William Golding

By CameronFranklin

  • William birth

    William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. His mother, Mildred was an active suffragette and his father, Alex was a schoolmaster.

  • William's first book

    In 1934, a year before he graduated, William published his first book. a book of poetry aptly entitled poems

  • William became a teacher

    After working in a theater and settlement house William decided to follow in his father's footsteps. In 1935 William took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth's School

  • William joined the navy

    Golding spent the next six years on a boat working with Lord Cherwell. He fought battleships at the sinking of Bismarck. While in the navy he developed a lifelong romance with the sea

  • World war 2 experience

    From his World War 2 experience he would say "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.” His participation in the war would be fruitful for his writing

  • 'Lord of the flies' beginning

    In 1954, 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.

  • Goldings retirement

    After World War 2 Golding had returned to his teaching position. Golding worked as a teacher for years until retiring in 1963.

  • 'Lord of the flies' movie

    In 1963, the year after Golding retired from teaching, Peter Brook made a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel. In 1990 they made a whole new movie to bring in newer readers.

  • Golding's Nobel Prize

    At the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature. In 1988 he was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II.

  • Williams Death

    On June 19, 1993, Golding died of a heart attack in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. After Golding died, his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.