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First book
a year before he graduated from Brasenose College at Oxford University, William published his first work, a book of poetry aptly entitled Poems. The collection was largely overlooked by critics. -
First teaching job
Golding took a position teaching English and philosophy at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury. Golding’s experience teaching young boys would later serve as fuel for his novel Lord of the Flies. -
Quitting Teaching and joining Royal Navy
Golding temporarily abandoned the profession to join the Royal Navy and fight in World War II. -
Period: to
Time in Royal Navy
Golding spent almost the next six years on a boat, except for a seven-month stay in New York, where he assisted Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment. -
Going back to teaching
after World War II had ended, Golding went back to teaching and writing. -
Lord of the Flies
after 21 rejections, Golding published his first and most acclaimed novel, Lord of the Flies. -
Nobel Prize
Two decades later, at the age of 73, Golding was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature.
