52: William Golding: A Literary Colossus

52: William Golding: A Literary Colossus

From Slightly Foxed by Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly

January 15, 2025 · 59 min · Episode 52

About this episode

The episode discusses the life and work of William Golding, focusing on his literary contributions and personal struggles.

The first title that springs to mind at the mention of William Golding’s name is most often Lord of the Flies . The classic story of a group of schoolboys marooned on a desert island all but made his reputation and has somewhat overshadowed his twelve other novels. Golding was a fascinating and often troubled man, a voracious reader who enjoyed the Odyssey in Greek as well as Georgette Heyer and Jilly Cooper and was an influence on many novelists from Stephen King to Penelope Lively, Ben Okri and Kazuo Ishiguro. Definitely a writer ripe for rediscovery. Now, the Slightly Foxed team sit down with the author’s daughter Judy and Golding expert Professor Tim Kendall to discuss the life and work of this brave and highly original writer, whose novels transport the reader to distant but entirely believable worlds. His work grapples with the big questions of existence but his originality as a writer sometimes worked against him, and Lord of the Flies was rejected by seven publishers before it was accepted by Charles Monteith at Faber. It was glowingly reviewed and became a bestseller but, behind the scenes, Golding was struggling with his addiction to alcohol and the fame his writing…

People in this episode

Guests: Judy Golding, Professor Tim Kendall

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Lord of the Flies, The Spire, The Pyramid

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