FROM THE COVER:
When Lord of the Flies appeared in 1954 it received unprecedented reviews for a first novel. Critics used such phrases as "beautifully written, tragic and provocative. . . vivid and enthralling. . . this beautiful and desperate book. . . completely convincing and often very frightening. . . its progress is magnificent. . . like a fragment of nightmare. . . a dizzy climax of terror
. . . the terrible spell of this book. . . ."

Time and Tide touched upon perhaps the most important facet of this book when it said, "It is not only a first-rate adventure story but a parable of our times," and articles on this and subsequent Golding novels have stressed these twin aspects of Golding: a consummate control of the novel form, and a superb all-encompassing vision of reality which communicates itself with a power reminiscent of Conrad.

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