Lord of the Flies

  • Golding Born

    Golding Born
    William Golding born in Cornwall, England. Golding was raised in a peseant home near a graveyard. His father, Alex was a schoolteacher and his mother, Mildred, was a suffragette.
  • First attempt at a novel

    First attempt at a novel
    While attending Marlborough Grammar School he failed in his first attempt to write a novel, giving him frustration that he unleashed on his fellow peers. Later he himself described: “I enjoyed hurting people.”
  • Period: to

    Attended Brasenose College at Oxford University

    Though his family hoped he'd study science, he studied English and literature. He even published a series of poems entitled 'Poems", which were never given fame.
  • Began teaching career

    Began teaching career
    He taught English and Philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury to young boys, which was an inspiration for his novel 'Lord of the Flies'.
  • Married

    Married
    Maried Ann Brookfield, future mother to Golding's two children David and Judith.
  • Period: to

    Joined Royal Navy

    He faught battleships at the sinking of Bismark, fended off planes and submarines, and even assisted Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment in New York. This is important because he developed a love for the sea that would influence his career as an author.
  • Golding Returns to Teaching

    Golding Returns to Teaching
  • Publishes 'Lord of the Flies'

    Publishes 'Lord of the Flies'
    Incomparable to the failed novel he attempted at twelve years of age, and the collection of Poems, Lord of the Flies is world renowned as a classic of literature.
  • Lord of the Flies Film

    Lord of the Flies Film
    Award-winning english theatre director Peter Brook directed a film version of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.
  • Awarded Nobel Prize

    Awarded Nobel Prize
    Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel prize for literature.
  • Knighted

    Knighted
    Wiliam Golding was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
  • Died

    Died
    Golding died because of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall.