We are saddened to hear the news that legendary theatre director, Peter Brook, has died at the age of 97. Brook directed a mesmerising adaptation of Lord of the Flies in 1963 and introduced the novel to a whole new audience. Golding later wrote about Brook in his unpublished journals: ‘I think [Brook] is a genius; and what is more, an evolving one so there is no knowing what he may do and achieve.’
Judy Golding Carver says, ‘My father was astonished by the film of Lord of the Flies. I remember him telling my mother “It was the book”.’ Brook and Golding had been in talks for an adaptation of Pincher Martin in the 1960s, although the film was never realised. It is tantalising to imagine how powerful this could have been.