-
William's Birth
William Golding was born September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. -
Period: to
The Life of William Golding
The Life of William Golding from 1911-1993 -
William's Early Life
When William was 12 years old, he attemped to write an unsuccessful novel. As a frustrated child, he found bullying as a habit. Later in his life he himself would describe his childhood self as a brat and even went as far as saying, "I enjoyed hurting people." -
William's First Published Work
In 1934, a year before he graduated, William published his first work which was a book of collectives that was in the genre of poetry promptly giving it the title "Poems". The book was suprisingly overlooked by critics. -
William's Teaching
After college, Golding worked in settlement houses and the theater for a time. After a while, he began to follow in his father's footsteps. So in 1935, Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at BIshop Wordworth's School in Salisbury. His experience from teaching unruly young boys later gave him the inspiration for writing his novel, Lord of the Flies. -
Joining the Royal Navy
Although he was very passionate about teaching, in 1940 Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War ll. -
Lord of the Flies
In 1954, over 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel told the gripping story of a group of adolescent boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. -
Lord of the Flies Gets Two New Films and a Nobel Prize
In 1963, the year after Golding retired from teaching, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel. Two decades later, at the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II. In 1990 a new film version of the Lord of the Flies was released, bringing the book to the attention of a new generation of readers. -
Death and Legacy
Golding spent the last few years of his life quietly living with his wife, Ann Brookfield, at their house near Falmouth, Cornwall, where he continued to toil at his writing. On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. He was survived by his wife and their two children, David and Judith. After Golding passed away, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.
