Ahead of his time – 100 years of William Golding

It took ten attempts, nine rejections, one brave publisher, but ultimately only a handful of revisions before the late Sir William Golding finally saw his debut novel, Lord of the Flies, in print in 1954. To mark the centenary of Golding’s birth the Bodleian Library in Oxford recently unveiled the original manuscript. The book’s text, instantly familiar, is displayed alongside a collection of Golding’s other, less celebrated books, highlighting the true paradox of his literary career.
 
While there’s no shame in growing fat off the royalties of a single masterpiece, one of the many things John Carey’s magnificent biography of William Golding made clear is that he never wanted to be a one-hit wonder. In the uncomfortable run-up to being published for the first time, the prospect of achieving anything close to a hit with Lord of the Flies must besides have seemed absurd. A barrage of criticism awaited the novel even after it had limped over the publishing hurdle.