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Golding's Birth
William Golding was born on September 19,1911. He was born in England. His mother was an active suffragette who fought for women's rights and his father worked as a schoolmaster. -
School Life
He attended the school his father ran, Marlborough Grammar School. When he was 12, he attempted to write a novel. He was a frustrated child, he bullied his peers and would later describe himself as brat. -
Later Education
He was attending Brasenose College at Oxford. He studied science for two years and then switched to the literature program. In 1935, he graduated from Oxford with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a diploma in education. -
Career
After graduating he worked as a writer, actor, and producer with a small theater. He considered theater his strongest literary influence rather than other novelists. -
Teaching
William began teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury at Bishop Wordsworth's School. He remained in the teaching position until 1961 when he left to begin writing. -
Relationships
In 1939, he married Ann Brookfield. He an Ann had two children. -
Royal Navy
Golding temporarily abandoned his teaching position to join the Royal Navy because of WWII. He got exposed to the cruelty of war and what humans are capable of. -
Lord of the Flies
In 1954 he published Lord of the Flies, after being rejected by 21 publishers. It was not the first novel he wrote, but it was the first to get published. -
Later on in life
He spent his last few years living with his wife in their home in Cornwall. He continued to toil at his writing. Around this time his other novel Rites of Passage won the Booker Prize. -
Nobel Prize
He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. -
Death
On June 19, 1993 Golding died of a heart attack. He died in Cornwall.