JOHN CAREY - William Golding. The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies. A Life

London England, Faber & Faber, 2009. 2nd Impression, Binding: Cloth, Very Good/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo 9780571231638 Hardback Hardcover. William Golding. The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies by John Carey. Very slight shelf wear to top edge of D/J. In 1953, William Golding was a provincial schoolteacher, writing books in his breaks, lunch hours and holidays. His work had been rejected by every publisher he sent it to - until an editor at Faber and Faber pulled his manuscript off the rejection pile. This was to become Lord of the Flies, a book that would sell in its millions and bring Golding worldwide recognition. Drawing almost entirely on materials that have never before been made public, John Carey shed new light on Golding. Through hundreds of letters, unpublished works and Golding's intimate journals, Carey draws a revelatory and definitive portrait of an extrordinary man. In an absorbing and compelling narrative, he reveals a many-sided figure: a war hero, a reclusive depressive who considered himself a 'monster', a family man, a victim of fears and phobias who battled against alcoholism, and a writer who trusted the imagination above all things. Illustrated. 573 pp.