William Gerald Golding was born in Cornwall, England, in 1911, and educated at Oxford, where he studied physics and English literature. In Wolrd War II he joined the Royal British Navy and participated in D-Day operations. Following the war, he spent a number of years as a school teacher in Salisbury, England. It was during this time that he began his career as a writer. His other works include Pincher Martin (1957), Free Fall (1960), The Inheritors (1962), Spire (1964), and The Pyramid (1967). He also had a play produced on the London stage, The Brass Butterfly (1958), and published a collection of shorter works entitled Hot Gates and Other Occasional Pieces (1965). In 1983 Golding was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. He died in 1993

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Book Description

These deluxe editions are packaged with French flaps, acid-free paper, and rough front.

"This brilliant work is a frightening parody on man's return. . . to that state of darkness from which it took him thousands of years to emerge. . . Superbly written."

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 --The New York Times

Other Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century:

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

The Adventures of Augie March by Saul Bellow

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

Swann's Way by Marcel Proust

My Antonia by Willa Cather

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

White Noise by Don DeLillo

Amazon.com

William Golding's classic tale about a group of English schoolboys who are plane-wrecked on a deserted island is just as chilling and relevant today as when it was first published in 1954. At first, the stranded boys cooperate, attempting to gather food, make shelters, and maintain signal fires. Overseeing their efforts are Ralph, "the boy with fair hair," and Piggy, Ralph's chubby, wisdom-dispensing sidekick whose thick spectacles come in handy for lighting fires. Although Ralph tries to impose order and delegate responsibility, there are many in their number who would rather swim, play, or hunt the island's wild pig population. Soon Ralph's rules are being ignored or challenged outright. His fiercest antagonist is Jack, the redheaded leader of the pig hunters, who manages to lure away many of the boys to join his band of painted savages. The situation deteriorates as the trappings of civilization continue to fall away, until Ralph discovers that instead of being hunters, he and Piggy have become the hunted: "He forgot his words, his hunger and thirst, and became fear; hopeless fear on flying feet." Golding's gripping novel explores the boundary between human reason and animal instinct, all on the brutal playing field of adolescent competition.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　--Jennifer Hubert

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up?A solid tool for the study of William Golding's classic novel. Sixteen critical selections from both journals and books are arranged in chronological order by date of publication from 1961 to 1993. The examined topics, length and completeness of entries, and depth of analysis present a wide range of material. Articles selected by Bloom have not previously appeared in works easily accessible to most readers. There is little duplication with "Contemporary Literary Criticism" (Gale) or with "British Writers" (Scribners); both cover less ground. Clarice Swisher's Readings on Lord of the Flies (Greenhaven, 1997) includes two of the same critics, but Bloom's book has complete articles rather than excerpts. While some readers may struggle with these selections, the book is an excellent resource.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　Gail Richmond, San Diego Unified Schools, CA

From AudioFile

A plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island during wartime. A group of schoolboys--the sole survivors--form their own society, an experiment that quickly descends into chaos and death in Golding's classic allegory. Listening Library recently rereleased this historic 1976 recording, and the timing could not be more apt. As CNN keeps viewers on edge with the latest military overtures in the real world and the reality TV show "Survivor" offers escape in the form of backstabbing, bug-eating "tribal" rituals, LORD OF THE FLIES gives the reader a lucid and chillingly objective mirror to our modern society. William Golding's narration is as impartial as his work, yet his grumbly, grandfatherly voice, complete with mid-sentence sniffs and swallows, is intimate. Included on the tapes is background on how he came to conceive the book and a brief rebuttal to critics about its meaning. M.M.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award

Book Dimension

length: (cm)21.3 　　　 　　　　　 　　　　　 width:(cm)15