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Birth/Early life
William Golding was born in 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 who fought for women’s right to vote. His father, Alex, worked as a schoolmaster. William was educated at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. After primary school, William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University. He opted to study English literature. -
Published "Poems"
In 1934, a year before he graduated, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems. The collection was largely overlooked by critics (biography.com). -
Started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury
After college, Golding worked in settlement houses and the theater for a time. Eventually, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1935 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.(biography.com) -
Marriage
Golding gets married to Ann Brookfield in 1939 and later have two children, David (b. 1940) and Judith (b. 1945) (biography.com). -
Joined the Royal Navy
Although passionate about teaching from day one, in 1940 Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II (biography.com). -
End of WW2 and returning to teaching
In 1945, after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing (biography.com). -
Published the Lord of the Flies
On September 17, 1954, Golding published his first novel, the Lord of the Flies (biography.com). In Lord of the Flies, Golding combined that perception of humanity with his years of experience with schoolboys. Although not the first novel he wrote, Lord of the Flies was the first to be published after having been rejected by 21 publishers (cliffnotes.com). -
Retirement/Film adaptation of the novel
Golding retires from teaching in 1962. A year later, in 1963, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel (biography.com), -
Awarded the Nobel Prize for literature
In 1983, William Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature (biography.com). The Nobel Prize in Literature 1983 was awarded to William Golding "for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today" (nobelprize.org). -
Death
In 1985, Golding and his wife moved to Tullimaar House at Perranarworthal, near Truro, Cornwall (wikipedia.org). In June 19, 1993, William Golding died of heart failure 8 years later, in Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England. After Golding died, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously (biography.com).
