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William Golding was born in Cornwall, England.
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When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel.
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William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University. His father hoped he would become a scientist, but William opted to study English literature instead.
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A year before William graduated, he published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems.
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He started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury.
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Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. Golding’s experience teaching unruly young boys would later serve as inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies.
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Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II.
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Golding spent the better part of the next six years on a boat, except for a seven-month stint in New York, where he assisted Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment. While in the Royal Navy, Golding developed a lifelong romance with sailing and the sea. Of his World War II experiences, Golding has said, “I began to see what people were capable of doing. Anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wro
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After the end of WWII, Golding began teaching and writing again.
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After 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies.
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Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel.
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Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature
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Golding was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
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A new film version of the Lord of the Flies was released, bringing the book to the attention of a new generation of readers.
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Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. Golding's legacy is still remembered today by his great works which include: Rites of Passage (winner of the 1980 Booker McConnell Prize), Pincher Martin, Free Fall and The Pyramid.
