William Golding, The Inheritors

Peter Childs (Newman University)

Ed. by Peter Childs, Newman University
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.09: English Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary Britain , 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Kerry Myler (Newman University), Jenni Ramone (The Nottingham Trent University)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1955

Places

England (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Novel

Resources

The Inheritors, Golding’s second novel, was published in 1955, the year after Lord of the Flies, and again pitches two groups against one another. He worked on the book quickly, finishing it in under a month in late 1954, and undertook little research to back up his representation of early anthropoids, relying instead on his own imagination, as usual. The book is told primarily from the perspective of one member of the group on whom the narrative is focused, but at the close it moves to an external perspective and then to that of another people who see the first as “red creatures”. Because of their greater technological understanding, their linguistic ability, and their hunting skills, this new group threatens to …

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1843 words

Citation: Childs, Peter. "The Inheritors". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 31 May 2012 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=11695, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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