Contents
William Golding
Writing Lord of the Flies.
Rites of Passage · Nobel Prize in Literature
- Born
- 19 September 1911
- Birthplace
- St Columb Minor, Cornwall, England
- Died
- 19 June 1993
More people
William Golding
William Golding was an English novelist who examined fear, moral failure and the stories people tell about civilisation. His fiction often places small groups under pressure to test their assumptions about themselves.
Early life
Wiltshire upbringing
Grew up in Marlborough, where his father taught school.
Oxford studies
Initially studied natural sciences before changing to English.
Career
- 1930s
Teaching and early writing
Published poetry and worked as a schoolteacher.
- 1940–1945
Royal Navy
Served during the Second World War, including the Normandy campaign.
- 1954 onwards
Novelist
Returned to teaching before the success of Lord of the Flies enabled a full-time writing career.
- 1983
Nobel Prize
Received the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Selected work
Lord of the Flies
Stranded schoolboys struggle to maintain order on an island.
The Inheritors
Imagines the encounter between Neanderthals and modern humans.
Rites of Passage
A sea voyage exposes class, power and cruelty; it won the Booker Prize.
Beyond work
Ann Brookfield
Married the analytical chemist in 1939; they had two children.
Personal interests
Sailing and music remained important parts of his life.
Sources & photo credit
Biography ↗Life and work ↗Photo: Unknown author Unknown author. CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
