An extraordinary mixture of the sea, society and the
individual in an early nineteenth century Royal Navy sailing ship
on its way to Australia. What happened to the wretched parson on
his visit to the fo'c'stle to bring Christian enlightenment to the
jolly Jack Tars? What made him will his own death? And how did
Edmund Talbot, the young aristocrat whose journal forms most of the
narrative, respond to the bewildering cast of passengers and crew
in the drama of this confined environment?
A single passenger, the obsequious Reverend Colley, attracts the
animosity of the sailors, and in the seclusion of the fo'castle
something happens to bring him into a 'hell of degradation', where
shame is a force deadlier than the sea itself.
To the Ends of the Earth
To the Ends of the Earth is the 'Sea Trilogy' title for
three of Golding's most gripping - and funniest - novels: Rites
of Passage, Close Quarters, and Fire Down
Below. BBC 2 broadcast a three-part television dramatisation
of the trilogy in May-June 2005. The adaptation starred Benedict
Cumberbatch, Sam Neill, Victoria Hamilton and Jared Harris, and was
filmed partly in South Africa, near Capetown.
BBC TV adaptation of Golding's 'To the Ends of the Earth'
John Carey's new biography of William Golding
Drawing almost entirely on materials that have never before been
made public, John Carey, the distinguished writer and critic, sheds
new light on Golding. Through hundreds of letters, unpublished
works and Golding's intimate journals, Carey draws a revelatory and
definitive portrait of an extraordinary man. In an absorbing and
compelling narrative, he reveals a many-sided figure: a war-hero, a
reclusive depressive who considered himself a 'monster', a family
man, a victim of fears and phobias who battled against alcoholism,
and a writer who trusted the imagination above all things.
Follow the link below to hear 'audio snippets' where Carey reads
from his highly praised new biography.
William Golding: The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies