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Cover of Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Lord of the Flies

by William Golding

Schoolboys build a society from scratch and discover how quickly rules can give way to fear and violence.

Published
1954
Setting
Shelf rating
4.4

The story, briefly

Spoiler-free

Stranded without adults, a group of boys choose leaders, divide responsibilities, and try to keep order. Their small society becomes a test of what power and fear do to civilization.

Why we recommend it

  1. A society becoming violent

    It uses one isolated community to ask how rules, leadership, and fear collapse.

What this book explores

Book editions

Paperback
Paperback

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References

References

The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Lord of the Flies, its publication, and its place in literary history.

  1. 1Lord of the Flies — Open Library ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Open Library, Internet Archive
    Used for

    Open Library ISBN catalogue used to verify the title, ISBN, and publication metadata.

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  2. 2Lord of the Flies — Google Books edition record

    Official record
    Google Books
    Used for

    Google Books catalogue record used to cross-check the title and edition metadata.

    View source

  1. 3Lord of the Flies — Internet Archive ISBN catalogue

    Official record
    Internet Archive
    Used for

    Internet Archive ISBN catalogue used to cross-check the edition and its availability in library holdings.

    View source

  2. 4Lord of the Flies — Library of Congress books catalogue

    Official record
    Library of Congress
    Used for

    Library of Congress books catalogue used to cross-check the bibliographic record by ISBN.

    View source
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Why these sources are here

The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.

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