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The Beginning
William Golding was born September 19,1911, 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 and his father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster. -
Teaching
William started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury at Bishop Wordsworth's School. That same year, he married Ann Brookfield, with whom he had two children. -
Royal Navy
In 1940 he left teaching to join the Royal Navy during World War II. He fought battleships at the sinking of the Bismarck, and also fended off submarines and planes. Lieutenant Golding was even placed in command of a rocket-launching craft. -
Career
In 1954 after many rejections he published his first novel , Lord of the Flies. Golding combined his perception of humanity with his years of experience with schoolboys. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. -
Death
Golding and his wife moved to Tullimaar House at Perranarworthal, near Truro, Cornwall. William Golding died of heart failure eight years later.
