John Carey has had access to voluminous archives stored in the Faber basement or in the keeping of William Golding's family. No one else may see them; he alone can quote from unpublished novels, journals, memoirs, correspondence and conversations. He has made excellent use of these privileges, and the result is a full, friendly, and on proper occasions candid, account of a remarkable man, who took a long time to achieve an understanding of how truly remarkable he was, and then did so only fitfully.

LRB 5 November 2009 | PDF Download