First published in 1954, Lord of the Flies is now recognised as a classic, one of the most celebrated and widely read of modern novels. In compiling the notes they have borne in mind the needs of younger readers not only in this country but overseas.
Golding's best-known novel is the story of a group of boys who, after a plane crash, set up a fragile community on a previously uninhabited island. As memories of home recede and the blood from frenzied pig-hunts arouses them, the boys' childish fear turns into something deeper and more primitive.