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Ha is the strongest male of the group of Neanderthals portrayed in The Inheritors and is intelligent and thoughtful. Described by Golding as ‘the man for […]

In The Inheritors Mal is the oldest member of the Neanderthal group.  At the beginning of the novel, he is clearly very frail but is […]

Rachel is the wife of Roger Mason, the master builder, The Spire. Dean Jocelin compares her unfavourably to Goody Pangall and thinks of her as […]

In The Spire, Pangall and his wife Goody live within the walls of the Cathedral in a cottage – Pangall’s Kingdom – which is being […]

Lady Alison is Jocelin’s aunt and principal benefactor in The Spire. She is a scandalous character, having conducted an affair with the king. As such, […]

Music is a major theme in some of Golding’s novels, particularly The Pyramid, but it also plays a minor, but important role in others, including Pincher Martin […]

In The Spire, Goody is married to Pangall, the impotent servant of the cathedral.  At the beginning of the novel, she is described by Dean […]

Religion is a theme in many of Golding’s novels, including The Inheritors, The Spire and Darkness Visible.

Golding’s biographer, John Carey, writes that Savernake Forest, on the outskirts of Marlborough,Wiltshire, was the inspiration for the setting of The Inheritors. Golding’s parents would take him […]

In 2005 the BBC produced a mini-series adaptation of Golding’s A Sea Trilogy, called To the Ends of the Earth. Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Edmund Talbot, […]

Building work on Salisbury Cathedral began in the 1200s, and the tower and magnificent spire were completed in the 1330s. Golding taught at Bishop Wordworth’s […]