Golding, William | First edition, with autograph letter signed

Golding, William

Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber, 1954 [with] autograph letter signed

8vo (191 x 123 mm). Half-title. Publisher's red cloth, spine lettered in white, in the pictorial dustjacket with the original price uncut; slightly shelf-cocked, lightly bumped at head, dustjacket a little browned with 2 short closed tears to head and tiny chips at head of spine. In a red quarter morocco slipcase with folding chemise. [With]: Autograph letter (175 x 112 mm) signed by Golding, written recto and verso in red ink on blue paper; old horizontal fold, light creasing.

First edition of Golding's classic, accompanied by a signed letter. While Golding was unwilling to offer his own analysis, other critics have not been so reticent: "Lord of the Flies is not an examination of the idiosyncratic nature of a group of young English boys, but of the essential nature of humanity itself, its predisposition to violence and cruelty when removed from the restraining influences of civilization..." (Kevin McCarron, Oxford DNB).

The letter accompanying the volume, dated 3 July, reads, "Dear Mr. Woods | Thank you for your letter. I can't agree to reviewing novels because I very seldom read them. If I read anything nowadays, it is Greek and books about Greek—not a very likely subject for reviewing outside the Journal of Hellenic Studies | Yours sincerely | William Golding"

REFERENCE

Gekoski & Grogan A2(a)