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William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. -
After primary school, William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University. His father hoped he would become a scientist, but William opted to study English literature instead.
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After college, Golding worked in settlement houses and the theater for a time. Eventually, he decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. -
Although passionate about teaching from day one,Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. -
Golding spent the better part of the next six years on a boat, except for a seven-month stint in New York, where he assisted Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment. While in the Royal Navy, Golding developed a lifelong romance with sailing and the sea.
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After 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. The novel told the gripping story of a group of adolescent boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. -
At the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. -
5 years later, William Golden got knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. -
Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. After Golding died, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.