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William Golding

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William Golding


Born
in Newquay, Cornwall, England, The United Kingdom
September 19, 1911

Died
June 19, 1993

Website

Genre
Literature & Fiction

Influences
Euripides, R.M. Ballantyne ...more


Sir William Gerald Golding was a British 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". ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 3.7 · 3,165,478 ratings · 67,753 reviews · 203 distinct works • Similar authors
Lord of the Flies
3.70 avg rating — 3,135,851 ratings — published 1954 — 31 editions
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The Inheritors
3.51 avg rating — 5,442 ratings — published 1955 — 80 editions
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Rites of Passage (To the En...
3.58 avg rating — 4,395 ratings — published 1980 — 4 editions
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The Spire
3.49 avg rating — 4,114 ratings — published 1964 — 59 editions
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Pincher Martin
3.56 avg rating — 2,552 ratings — published 1956
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Darkness Visible
3.50 avg rating — 1,760 ratings — published 1979 — 69 editions
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Free Fall
3.67 avg rating — 1,438 ratings — published 1959 — 110 editions
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The Double Tongue
3.46 avg rating — 1,131 ratings — published 1995 — 15 editions
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The Pyramid
3.31 avg rating — 1,069 ratings — published 1967 — 15 editions
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The Paper Men
3.15 avg rating — 917 ratings — published 1984 — 6 editions
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More books by William Golding…

Series by William Golding

Rites of Passage Close Quarters Fire Down Below
(3 books)
by
3.68 avg rating — 6,136 ratings

The Art of the Critic: Clas... The Art of the Critic: The ...
(11 books)
by
4.82 avg rating — 17 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
3562 likes
Like

“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
1591 likes
Like

“My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.”
― William Golding
tags: past, yesterday
1090 likes
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Polls

What book would you like to read for our July 2025 Group Read? The theme is Island.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Romance, Contemporary
 
  18 votes 23.1%

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Historical Fiction
 
  11 votes 14.1%

The Daughter of Doctor Moreau by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Historical Fiction, Science Fiction
 
  11 votes 14.1%

Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Literary Fiction
 
  8 votes 10.3%

 
  7 votes 9.0%

 
  7 votes 9.0%

 
  5 votes 6.4%

 
  4 votes 5.1%

 
  4 votes 5.1%

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert
Historical Fiction
 
  3 votes 3.8%

78 total votes
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