The Silmarillion

Eru Ilúvatar makes the world through the music of the Ainur, and the Valar come down to shape it. Melkor, later called Morgoth, destroys the Two Trees and steals the Silmarils, the jewels Fëanor made from their light. Fëanor and his sons swear a terrible oath to get them back and lead the Noldor back to Middle-earth, in a war that's lost from the start. The tales of Beren and Lúthien, of Túrin and of Gondolin fit in here. In the end, Eärendil sails to Valinor to ask for help, the Valar defeat Morgoth, and the Silmarils end up in the sky, the sea and deep in the earth. The book closes with the fall of Númenor and a summary of the rings' story through the end of the Third Age.

1. Behind the scenesTurned down in 1937

   After The Hobbit took off, Tolkien offered his publisher a version of the Silmarillion. They found it obscure and asked for a hobbit sequel instead. That request became The Lord of the Rings.

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2. Behind the scenesA Canadian helper

   Christopher Tolkien put the book together with Canadian Guy Gavriel Kay, who spent a year with him in Oxford working in secret. Kay later became a fantasy author himself.

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3. Behind the scenesBad reviews, top sales

   The 1977 reviews were mostly negative. Even so, the book hit No. 1 on the New York Times fiction list and won the 1978 Locus Award for fantasy.

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