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William Golding

ウィリアム・ゴールディング

Uiriamu Gōrudingu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1911-09-19 （Newquay, Cornwall, England）
Died
1993-06-19 （Perranarworthal, Cornwall, England） age 81
Nationality
United Kingdom
Languages
English
Religion
Church of England (likely)
Residence History
Newquay (maternal grandmother's house 'Karenza') → Marlborough, Wiltshire → Salisbury → Bowerchalke → Perranarworthal

Career

Occupations
schoolteacher (English), novelist, playwright, poet
Active Years
1934-1993
Affiliations
Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (FRSL)
Memberships
Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)
Influenced By
World War II naval service, Ancient Greek literature, Early teaching career and experience as a schoolteacher
Influenced
Later British novelists (influenced many contemporary writers), Later dystopian and allegorical fiction writers

Education

Brasenose College, Oxford
Natural Sciences (later switched to English) / English
Degree: B.A.
Period: 1930–1934
Year of Graduation: 1934
Country: United Kingdom
Read Natural Sciences for two years, then switched to English for final years

Awards

Nobel Prize in Literature
1983
Organization: The Swedish Academy
Result: 受賞
Booker Prize
1980
Work: Rites of Passage
Organization: Man Booker Prize (awarding organization)
Result: 受賞
James Tait Black Memorial Prize
1979
Work: Darkness Visible
Organization: University of Edinburgh (prize administration)
Result: 受賞
Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
1966
Organization: United Kingdom government
Result: 受章
Knight Bachelor
1988
Organization: United Kingdom government
Result: 叙爵（ナイト）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Lord of the Flies

1954 Survival fiction / Allegory

A novel about boys stranded on a deserted island who descend into savagery and chaos; an allegory about human nature and society.

civilization vs. savageryhuman naturepower and violence
Adaptations
  • [Film] Lord of the Flies (1963) / Peter Brook (1963)
  • [Film] Lord of the Flies (1990) / Harry Hook (1990)
  • [Play (stage)] Lord of the Flies (play) / Nigel Williams（翻案者） (1995)
Translations
  • Multiple Japanese translations and many other language translations

Rites of Passage

1980 Historical fiction / Sea story

Set during an early nineteenth-century voyage, it explores coming-of-age, class, and shipboard relations; the first novel of his sea trilogy.

coming of ageclass societyvoyage and trials

Darkness Visible

1979 Contemporary fiction

A novel dealing with complex and dark themes including terrorism, paedophilia, and the lingering effects of wartime.

traumaevil and redemptionsocial violence

The Spire

1964 Historical fiction / Religious allegory

Follows a priest's obsessive attempt to build an impossibly large spire on a cathedral and the resulting clash of faith and madness.

faith and madnessobsessionauthority and ethics

The Paper Men

1984 Metafiction / Literary novel

Examines authorship, fame, and privacy through the conflict between a novelist and his would-be biographer.

creative strugglefame and individuality

Bibliography

  • Poems (1934)
  • Lord of the Flies (1954)
  • The Inheritors (1955)
  • Pincher Martin (1956)
  • Free Fall (1959)
  • The Spire (1964)
  • The Pyramid (1967)
  • Darkness Visible (1979)
  • Rites of Passage (1980)
  • The Paper Men (1984)
  • To the Ends of the Earth (trilogy): Close Quarters (1987), Fire Down Below (1989)
  • The Double Tongue (posthumous, 1995)

Adaptations

  • Film adaptations of Lord of the Flies (1963, 1990) and stage adaptations

Translations of Works

  • Multiple Japanese translations of Lord of the Flies

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Realistic and lucid narrative often combined with mythic and allegorical elementsPsychological characterization and symbolism
Recurring Motifs
conflict between civilization and savagerycycles of power and violenceguilt and redemption

Health

  • Alcohol dependence / problems with drinking
    1960s–1970s（その後回復の過程あり）
    Affected his creative output and personal life; led to periods of writer's block and recovery efforts
  • Heart failure (cause of death)
    1993
    Died of heart failure in 1993

Legacy

Best known for Lord of the Flies and a body of work that significantly influenced 20th-century British literature; awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature (1983) and the Booker Prize (1980). His allegorical and symbolic style has had lasting influence on writers and scholarship.

Academic Societies

  • Royal Society of Literature (Fellow)

Archives

  • University of Exeter Special Collections (William Golding papers)

In Popular Culture

  • Lord of the Flies has been adapted for film and stage and widely used as an educational text

Quotes

  • “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.”
    Source: Nobel Prize citation (1983) (1983)

Trivia

  • His maternal grandmother's house 'Karenza' is Cornish for 'love'.
  • He kept personal journals amounting to roughly 2.4 million words.
  • Served in the Royal Navy during World War II, including at D-Day landings.