-
Birth
William Gerald Golding was born in Cornwall, England. He was raised in a 14th-century house next door to a graveyard. -
Going to school
William received his early education at the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When William was just 12 years old, he attempted, unsuccessfully, to write a novel. -
Study
Golding began attending Brasenose College at Oxford and spent two years studying science, in deference to his father's beliefs. In his third year, however, he switched to the literature program, following his true interests. -
Poems
A year before he graduated, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems. The collection was largely overlooked by critics. -
Examination
He graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a diploma in education. Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School. Golding’s experience teaching unruly young boys would later serve as inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies. -
Period: to
Normal life
Golding worked as a writer, actor, and producer with a small theater in an unfashionable part of London, paying his bills with a job as a social worker. He considered the theater his strongest literary influence. -
Teaching
Golding began teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury at Bishop Wordsworth's School. The school is regularly amongst the top-performing schools in England. -
Marriage and family
Golding married Ann Brookfield, an analytic chemist. They had two children, Judith and David. -
Royal Navy
Although passionate about teaching from day one, Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. During World War II, he fought battleships at the sinking of the Bismarck, and also fended off submarines and planes. -
Back to society
After World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing.Of his World War II experiences, Golding has said, “I began to see what people were capable of doing. Anyone who moved through those years without understanding that man produces evil as a bee produces honey, must have been blind or wrong in the head.” -
Lord of the Flies
After 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. Lord of the Flies explored the savage side of human nature as the boys. -
First filming of Lord of the flies
This is the year after Golding retired from teaching. Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel, Lord of the flies. -
Booker McConnel Prize
He was winner of the 1980 Booker McConnell Prize. It was one the most successful novels of Golding’s writing career, Rites of Passage. -
Nobel Prize for Literature
At the age of 73, Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.The Nobel prize changed Golding's life in many ways. There were more reporters and he became personally more recognised. -
knighted by the Queen
In the summer of 1988 William Golding was knighted by the England’s Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace. Golding was very pleased to be knighted - it was the only honour he was given that formally affected the status of his wife Ann, and this gave him great satisfaction. -
Second filming of Lord of the Flies
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.
It is a American survival film. -
Death
Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. He was survived by his wife and their two children, David and Judith. Golding spent the last few years of his life quietly living with his wife, Ann Brookfield, and he continued to toil at his writing.
