Tag Archives: British authors

First Edition: ‘Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding #oldbooks

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A moral for all times about self-governance, Lord of the Flies was the first novel of schoolteacher William Golding. It tells the story of a group of British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. It was not an instant hit, going out of print in the USA a year after publication, but it went onto be a bestseller.

William Golding

Faber original UK cover 1954

In the middle of an unspecified war, a plane crashes on a remote island in the Pacific. Fair-haired Ralph believes that grown-ups will come to rescue them, but Piggy says they should get organised. “Put first things first and act proper.” The novel explores the conflicting human impulses towards civilisation, social order, living according to the rules, with the pursuit of power. It is abrilliantly observed study of teenagers free of the usual rules and conventions imposed by adults.
Artwork for the first UK Faber edition [above], published on September 17, 1954 is by Anthony Gross. The current Faber edition [below] was first published in 1997. Buy here.

William Golding

Faber 1997 current ed

The story
During a wartime evacuation, a British aeroplane crashes on an isolated island in the Pacific Ocean. The only survivors are adolescent boys. Two boys – fair-haired Ralph, and spectacles-wearing Piggy – find a conch which Ralph uses as a horn to draw all the boys into one place. As Ralph appears responsible for bringing them all together, he commands some authority over the boys and is elected chief, despite not winning the votes of a boys’ choir led by Jack. In the early days the boys discover a source of food in fruit and wild pigs. But Piggy quickly becomes the butt of jokes and the initial sense of order disappears as the boys become idle. Their time is spent having fun and developing paranoias about the island; particularly a ‘beast’ that they all begin to believe exists.

The films
There have been three film adaptations based on the book. In 1963, Peter Brook’s Lord of the Flies was supported by Golding. In 1976 there was a Filipino television film called Alkitrang Dugo, the third Lord of the Flies film in 1990 was directed by Harry Hook.

Other editions 

If you like old books, check out these:-
‘Ulysses’ by James Joyce
‘101 Dalmations’ by Dodie Smith
‘The Sea, The Sea’ by Iris Murdoch

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
First Edition: LORD OF THE FLIES by William Golding #oldbooks https://wp.me/p5gEM4-3G7 via @SandraDanby

#BookReview ‘At Mrs Lippincote’s’ by Elizabeth Taylor #historical

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Oh the delight at discovering a new author. I can’t remember where I stumbled across Elizabeth Taylor, but she seems to be the “novelist’s novelist” with fans ranging from Valerie Martin and Kingsley Amis to Sarah Waters, Jilly Cooper and Elizabeth Jane Howard. At Mrs Lippincote’s is Taylor’s debut novel, first published in 1945. Elizabeth TaylorIt is a minutely observed account of a family in wartime, following the story of Roddy who, posted away from London, rents a house from a widow, Mrs Lippincote. The landlady remains ever-present in the house through her family photographs on the mantelpiece and her possessions in the cupboards. Julia’s life has a transitory feel, she is where she is because of her husband and war, war which is ever-present on every page, and she is curious about the life of the Lippincote family. This is not a war novel about bombs and sirens, it is the snapshot of a normal family living in abnormal times.
The Davenants live at Mrs Lippincote’s with their sickly, seven-year-old book-obsessed son Oliver, and Roddy’s cousin Eleanor. Eleanor, in love with her cousin, finds new friends via a fellow schoolteacher. Julia becomes close to the Wing Commander, Roddy’s boss, while Oliver makes friends with the boss’s daughter Felicity. The latter is an expert at identifying the type of military aircraft flying overhead, a revelation for Oliver who is in the process of re-living the life of Alan Breck Stewart in RL Stevenson’s Kidnapped. His love of books is shared with his mother who constantly refers her real life situation to that of the Brontes and their fictional characters.
Roddy in turn is exasperated by his wife. ‘When he had married Julia, he had thought her woefully ignorant of the world; had looked forward, indeed, to assisting her development. But she had been grown up all the time; or, at least, she had not changed. The root of the trouble was not ignorance at all, but the refusal to accept. ‘If only she would!’ he thought now, staring at her; ‘If only she would accept.’ At a time when women are, for the second time in decades, assuming the jobs of men during wartime, Julia is trapped in a domestic life determined for her by her husband and his boss.
There are 11 Elizabeth Taylor novels waiting to be read, plus numerous short stories, and this makes me happy.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT THIS BOOK AT AMAZON

Read my reviews of other books by Elizabeth Taylor:-
A VIEW OF THE HARBOUR
A WREATH OF ROSES
ANGEL
IN A SUMMER SEASON
THE SLEEPING BEAUTY

If you like this, try:-
‘The Paying Guests’ by Sarah Waters
‘The Light Years’ by Elizabeth Jane Howard
‘Life After Life’ by Kate Atkinson

And if you’d like to tweet a link to THIS post, here’s my suggested tweet:
#BookReview AT MRS LIPPINCOTE’S by Elizabeth Taylor via @SandraDanby http://wp.me/p5gEM4-1Pf