This book is intended for all readers of William Golding, whether they be students, professional critics, or casual readers. Thirty years after the publication of Lord of the Flies, a complete Golding bibliography would consist of well over 2000 entries. To add to this mass of exegesis must be at the risk of burying Golding’s work under yet more writing about his writing. This study does not claim to be an interpretation of the novels: it does not set out to explain what they mean. Rather, the aim has been to explore the ways in which the novels create meaning.