William Golding

By miacadenaa

  • Early Life

    William Golding was born in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. His mother, Mildred, was an active suffragette who fought for women’s right to vote. His father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster.

  • The Beginning

    The year before he graduated, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems. The collection was largely overlooked by critics.

  • Teaching

    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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    Teaching

    In the year 1935, Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury. In 1940, Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II.
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    Royal Navy

    In 1940, Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. In 1945, after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing.

  • Lord of the Files

    In 1954, after 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. Since its publication, the novel has been widely regarded as a classic, worthy of in-depth analysis and discussion in classrooms around the world.

  • Retirement

    In 1963, the year after Golding retired from teaching, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel.
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    Awards

    His 1980 novel Rites of Passage won the Booker Prize, a prestigious British award. Golding's greatest honor was being awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature.

  • Honored

    In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.

  • A New Version

    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.

  • The End

    On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. After Golding died, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.