William Golding


Born
in Newquay, Cornwall, England
September 19, 1911

Died
June 19, 1993

Website

Genre

Influences


Sir William Gerald Golding was an Engish novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel Lord of the Flies (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980, he was awarded the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage, the first novel in what became his sea trilogy, To the Ends of the Earth. He was awarded the 1983 Nobel Prize in Literature.

As a result of his contributions to literature, Golding was knighted in 1988. He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
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Average rating: 3.7 · 3,319,121 ratings · 75,165 reviews · 153 distinct worksSimilar authors
Lord of the Flies

3.70 avg rating — 3,285,916 ratings — published 1954 — 856 editions
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Lord of the Flies: The Grap...

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4.29 avg rating — 5,568 ratings — published 2024 — 23 editions
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The Inheritors

3.51 avg rating — 5,890 ratings — published 1955 — 149 editions
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Rites of Passage (To the En...

3.57 avg rating — 4,574 ratings — published 1980 — 4 editions
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The Spire

3.50 avg rating — 4,357 ratings — published 1964 — 129 editions
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Pincher Martin

3.55 avg rating — 2,686 ratings — published 1956 — 102 editions
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Darkness Visible

3.49 avg rating — 1,808 ratings — published 1979 — 56 editions
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Free Fall

3.67 avg rating — 1,536 ratings — published 1959 — 6 editions
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The Double Tongue

3.45 avg rating — 1,183 ratings — published 1995 — 48 editions
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The Pyramid

3.31 avg rating — 1,116 ratings — published 1967 — 63 editions
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More books by William Golding…
Rites of Passage Close Quarters Fire Down Below
(3 books)
by
3.67 avg rating — 6,406 ratings

Quotes by William Golding  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“Maybe there is a beast… maybe it's only us.”
William Golding, Lord of the Flies

“Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.”
William Golding, Lord of the Flies

“My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.”
William Golding

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