Lord of the Flies

When "Lord of the Flies" appeared in 1954 it received unprecedented reviews for a first novel. Critics used such phrases as "beautifully writeen, tragic and provocative... vivid and enthralling... this beautiful and desperate book... completely convincing and often very frightening... its progress is magnificient... like a fragment of nightmare... a dizzy climax of terror... the terrible spell of this book..." E.M. Forster chose it as the Outstanding Novel of the Year. "Time and Tide" touched upon perhaps the most important facet of this book when it said, "It is not only a first-rate adventure but a parable of our times, " and articles on this and subsequent Golding novels have stressed these twin aspects of Golding: a consummate control of the novel form, and a superb all-encompassing vision of reality which communicates itself with a power reminiscent of Conrad.

This edition includes a new Suggestions for Further Reading by Jennifer Buehler.

At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything they want. Anything. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.

About the author:  William Golding was born in Cornwall, England, in 1911 and educated at Oxford University. His first book, Poems, was published in 1935. Following a stint in the Royal Navy during World War II, Golding wrote Lord of the Flies while teaching school. It was the first of several works, including the novels Pincher Martin, Free Fall, and The Inheritors and a play, The Brass Butterfly, which led to his being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.

 Lois Lowry is the two-time Newbery Award-winning author of Number the Stars, The Giver Quartet, and numerous other books for young adults.

 Jennifer Buehler is an associate professor of educational studies at Saint Louis University and President of The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers of English.