William Golding was a British writer best known for his Lord of the Flies and the Nobel Prize in Literature. William Gerald Golding was born on September 19, 1911 in Cornwall, England, to Alec Golding, a science teacher, and Mildred Golding, a female suffrage campaigner. William spent many vacations at his grandmother’s house at 47 Mount Wise, where he was born. Her mother often told the children Cornish fairy tales that she told herself as a child. He attended Brasenose College in Oxford in 1930 and received his BA in 1934.
Golding was born at his grandmother’s house in Newquay, Cornwall, England.
William Golding’s first book of poems, titled Poems, was published in 1935 by Macmillan & Co, along with help from anthroposophist Adam Bittleston, an Oxford friend.
Golding’s father was a schoolmaster at the Marlborough Grammar School, while his mother was active in the Women’s Suffrage Movement.
Between 1938 and 1940 William taught English and music at Maidstone Grammar School. He also taught philosophy in 1939.
He grew up with his elder brother Joseph in Wiltshire.
William taught English at Bishop Wordsworth’s School between 1945 and 1961.
Golding and his brother studied at his father’s school.
In 1939 William married Ann Brookfield. She was an analytical chemist. They had a son and daughter together.
He went to Brasenose College, Oxford to study natural science to pursue his dream to become a scientist. However, after 2 years he migrated into English literature for his increasing interest in literature.
William Golding served during WWII in the Royal Navy. He participated in the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.
When Golding was 18 he tried to rape a 15-year-old Marlborough girl named Dora, who fought him off to save herself from his clutches. However, two years later the pair met again and had sex in a field. But eventually Golding broke up with her for two reasons: firstly he feared that she might get pregnant, secondly she was below his social status.
William published many famous novels including Lord of the Flies, The Spire, The Scorpion God, the trilogy To The Ends of the Earth, and The Double Tongue, which was published in 1995 after his death.
Golding was a heavy drinker and he often disgraced himself at social occasions.
William Golding also published non-fiction, drama and poetry.
Lord of the Flies faced rejection from at least 21 publishers before final acceptance by Faber & Faber.
William Golding was awarded many prizes including the Nobel Prize, the Booker Prize, and was appointed a Knight Bachelor in 1988.
Golding could not endure even the slightest criticism of his work, so most of the time he used to leave the country whenever a new book was about to publish.
The First International William Golding Conference was held in 1993, only months after his death.
Golding was a recluse and had always been apathetic to face the media or to publish his biography. After Golding’s demise John Carey came forward to publish his first biography entitled William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies.
