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The Inheritors

Author William Golding
Foreword by Ben Okri
Contributions by Rachel Greenwald Smith
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Hunt, trek, and feast among Neanderthals in this stunning novel by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Ben Okri

A Penguin Classic

When spring comes, the people leave their winter cave, foraging for honey, grubs, and the hot richness of a deer’s brain. They awaken the fire to heat their naked bodies, lay down their thorn bushes, and share pictures in their minds. But strange things are happening: inexplicable scents and sounds. Imaginable beasts are half-glimpsed in the forest; upright creatures of bone-faces and deerskins. What the people do not know is that their day is already over.
William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. After graduating from Oxford, he worked briefly as a theater actor and director, wrote poetry, and then became a schoolteacher. In 1940, a year after England entered World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy, where he participated in the invasion of Normandy. Golding’s experience in World War II had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. After the war, Golding resumed teaching and started to write novels. His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954), which ultimately became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after more than twenty publishers rejected it. In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Golding died in 1993. View titles by William Golding

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Hunt, trek, and feast among Neanderthals in this stunning novel by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Ben Okri

A Penguin Classic

When spring comes, the people leave their winter cave, foraging for honey, grubs, and the hot richness of a deer’s brain. They awaken the fire to heat their naked bodies, lay down their thorn bushes, and share pictures in their minds. But strange things are happening: inexplicable scents and sounds. Imaginable beasts are half-glimpsed in the forest; upright creatures of bone-faces and deerskins. What the people do not know is that their day is already over.

Author

William Golding was born on September 19, 1911, in Cornwall, England. After graduating from Oxford, he worked briefly as a theater actor and director, wrote poetry, and then became a schoolteacher. In 1940, a year after England entered World War II, Golding joined the Royal Navy, where he participated in the invasion of Normandy. Golding’s experience in World War II had a profound effect on his view of humanity and the evils of which it was capable. After the war, Golding resumed teaching and started to write novels. His first and greatest success came with Lord of the Flies (1954), which ultimately became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States after more than twenty publishers rejected it. In 1983 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Golding died in 1993. View titles by William Golding

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