William Golding

By AlysiaHernandez24

  • Born

    William was born on September 19, 1911, in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwall, England. He was raised next door to a graveyard in a 14th-century house.

  • Behavior

    Behavior
    William found an outlet in bullying his peers to relieve frustration. Later in life, William would describe his childhood self as a brat. He even went so far to say, “I enjoyed hurting people.”

  • Education

    Education
    William received his early education at Marlborough Grammar School, the school his father ran. After he graduated from Marlborough Grammar School school, William went on to attend Brasenose College at Oxford University.

  • Teaching Career

    Started teaching English and philosophy in Salisbury at at Bishop Wordsworth’s School. Golding’s experience teaching would later serve as inspiration for his novel Lord of the Flies. He later left teaching to join the Royal Navy.

  • Love

    Love
    While teaching at Bishop Wordsworth's School William met and married Ann Brookfield. He later had two children with her. David was born in 1940 and Judith was born 1945.

  • Royal Navy

    Royal Navy
    Golding spent part of the six years on a boat. During his time in the Royal Navy, Golding developed a liking with sailing and the sea. Golding’s time in the war would help to be useful for his writing.

  • Lord of the Flies

    Lord of the Flies
    William wrote his first novel and after 21 rejections, Golding published it after 21 rejections. The novel told the story of a group of boys stranded on a deserted island after a plane wreck. This book set the tone for his later novels yet to come.

  • Later Life

    Later Life
    Golding retired from teaching the year after publishing The Lord of the Flies. Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature two decades later.

  • Recognition

    Recognition
    A film version of the Lord of the Flies was released in 1990, bringing the book to the attention of a new generation of readers. He was knighted by England’s Queen Elizabeth II in 1988.

  • Death

    Death
    Golding spent the last few quiet years of his life living with his wife, Ann Brookfield. Even then he still continued to write in his house near Falmouth, Cornwall. William had a fatal heart attack on June 19, 1993. After Goldings death his completed manuscript for The Double Tongue was published posthumously.