William Golding began writing Lord of the Flies in 1951, while he was a teacher at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury.

After the manuscript had been rejected by a number of leading publishing houses, Golding finally sent the tatty typescript to Faber & Faber, together with an accompanying letter. It had already been rejected by the firm’s reader when it was spotted by a new and aspiring editor, Charles Monteith, who was allowed by the firm to take it on, provided significant cuts were made.

These were made by Golding, after extensive correspondence with Monteith. Given a new title, Lord of the Flies, it became one of the most iconic novels of the 20th century. We have assembled a few pieces from the Faber archive and the William Golding Estate to illustrate the story.

Letters exchanged between Golding and Faber & Faber

William Golding to Faber & Faber, 14 September 1953

William Golding’s original submission letter for Lord of the Flies, then named Strangers From Within. It was annotated by the Faber Reader at the time: ‘Time: the Future. Absurd & uninteresting fantasy about the explosion of an atom bomb on the colonies. A group of children who land in jungle country near New Guinea. Rubbish & dull. Pointless. Reject.’

Taken from Faber & Faber: The Untold Story by Toby Faber

Charles Monteith to William Golding, 30 December 1953

Monteith’s letter to Golding at the end of 1953 contains his thoughts on the characterisation of Simon:

‘In the early stages I feel it is enough simple to indicate that he is in some way odd, different, withdrawn: and therefore capable of the lonely, rarified courage of facing the pig’s head and climbing to the mountain top.’

William Golding to Charles Monteith, 10 January 1954

In response to the last letter, Golding sends through the final text and confirms he has incorporated all of Monteith’s edits:

‘I’ve lost any kind of objectivity I ever had over this novel and can hardly bear to look at it.’

Charles Monteith to William Golding, 25 February 1954

Monteith’s letter to Golding suggesting various edits to the text, including the new title suggestion of Lord of the Flies.

‘This isn’t my own suggestion; it occurred to someone else here,’ writes Monteith. ‘I myself am rather inclined to think that it is a good one. It comes, of course, from one of the important and memorable episodes in the book and we all think that it’s the sort of title which would make an impression and would help the book’s sales. If, of course, you object to it, we shouldn’t dream of pressing it on you, but if you agree we should be perfectly prepared to accept it.’

Alternative titles for Lord of the Flies

A number of titles were suggested by the team at Faber as shown here, grouped by initials. One of the editor’s suggestions was The Isle is Full of Noises, a reference to a speech by Caliban in The Tempest.