Lord of the Flies

By William Golding

Book Overview

Celebrating the 40th anniversary of the U.S. publication of William Golding's dystopian classic of boyhood and the savagery of humanity, now a Penguin Classics Black Spine

Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has been labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, and even a vision of the apocalypse, but above all it has earned its place as one of the indisputable classics of the 20th century for readers of any age.

The Lord of the Flies black-spine edition celebrates the 40th anniversary of its publication in the U.S. with a special collection of supplementary materials -- including a foreword by Lois Lowry, a new introduction by scholar Rachel Greenwald Smith, and suggestions for further exploration by scholar Jennifer Buehler -- that further contextualize Golding's novel as an integral work in the last century of literature.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0143139355
• ISBN13: 9780143139355
• Release Date: September 2026
• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.

Customer Reviews

"All we have are the rules."

Ever fantasize that you are on an island free from the restraints of society? William Golding has taken that scenario to the nth degree in this story of a bunch of English boys whose plane wrecked on an island during WWII. We see the fabric of society slowly and most assuredly ripping as the rules are discarded one by one. Golding is very graphic in his description of the demise of pigs and plants. One will never look at fun and games in the same way. In some places, this is mandatory reading as a classic; in other places, it is banned. The book is best known for what it says, not how it says it. In any case, you must read for cultural literature knowledge.

“Very good condition”

Wouldn’t say that it’s in very good condition. Pretty rough shape very old copy.

A classic good read

As someone who is picky with fiction, I genuinely enjoyed every part of this book; I rarely found myself bored and loved reading all the annotations left my the previous reader, it made it so much more immersive and fun

A really enjoyable book

English is not my native language, but now I see why they recommend this book to students. It was really really worth it for me to give it a try.

Sooo Good!

This was a required book for my lit class. I enjoyed it so much I regret not buying a copy. Even the kids who don't usually enjoy reading books for class enjoyed this book.

High School

Many of us were forced to read this novel in High School English class. I am glad I had to read this book, it made me think, but I remember it being gruesome as well!!