Q 01/05

Who edited and published The Silmarillion after his father's death?

A) Christopher Tolkien

B) Rayner Unwin

C) Humphrey Carpenter

D) Michael Tolkien

Answer · why

A) Christopher Tolkien

Christopher Tolkien later edited the twelve-volume History of Middle-earth from the same mass of drafts.

Q 02/05

In which year was The Silmarillion first published?

A) 1979

B) 1977

C) 1981

D) 1985

Answer · why

B) 1977

It came out four years after Tolkien's death and topped the New York Times fiction list that October.

Q 03/05

Which future fantasy novelist helped Tolkien's son edit the book in secret?

A) Terry Brooks

B) Stephen R. Donaldson

C) Guy Gavriel Kay

D) Robert Jordan

Answer · why

C) Guy Gavriel Kay

Kay, chosen through family connections, spent a year in Oxford on the manuscripts before writing the Fionavar Tapestry.

Q 04/05

What is the name of the fictional universe the book describes?

A) Arda

B) Aman

C) Eldamar

D) Eä

Answer · why

D) Eä

Eä is the whole of creation; Arda is the world within it, and Aman the continent of the Valar.

Q 05/05

Publisher Stanley Unwin rejected the early draft as obscure and "too" what?

A) Celtic

B) Norse

C) Biblical

D) Finnish

Answer · why

A) Celtic

The rejection pushed Tolkien to start a Hobbit sequel instead, which grew into The Lord of the Rings.