Order of Book Series
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William Golding Books in Order

18 books are credited to William Golding, published between 1954 and 1995; 1 of them appeared after William Golding's death in 1993. The first book is Lord of the Flies (1954) and the newest is The Double Tongue (1995). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
18
Published
1954–1995
Pages on record
3,361 in 15 of 18 books
Reading time
56–84 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 3,361 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 15 of 18 titles with a page count on record.

See all 18 books in order Printable William Golding checklist

Sir William Golding (1911-1993) was a British novelist, playwright and poet. Lord of the Flies (1954), his debut, is the book he is known for, and twelve further volumes of fiction appeared in his lifetime. Rites of Passage took the Booker Prize in 1980 and opened the sea trilogy To the Ends of the Earth; the Nobel Prize in Literature followed in 1983 and a knighthood in 1988. Golding was a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and The Times placed him third among the 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Eighteen catalogued titles close with The Double Tongue (1995).

How many William Golding books are there?

William Golding has 18 books, released between 1954 and 1995. 1 of them were published after William Golding's death in 1993. 3 of them belong to the To the Ends of the Earth series.

William Golding Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 18 William Golding books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of Lord of the Flies by William Golding (1954)
  2. Cover of The Inheritors by William Golding (1955)
  3. Cover of Pincher Martin / The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin by William Golding (1956)
  4. Cover of The Spire by William Golding (1964)
  5. Cover of The Pyramid by William Golding (1967)
  6. Cover of The Scorpion God by William Golding (1971)
  7. Cover of Darkness Visible by William Golding (1979)
  8. Cover of Rites of Passage by William Golding, book 1 of the To the Ends of the Earth series (1980)
  9. Cover of A Moving Target by William Golding (1982)
  10. Cover of The Paper Men by William Golding (1984)
  11. Cover of An Egyptian Journal by William Golding (1985)
  12. Cover of Close Quarters by William Golding, book 2 of the To the Ends of the Earth series (1987)
  13. Cover of Fire Down Below by William Golding, book 3 of the To the Ends of the Earth series (1989)
  14. Cover of The Double Tongue by William Golding (1995)
  1. 1
    Lord of the Flies1954 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1954192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 2
    The Inheritors1955 · 233 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1955233
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 3
    Pincher Martin / The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin1956 · 216 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1956216
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 4
    Sometime, Never1957 · confirmed 2/4
    1957–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 5
    The Brass Butterfly1958 · 80 pages · confirmed 2/4
    195880
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 6
    Free Fall1959 · 304 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1959304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 7
    The Spire1964 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1964224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 8
    The Hot Gates and Other Occasional Pieces1965 · confirmed 2/4
    1965–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 9
    The Pyramid1967 · 224 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1967224
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 10
    The Scorpion God1971 · 178 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1971178
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 11
    Darkness Visible1979 · 272 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1979272
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 12
    Rites of PassageTo the Ends of the Earth #11980 · 278 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1980278
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 13
    A Moving Target1982 · 202 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1982202
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 14
    The Paper Men1984 · 192 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1984192
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 15
    An Egyptian Journal1985 · confirmed 2/4
    1985–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 16
    Close QuartersTo the Ends of the Earth #21987 · 281 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1987281
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 17
    Fire Down BelowTo the Ends of the Earth #31989 · 320 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1989320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 18
    The Double Tongue1995 · 165 pages · confirmed 2/4
    1995165
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

William Golding books grouped by series

Each title below is a row in the publication-order table above. None of these groups has a reading-order page of its own on this site.

To the Ends of the Earth in order

3 books
  1. 1. Rites of Passage
  2. 2. Close Quarters
  3. 3. Fire Down Below

Standalone books

15 books

15 William Golding titles here are not listed as part of any series.

Do you have to read William Golding books in order?

You only need to read William Golding books in order within the To the Ends of the Earth series, which holds 3 of the 18 William Golding books listed here. The numbered table above gives every book in publication order.

Where to start with William Golding

Start with Lord of the Flies (1954), the earliest published title.

What is the newest William Golding book?

The Double Tongue (1995) is the newest William Golding book released so far.

Is there a new William Golding book coming?

No next William Golding book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

Awards William Golding has won

Wikidata records 3 awards for William Golding. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.

  • Nobel Prize in Literature1983Won
  • Booker Prize1980Wonfor Rites of Passage
  • James Tait Black Memorial Prize1979Won

William Golding at a glance

Died
William Golding died in 1993, according to Wikidata.
After death
Books credited to William Golding are still being published after William Golding's death in 1993; the newest appeared in 1995.
Release pace
William Golding books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
Length
3,361 pages across the 15 of 18 books with a recorded length, a median of 224 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most William Golding books, 6 of 18, were published in the 1980s.

What the William Golding books are about

All 18 William Golding books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: science fiction is tagged on 3 of 18. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.