The Inheritors

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.