William Golding, The Author of 'Lord of the Flies'

Have you read 'Lord of the Flies'? The novel, written by William Golding, was first published #OnThisDay in 1954.

Golding was awarded the #NobelPrize in Literature in 1983 "for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today."

Golding was born in Cornwall in 1911 and was educated at Marlborough Grammar School and at Brasenose College, Oxford. His father was a schoolmaster and his mother was a suffragette. He was brought up to be a scientist, but revolted. After two years at Oxford, he read English literature instead and published a volume of poems in 1935. 

Apart from writing, his occupations included being a schoolmaster, a lecturer, an actor, a sailor and a musician. He taught at Bishop Wordsworth's School, Salisbury before joining the Royal Navy in 1940 and spending six years afloat, except for seven months in New York and six months helping Lord Cherwell at the Naval Research Establishment. He saw action against battleships (at the sinking of the Bismarck), submarines and aircraft. Golding finished as Lieutenant in command of a rocket ship. He was present off the French coast for the D-Day invasion, and later at the island of Walcheren. After the war he returned to teaching, and began to write again. 'Lord of the Flies', his first novel, was published in 1954.

Read more about William Golding: https://bit.ly/2LhJ6up

'William Golding'

By JOHN CAREY
Reviewed by WILLIAM BOYD

A biography of William Golding, whose first novel - "Lord of the Flies" - began as a blessing to its 42-year-old author, but came to seem like a curse overshadowing his other work.

William Golding died on June 19th 1993. A reader once complimented him on his book, “The Lord of the Rings”—a cruel twist for a man who is famous for just one book

Golding deserves wider recognition beyond "Lord of the Flies"

William Golding died on this day in 1993

ECON.ST

William Golding ( 1911-1993；1983年諾貝爾文學獎) 1967作品 The Pyramid 引用（《金字塔》李國慶譯，上海譯文，2000，p.15），不過注不詳盡。

我從這小說的題詞：「治民之道，以愛為本；心有愛則生，無愛則死。」（古埃及箴言）學到哲理。

想起上周聽他諾貝爾文學獎受講演說詞最後的一可愛（可….）英國警察之故事：

The very day after I learned that I was the laureate for literature for 1983 I drove into a country town and parked my car where I should not. I only left the car for a few minutes but when I came back there was a ticket taped to the window. A traffic warden, a lady of a minatory aspect, stood by the car. She pointed to a notice on the wall. "Can't you read?" she said. Sheepishly I got into my car and drove very slowly round the corner. There on the pavement I saw two county policemen.

I stopped opposite them and took my parking ticket out of its plastic envelope. They crossed to me. I asked if, as I had pressing business, I could go straight to the Town Hall and pay my fine on the spot. "No, sir," said the senior policeman, "I'm afraid you can't do that." He smiled the fond smile that such policemen reserve for those people who are clearly harmless if a bit silly. He indicated a rectangle on the ticket that had the words 'name and address of sender' printed above it. "You should write your name and address in that place," he said. "You make out a cheque for ten pounds, making it payable to the Clerk to the Justices at this address written here. Then you write the same address on the outside of the envelope, stick a sixteen penny stamp in the top right hand corner of the envelope, then post it. And may we congratulate you on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature."

http://nobelprize.org/literature/laureates/1983/golding-lecture.html

“通过两次世界大战亲身经历，传承家族的骑士传统，以纯熟的母语对变动的世界作出敏锐反应……精通历史和传记的艺术，以及他那捍卫崇高的人类价值的光辉演说”，因此获得该奖。 William Golding ( 1911-1993；1983年諾貝爾文學獎) 演說詞中，為 Winston Churchill 的獲獎辯護。

The New Yorker In Daily Shouts: A new, sensitive spin on a literary classic. Politically Correct “Lord of the Flies” “Just because we’re stranded doesn’t give you the right to use non-inclusive language,” Jack said. NYR.KR|由 JOE KEOHANE 上傳

June 20, 1993 OBITUARY William Golding Is Dead at 81; The Author of 'Lord of the Flies' By BRUCE LAMBERT William Golding, the Nobel Prize-winning author of the classic "Lord of the Flies" and other disturbing novels exploring the dark side of human nature, died yesterday in his home in Perranarworthal, England. He was 81. A heart attack was the probable cause, said Matthew Evans, chairman of Mr. Golding's publisher, Faber and Faber. He was 73 when he won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1983, and he was knighted in 1988. Although he was primarily a novelist, his writing also included short stories, dramas, essays and poetry. He was best known for his themes of the struggle between good and evil and for symbolism that invited interpretations on many levels. Indeed, some critics complained that he relied too heavily on symbolism that weighed down his work. After 21 rejections, "Lord of the Flies" was finally issued in 1954 as his first published book, and it remains his most popular. It portrays a group of proper British schoolboys who, when marooned on a deserted island by a plane crash during a global atomic war, lose their societal inhibitions and regress into blood-curdling tribal savagery. His allegory achieved a cult status. The book inspired two films, was translated into 26 languages, sold millions of copies and became a standard on college and high school reading lists. Sir William recalled that as a teacher he once allowed a class of boys complete freedom in a debate, but he had to intervene as mayhem broke out. That incident and his own war experiences inspired "Lord of the Flies." "World War II was the turning point for me," he said. "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." Another time he said: "Look out," he said, "the evil is in us all." He confessed that as a youth he was sometimes a spoiled brat and a bully and "I enjoyed hurting people." For a man who once complained of his "inability to write poetry," Sir William made a major contribution to English literature. Comparing him to Melville, the Nobel citation said: "William Golding's novels and stories are not only somber moralities and dark myths about evil and treacherous, destructive forces. They are also colorful tales of adventure which can be read as such, full of narrative joy, inventiveness and excitement." Author Malcolm Bradbury described Sir Williams as "a dominant figure since the 1950's" in English letters and said that "Lord of the Flies" was a world classic. "He was a remarkable writer -- his work is peculiarly timeless." Describing his own work, Sir William said, "I am not a theologian or a philosopher. I am a story teller." Despite his reputation for pessimism on human nature, he said, "I think good will overcome evil in the end. I don't know quite how, but I have that simple faith." Although his succeeding works never matched "Lord of the Flies" in sales, they continued to win close critical attention. They included "The Inheritors" (1955), "Pincher Martin" (1956), "Free Fall" (1959), "The Spire" (1964), "The Pyramid" (1967), "Darkness Visible" (1979) and, "Rites of Passage" (1980). "Pincher Martin," describes the last moments of a drowning sailor. "Rites of Passage" won Britain's premier literary award, the Booker Prize, in 1980. It describes a voyage to Australia in the 19th century, showing how a pompous cleric becomes involved in a sexual scandal and dies of shame. In 1987 Sir William completed a sequel to "Rites of Passage" called "Close Quarters." A third novel, "Fire Down Below," finished the series in 1989. His own favorite was "The Inheritors," about the destruction of Neanderthal Man by Homo Sapiens. William G. Golding was born on Sept. 19, 1911, in Cornwall. He grew up in 14th Century house, next to a graveyard, and tried writing a novel at the age of 12. He was educated at Marlborough Grammar School, where his father taught, then studied science and later English at Oxford University's Brasenose College. He graduated in 1934 and received a master's degree in 1960. After college, he became a settlement house worker and then joined the Royal Navy. He served as a lieutenant commanding a rocket-firing ship, took part in the 1944 Normandy landings and developed an enduring love of sailing and the sea. Early in his career he took up teaching English and philosophy, acting, directing and writing in London. He once spoke of death: "I'd rather there wasn't an afterlife, really. I'd much rather not be me for thousands of years. Me? Hah!" He spent his last years quietly with his wife of 54 years, the former Ann Brookfield, at their home near Falmouth in the Cornwall area on the southwest coast. They had two children, David and Judith, who also survive.