Synopses & Reviews
A number-one
New York Times bestseller when it was originally published,
The Silmarillion is the core of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginative writing, a work whose origins stretch back to a time long before
The Hobbit.
Tolkien considered The Silmarillion his most important work, and, though it was published last and posthumously, this great collection of tales and legends clearly sets the stage for all his other writing. The story of the creation of the world and of the First Age, this is the ancient drama to which the characters in The Lord of the Rings look back and in whose events some of them, such as Elrond and Galadriel, took part. The three Silmarils were jewels created by Feanor, most gifted of the Elves. Within them was imprisoned the Light of the Two Trees of Valinor before the Trees themselves were destroyed by Morgoth, the first Dark Lord. Thereafter, the unsullied Light of Valinor lived on only in the Silmarils, but they were seized by Morgoth and set in his crown, which was guarded in the impenetrable fortress of Angband in the north of Middle-earth. The Silmarillion is the history of the rebellion of Feanor and his kindred against the gods, their exile from Valinor and return to Middle-earth, and their war, hopeless despite all their heroism, against the great Enemy.
Review
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." Washington Post
Review
"Majestic!....Readers of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings...will find in The Silmarillion a cosmology to call their own, medieval romances, fierce fairy tales, and fiercer wars that ring with heraldic fury....It overwhelms the reader." Time
Review
"A creation of singular beauty...magnificent in its best moments." The Washington Post
Review
"Heart-lifting...a work of power, eloquence and noble vision....Superb!" The Wall Street Journal
Review
"It is beautiful...an enchanting tale of tragedy and triumph....The Silmarillion is magical in the grand old style." The Philadelphia Inquirer
About the Author
J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892. After serving in the First World War, he embarked upon a distinguished career as a professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University. He is the renowned creator of Middle-earth and author of the great modern classic, The Hobbit, the prelude to his epic masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973 at the age of 81.