Exhibits (1 total)

September 2024 marked the 70th anniversary of the publication of William Golding's iconic novel The Lord of the Flies. It is remarkable to imagine today that this book might have remained on the rejection pile at Faber and Faber were it not for a young editor, Charles Monteith. Monteith rescued the story, originally titled Strangers from Within (one of many titles the manuscript would go through) and worked with Golding to produce a novel that has gained worldwide acclaim.

William Golding: Beyond the Island was a season of free exhibitions and events inspired by the Golding Literary Archive held in the University of Exeter Special Collections. These included a creative writing workshop exploring the manuscript draft of Lord of the Flies, an in conversation event exploring Neanderthal – Homo sapiens encounters in William Golding’s The Inheritors, a film screening, and a worshop on writers' archives.

A seried of display panels created for this event explore four of Golding's novels and continue to be used for engagement.

Find out more about Special Collections.

Find out more about the William Golding Archive held at Special Collections.

Find out more about William Golding at:

- William Golding Ltd: The official website of William Golding Ltd has fantastic wealth of resources about his life and novels

- Faber: Find a useful timeline of Golding's life, and audio clips of him speaking at the Faber website