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William Golding was born on 19th September 1911, at his grandparents' house in Newquay, Cornwall. -
Golding grew up in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England, next to a graveyard, which caused him to have nightmares. He had a brother named Jose. Their parents' names were Alec and Mildred. Golding later described himself as a brat when he was a kid.
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William Golding received an education from Marlborough Grammar School, starting in 1921, where his father taught. William did very well in school, but also in sports. William then attended Brasenose College in Oxford, which was not a happy time for him. Especially because he didn't like his major, Natural Sciences, he later switched to English Literature, which caused him to have to stay at Brasenose for another year. He later went back to Brasenose in 1937 to get his Diploma in Education.
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Golding's career started in 1935 when he got his first teaching post. In 1938, he was appointed as a teacher at Maidstone Grammar School in Kent. He also lost his job due to his problem of drinking, women, and politics
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During his time as a teacher, Golding had been engaged to a woman named Mollie Evans, but in 1938, he met a woman named Ann Brookfield, whom he married in 1939. Their son, David, was born in 1940.
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For most of 6 years, Golding spent them in the Royal Navy, aside from 6 months spent in New York. Golding was ranked Lieutenant. While he was in the Navy, he helped sink the German ship Bismarck and commanded a rocket-launching ship on D-Day.
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Golding started writing Lord of the Flies while working as a teacher. He would write it when he had breaks. It was initially called "Strangers from Within," and he started writing it in school notebooks. His time in the Navy caused him to explore inherent capacity for evil. The first draft was rejected many times before it was accepted.
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In 1979, Golding got the James Tait Black Memorial Prize. In 1980, he got the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage. In 1983, he received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his novels. Lastly, in 1988, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.
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William Golding died on June 19th, 1993, at the age of 81 years old, due to a heart attack in his home in Perranaworthal, England. -
In 1963, the first movie was released. In 1990, a second movie was released. In 2014, a handwritten draft of the novel was given on a long-term loan to the University of Exeter to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the book. In 2019, BBC News included The Lord of the Flies on its list of the 100 most inspiring novels. In 2024, an early manuscript of the book with an alternate opening was on display at an exhibition to celebrate the novel's 70th anniversary.