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'This was a different voice; not the voice of the people. It was the voice of other'.
Golding considered this his finest novel and it is a beautifully realised tale about the last days of the Neanderthal people and our fear of the ‘other’ and the unfamiliar. The action is revealed through the eyes of the Neanderthals whose peaceful world is threatened by the emergence of Homo sapiens.
The struggle between the simple Neanderthals and the malevolent modern humans ends in helpless despair, although there is perhaps some hope for the continued presence of Neanderthals in our modern world. Featuring similar themes to Lord of the Flies, although with very different content, this is a book about the breakdown of a civilisation and uncompromising savagery.
‘Powerful and provocative … Each time I revisit The Inheritors I find something new’. – Penelope Lively.
Golding discusses the conflict between the Neanderthals and the New People.
The landscape in The Inheritors was inspired by Golding’s visits to Savernake Forest, Wiltshire.
The little Oa is a tree root carried by Liku in The Inheritors. It is ‘fantastically … twisted and bulged and smoothed away by age […]
Round-up of William Golding in the news in November 2020! As the 2020 US Presidential election unfolded, Lord of the Flies was a frequent referent in news […]
'However many times you have read it, it is still alarming, eye-opening, desolating, mind-invading and unique'.
John Carey