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Birth of William Golding
He was born on September 9, 1911. He was born in Saint Columb Minor, Cornwalll, England. Golding was raised in a 14th century house next door to a graveyard. Link text -
First Attempt to Write a Novel
Around 1923, Golding made his first attempt to write a novel. Golding's attempt to write a novel went unsuccessfully. Link text -
Attend Brasenose College at Oxford University
After primary school, William attended Brasenose College at Oxford University. HIs father wanted him to become a scientist, however he decided to opt out and study English literature instead. Link text -
Published first work
William Golding's first work was published in 1934. It was a book of poetry aptly and was titled Poems. The book was largely overlooked by critics. Link text -
Graduated from Oxford
Around 1935, Golding graduated from Oxford. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a diploma in education. Link text -
Started Teaching English
He decided to follow in his father’s footsteps. In 1935, Golding started teaching English and Philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. Golding’s experience teaching experience serve as inspiration for his novel, Lord of the Flies. Link text -
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Join Royal Navy
During the 1940s, he temporarily left teaching to join the Royal Navy and fought in WW2. He fought battleships at the sinking of the Bismarck, and also fended off submarines and planes. Link text -
Went back to teaching
Golding’s participation in the war would prove to be fruitful material for his fiction. After World War 2 ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing. Link text -
Lord of the Flies Published
In Lord of the Flies, Golding combined a perception of humanity with his years of experience with schoolboys. Lord of the Flies was the first book that was published after being rejected by 21 publishers. Link text -
Published The Inheritors
After Golding wrote Lord of the Flies, he published The Inheritors (1955). The book is a depiction of how the violent, deceitful Homo sapiens achieved victory over the Neanderthals. It was Golding's favorite book. Link text -
Published Pincher Martin
The book, Pincher Martin, was published in 1956. Like Lord of the Flies, it is about survival after shipwreck. Link text -
Published Free Fall
Free Fall is about an artist named Samuel Mountjoy. The novel takes as a model Dante's La Vita Nuova. Link text -
Began to Write Full Time
Excluding five years Golding spent in the Royal Navy during World War II, he was a teacher until 1961. He left to pursue writing full time. -
Film Production of Lord of the Flies
In 1963, a film adaption of Lord of the Flies was made. This was the year after Golding retired from teaching and Peter Brook made a film. Link text -
Published The Spire
The Spire is a book talking about how a fourteenth-century Dean of Barchester Cathedral decides that God wants a 400-foot-high spire added to the top of the cathedral. The novel tells the story of the human costs of the spire's construction and the lessons that the Dean learns too late. Link text -
Published The Pyramid
The Pyramid talks about an exam of an English social class within the context of a town named Stilbourne. A primary issue in this story is music, and the novel utilizes the same structure as the musical form sonata. Link text -
Published Darkness Visile
Golding's novel, Darkness Visible, was published in 1979. It addresses the interdependence of good and evil, exemplified in the two main characters. Link text -
Won the Nobel Prize for Literature
Two years after the film version of Lord of the Flies, William Golding won the Nobel Prize. He won the prize at age 73. Link text -
Queen Elizabeth knights him
Golding received the honorary designation Commander of the British Empire (CBE).He is knighted by Queen Elizabeth in 1988. Link text -
New film production of Lord of the Flies
In 1990, a new film version of the Lord of the Flies was created. This film would hopefully bring the book to the attention of a new generation of readers. Link text -
Death of William Golding
William Golding died of a heart attack on June 19,1993. He died in Perranarworthal, Cornwall. Link text
