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William Golding was born in Cornwall, England on September 19, 1911. Although educated to be a scientist at the request of his father, he developed an interest in literature. At Oxford University, he studied natural science for two years and then transferred to a program for English literature and philosophy. He eventually became a schoolmaster at Bishop Wordsworth's School in Salisbury. During World War II, he joined the Royal Navy and was involved in the sinking of the German battleship Bismarck. After the war, he returned to Bishop Wordsworth's School and taught there until 1962. His first novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954 and was made into a film in 1963. His other novels include The Inheritors, Free Fall, The Spire, The Pyramid, The Paper Men, Close Quarters, and Fire down Below. He won the Booker Prize for Rites of Passage in 1980 and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983. He also wrote plays, essays, and short stories. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. He died on June 19, 1993. (Bowker Author Biography) — biography from Lord of the Flies… (more)
Lord of the Flies 48,080 copies, 731 reviews
The Inheritors 1,469 copies, 49 reviews
Rites of Passage 1,198 copies, 26 reviews
The Spire 1,113 copies, 18 reviews
Pincher Martin 874 copies, 22 reviews
Darkness Visible 648 copies, 11 reviews
Free Fall 572 copies, 3 reviews
The Paper Men 442 copies, 5 reviews
Close Quarters 355 copies, 7 reviews
Fire Down Below 332 copies, 6 reviews
The Pyramid 308 copies, 7 reviews
The Double Tongue 240 copies, 6 reviews
The Hot Gates 143 copies, 5 reviews
An Egyptian Journal 120 copies, 1 review
A Moving Target 89 copies, 1 review
Envoy Extraordinary 8 copies, 2 reviews
Novelas 6 copies
Vidna tema 2 copies
Poems 1 copy
Freefall 1 copy
1983 1 copy

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Short biography
Sir William Gerald Golding CBE (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was an English novelist, playwright, and poet who won a Nobel Prize in Literature, and is best known for his novel Lord of the Flies. He was also awarded the Booker Prize for literature in 1980 for his novel Rites of Passage, the first book in what became his sea trilogy, To the Ends of the Earth.

Golding was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1988.[1][2] He was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. In 2008, The Times ranked Golding third on their list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
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