Why Lord of the Flies author William Golding didn’t put girls on his classic novel’s island

When Judy Carver was growing up, her father, a schoolteacher, repeatedly mailed a story to London, but it was always returned to him, much to his disappointment. She later learned the story was called “Strangers from Within.”

The house was filled with joy when Judy learned her father’s story would be published as a book. She heard the name “Faber and Faber” so many times she mistakenly thought it was the title! But it was actually the publisher of Lord of the Flies, written by her father, William Golding. The book came out in September 1954, when Judy was nine years old. Now, 72 years later, Lord of the Flies is enjoying renewed popularity as a four-part drama series on BBC One, with the final episode airing this week.

Judy Carver recalls a well-worn manuscript that had been passed around to publishers. She remembers that editor Charles Monteith at Faber noticed it was dog-eared, meaning people had started reading it but didn’t finish. He continued reading, and ultimately changed her father’s life.

Judy thinks William Golding made a good decision changing the book’s title to Lord of the Flies. This title, which historically refers to the Devil and evokes a disturbing image from the story, was better than her father’s initial suggestion. It suits the novel’s dark and mysterious tone – the story follows a group of schoolboys stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash during a nuclear emergency, and details how they quickly break into violent, rival groups. However, does the title Strangers from Within more clearly highlight the book’s central idea: how people change when faced with extreme circumstances?

Judy continued, “That word ‘strangers’ really struck me. My father wrote an essay about how we’re all struggling with just being human – he described it as a kind of inner pain, like a harmful growth inside us.”

Golding actually found the fame of his novel frustrating. His daughter revealed in her 2012 memoir that photographer Lord Snowdon once congratulated Golding on writing The Lord of the Rings – the well-known book by J.R.R. Tolkien – and Golding reacted with anger.

Judy explained that this error happened repeatedly. She believes he realized Snowdon was trying to provoke a reaction, but he couldn’t help appearing angry in the photo. She’s learned to accept that it still occurs. Judy thought Snowdon was smart to do it, as her father enjoyed defying how people expected the author of Lord of the Flies to behave – he often smiled and told jokes instead.

William Golding’s classic novel, Lord of the Flies, has reached a huge audience through books, films, and now television. But what was one young reader’s initial reaction? Judy recalls being nine years old when the book came out and her father letting her read the first fifty pages before it became violent. What stuck with her wasn’t the darkness, but a connection to a book she already loved – Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome.

I first read Lord of the Flies at fourteen, and the feeling of unease it created has stayed with me. While I don’t avoid rereading it, it’s still a difficult book to get through, simply because it’s so profoundly sad.

Modern viewers might be surprised by the all-male cast of the TV adaptation of Lord of the Flies. Judy recalls that when the book was first optioned for a film, producer Sam Goldwyn wanted to include girls on the island, but Golding, the author, firmly opposed the idea. He believed adding girls would fundamentally alter the story and necessitate the inclusion of elements like romantic relationships.

One curious detail about the book is that the evacuation flights appear to have only carried boys. If the goal was to start a new population somewhere else, it seems odd that girls weren’t included. The author notes there’s more information in the original manuscript, and while he doesn’t recall any mention of girls, he’s willing to double-check, acknowledging it’s a valid point to consider.

Judy got in touch and pointed out something in the first paragraph of the original draft. It mentioned politicians sending “a job lot of children” overseas, but her father had actually crossed out “children” and written “boys” instead.

That single act of writing launched what would become known as a guide to understanding men. Golding, having taught boys, did the book focus on the male mind? His son explains that Golding never explicitly stated that was his intention. Instead, he emphasized his experience as a son, brother, and father, giving him insight into boys but not girls. Interestingly, it seems Golding didn’t fully recognize his own daughter’s perspective. However, his son doesn’t believe he intended the book to be about what we now refer to as ‘toxic masculinity’.

Sir Tom Stoppard once shared that his sons received poor grades on essays about his own play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, after he assisted them with their writing. This raises the question: did any of William Golding’s descendants ever have to study Lord of the Flies in school?

I really enjoyed that Stoppard story. When my children were in school, the teachers made sure they weren’t put in the classes where they studied Lord of the Flies. As far as I know, my grandchildren haven’t been taught it either, though one of them was suggested to read The Inheritors by Golding – a book about Neanderthals – but I don’t think he ever got around to it.

While Golding wrote other novels, including The Spire (1964) about a troubled cathedral builder, Lord of the Flies became so strongly associated with him that a biographer titled their work The Man Who Wrote Lord of the Flies. It makes you wonder if Golding ever wished people saw more than just that one book as his greatest achievement.

I always felt my father lived with a deep fear of regretting his decisions, especially because they led to such big changes in his life. Even late in life, when he was in his sixties, he’d have this recurring nightmare about Charles Monteith rejecting the book – it clearly still felt like a risky move to him. He approached praise and interviews with the same caution, almost as if he believed accepting them would somehow jinx everything. He really felt like he was tempting fate if things went too well.

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Judy remembers her father, when asked about his favorite books, always starting with The Inheritors and The Spire. He’d then sheepishly admit, “And Lord of the Flies isn’t bad either!”

William Golding initially opposed any film adaptation of his novel, but he grew to appreciate Peter Brook’s 1963 movie, particularly its black-and-white visuals and the choral music composed by Raymond Leppard, a fan of Benjamin Britten. In fact, the current BBC adaptation deliberately includes music by Britten himself. However, Golding refused to watch the 1990 version directed by Harry Hook, and reviews seemed to confirm his concerns about its quality.

The BBC adapted William Golding’s sea voyage trilogy into the mini-series To the Ends of the Earth in 2005, featuring Benedict Cumberbatch and Jared Harris. It’s currently available on Amazon Prime. However, according to Judy, who manages the Golding estate, most people are still more interested in his novel Lord of the Flies.

As a film buff, I’ve known for ages that a really talented director had the rights to adapt ‘The Spire,’ but it looks like that’s fallen through. I keep hearing about people wanting to turn ‘The Spire’ into an opera, which sounds cool, and there was this one incredibly persistent guy who was trying to get an animated version of ‘The Inheritors’ made – that would’ve been fascinating! Sadly, none of these projects ever really took off. But maybe, just maybe, things are about to change.

Find the newest updates on the RT Book Club, including author interviews, Q&As, and reviews of past selections, at The TopMob Book Club.

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Mark Lawson

2026-02-23 20:41

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