Then, if men have faith, a new thing comes.'Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by
Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial PrizeDarkness Visible opens at the height of the London Blitz, when a naked child steps out of an all-consuming fire. Miraculously saved but hideously scarred,
Oliver is eighteen and wants to enjoy himself before going to university. But this is the 1920s and he lives in Stilbourne, a small English country town where everyone knows what everyone else is gett
William Golding's final novel, left in draft at his death, tells the story of a priestess of Apollo. Her ambiguous attitude to the god and her belief in him seem to move in parallel with the decline o
The first volume of William Golding's Sea Trilogy. Sailing to Australia in the early years of the nineteenth century, Edmund Talbot keeps a journal to amuse his godfather back in England.
The second volume of William Golding's Sea TrilogyIn a wilderness of heat, stillness and sea mists, a ball is held on a ship becalmed halfway to Australia. The sequel to Rites of Passage, Close Quarte
Introduced by Kate Mosse, lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the final novel in the Booker Prize-winning historical fiction Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.I think there has been death in my hands.On the last stretch of its epic voyage from England to Australia, a disintegrating warship inches towards land. But there are still trials ahead, as the vessel is smashed against an ice cliff and blasted by a great storm, while the claustrophobic passengers battle erotic desires, masculine rivalry and violent power struggles – all experiencing a sea change in their natures. And when an unseen fire begins to smoulder below decks, the other side of the world has never seemed further away …
Introduced by Helen Castor, lose yourself in an epic naval journey in the second novel in the Booker Prize-winning historical fiction Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.This tropical nowhere was the whole world — the whole imaginable world.A decrepit warship is becalmed halfway to Australia, stilled in an ocean wilderness of heat and sea mists. In this surreal, fête-like atmosphere, a ball is held with a passing ship: the passengers dance and flirt, while beneath them seaweed like green hair spreads omniously over the hull. Half-mad with fear, drink, love and opium, both vessel and passengers feel themselves going to pieces: and the very planks seem to twist themselves alive as the ship comes apart at the seams . . .‘Fantastic … Gems tumble off the pages … A strong sense of drama … Much of the pleasure of reading his work is his original imagery.’ Annie Proulx
Introduced by Annie Proulx, lose yourself in an epic naval journey in this Booker Prize-winning historical novel: the first in the acclaimed Sea Trilogy by the author of Lord of the Flies.I grow a little crazy, I think, like all men at sea who live too close to each other and too close thereby to all that is monstrous under the sun and moon . . .Edmund Talbot is sailing to Australia in the early nineteenth century. In his journal, he records mounting tensions aboard the ancient, stinking warship, as officers, sailors, soldiers and emigrants jostle in the cramped darkness below decks. But when something happens to Reverend Colley that brings him into a ‘hell of self-degradation’, it seems that shame is a force deadlier than the sea itself . . .‘It is the emotional veracity of life at sea that powers Golding’s exceptional writing … The fury, mystery and challenge.’ Kate Mosse
Sammy Mountjoy, artist, rises from poverty and an obscure birth to see his pictures hung in the Tate Gallery. He emerges from his cell transfigured from his ordeal, and begins to realise what man can
Drowning in the freezing North Atlantic, Christopher Hadley Martin, temporary lieutenant, happens upon a grotesque rock, an island that appears only on weather charts. To drink there is a pool of rain
Fame, success, fortune, a drink problem slipping over the edge into alcoholism, a dead marriage, the incurable itches of middle-aged lust. For Wilfred Barclay, novelist, the final unbearable irritatio
The three short novels in this collection, The Scorpion God, show Golding at his playful, ironic and mysterious best. And 'Envoy Extraordinary' is a tale of Imperial Rome where the emperor loves his i
‘A complex literary comedy from an extraordinarily powerful writer.’ Malcolm Bradbury‘The great unbreakable wild horse of the 1960s British literary stable.’ Rose Tremain‘Rich as a compost heap.’ Melvyn BraggJoin an eccentric novelist on the run from his obsessive would-be biographer in this comic farce by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies.Why should I conceal the fact that I had found a full professor of Eng. Lit. rifling my dustbin?Fame, fortune, alcoholism, a failing marriage: for novelist Wilfred Barclay, his final unbearable irritation is his would-be-biographer, the young academic Professor Rick L. Tucker, who is determined to become The Barclay Man.Locked in a lethal relationship, the two men stumble across Europe, shedding wives, self-respect and identities in a game of literary cat and mouse – and the climax of their odyssey, when it comes, is as inevitable as it is unexpected . . .
Follow young Oliver’s rebellious coming-of-age in the village of Stillbourne in this comic novel by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Penelope Lively.Eighteen is a good time for sufferingWelcome to the country town of Stillbourne. Restless teenage resident Oliver wants to enjoy himself before going to university, beginning with his pursuit of the Town Crier’s daughter.But in this claustrophobic community – stifled by the English class system, and where everybody knows everyone’s business – love, lust and rebellion are closely followed by revenge and embarrassment . . .
The destinies of three mysterious lost children entwine in this James Tait Black Memorial Prize-winning fable by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Nicola Barker.A figure had condensed out of the shuddering backdrop of the glare.He is born in fire: a naked child in the blood-red flames of London’s Blitz. Miraculously saved but grotesquely burned, this mysterious orphan is named Matty. Doomed to a life of torment, he becomes a wanderer, a spiritual seeker after unknown redemption.They are also lost children: neglected twins, as exquisitely beautiful as they are loveless and sinful. Toni explores political terrorism; Sophy, sexual dominance and violent criminality.But their destinies will soon collide in an apocalyptic climax – one that illuminates the inner and outer darkness of modern humanity.‘Exceptional … Irresistibly transcendent … Golding seduces us, transfixes, bewitches and confounds us.’ Nicola Barker
Meet the Oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece in this transporting tale of the classical world by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Bettany Hughes.Did I believe in what I was doing? Or rather, since I was doing nothing, did I believe in what someone, something was doing to me?It begins with the half-burnt fish, miraculously restored to life, and the healing of the ill child.Young Arieka is an unloved misfit, but as rumours of her spiritual powers reach the High Priest of Apollo, her life is transformed. She is taken to Delphi to become a Pythia: a mouthpiece for the god Apollo, an oracle uttering riddling prophecies from a smoky cave to frenzied crowds.But when this role is dramatically thrust upon her, the priestess must navigate political conspiracy and the threat of the Romans to preserve her belief – and sanity.
'The Children of Lovers are Orphans.' ProverbBestselling novelist, author of Lord of the Flies, William Golding was a famously acute observer of children.
'The Children of Lovers are Orphans.' Proverb Bestselling novelist, author of "Lord of the Flies", William Golding was a famously acute observer of children. What was it like to be his daughter? This
