When J.R.R.Tolkien laid aside 'The Silmarillion' in 1937 the extension of the original 'mythology' into later Ages of the world had scarcely begun. It was in the Appendices to 'The Lord of the Rings' that there emerged a comprehensive historical structure and chronology of the Second and Third Ages, embracing all the diverse strands that came together in the 'War of the Ring.' The difficulty that he found in providing these Appendices, leading to delay in the publication of The Return of the King, is well known; but in 'The Peoples of Middle-earth' Christopher Tolkien shows that early forms of these works already existed years before, in essays and records differing greatly from the published forms. He traces the evolution of the Calendars, the Hobbit genealogies, the Westron language or Common Speech (from which many words and names are recorded that were afterwards lost), and the chronological structure of the later Ages.
Fantasia / Literatura Estrangeira