarillion is separated into five main sections that offer a full scope of Tolkien’s fictional universe.
The first section “Ainulindalë” (The Music of the Ainur) chronicles the creation of the universe Eä, the Timeless Halls, and the eternal beings Ainur by the supreme deity Eru Ilúvatar. The second part, “Valaquenta”, describes the supernatural powers of the Holy Ones encompassing the Valar and the lesser Ainur the Maiar. The subsequent section, “Quenta Silmarillion”, forms the bulk of the book and contains the history and tales of the First Age including the saga of the three forged jewels (Silmarils). “Akallabêth”, the fourth part, highlights the fall of Númenor during the Second Age. The last section, “Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age”, introduces the circumstances and plot lines that lead up to the events in The Lord of the Rings.
The book expounds on the universe that was introduced to the masses in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. It describes the origin and landscapes of Middle Earth, lands of Valinor and Númenor that the characters in the universe inhabit. Following the success of The Hobbit Tolkien offered the incomplete manuscript to the publisher as a follow-up but was rejected. The work is inspired by several elements from the Bible, Celtic and Greek mythology, and also World War I of which Tolkien participated in.
