The Silmarillion takes readers deeper into the myths and legends of Middle-earth, recounting the ancient history of the Elder Days and the First Age of Tolkien’s world. It is the distant past to which the characters of The Lord of the Rings look back, and in which figures such as Elrond and Galadriel once played their part. Set in an age when Morgoth, the first Dark Lord, ruled Middle-earth, the book tells of the High Elves’ war to reclaim the Silmarils, jewels containing the light of Valinor. Alongside this central narrative are key texts: The Ainulindalë, the myth of Creation; Valaquenta, describing the powers of the gods; Akallabêth, the fall of Númenor; and Of the Rings of Power, linking directly to The Lord of the Rings. This edition features a revised text and a revealing 1951 letter in which Tolkien explains the origins of Middle-earth’s early Ages.