{"product_id":"the-spire-isbn-9780143138815","title":"The Spire","description":"\u003cb\u003eSuccumb to a churchman’s apocalyptic vision in this prophetic tale by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of \u003ci\u003eLord of the Flies\u003c\/i\u003e, introduced by Benjamin Myers\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA Penguin Classic\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire. His master builder fearfully advises against it, for the old cathedral was miraculously built without foundations. But Jocelin is obsessed with fashioning his prayer in stone. As his halo of hair grows wilder and his dark angel darker, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, watched over by the gargoyles – until the stone pillars shriek, the earth beneath creeps, and the spire’s shadow falls like an axe on the medieval world below.\u003cb\u003eWilliam Golding \u003c\/b\u003e(1911– 1993) was born in Cornwall, England, in 1911 and educated at Oxford University. His first book, \u003ci\u003ePoems\u003c\/i\u003e, was published in 1934. Following a stint in the Royal Navy and other diversions during and after World War II, Golding wrote his first novel, \u003ci\u003eLord of the Flies \u003c\/i\u003e(1954), while teaching school. Many novels followed, including \u003ci\u003eThe Inheritors \u003c\/i\u003e(1955), \u003ci\u003ePincher Martin \u003c\/i\u003e(1956), and \u003ci\u003eFree Fall \u003c\/i\u003e(1959), as well as a play, \u003ci\u003eThe Brass Butterfly \u003c\/i\u003e(1958), and a collection of shorter works, \u003ci\u003eThe Hot Gates and Other Occasional Pieces \u003c\/i\u003e(1965). He received the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for \u003ci\u003eDarkness Visible \u003c\/i\u003e(1979) and the Booker Prize for \u003ci\u003eRites of Passage \u003c\/i\u003e(1980). In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature “for his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today.” He was a member of the Royal Society of Literature and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1988. William Golding died in June 1993 and is buried in Holy Trinity churchyard in Bowerchalke, Wiltshire, in England.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBenjamin Myers\u003c\/b\u003e (introduction) is an award-winning author and journalist, whose work includes fiction, non-fiction, poetry and journalism. His novels have been translated into thirteen languages. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eRare Singles\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCuddy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Gallows Pole\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Offing\u003c\/i\u003e and many more.","brand":"Penguin Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233746628837,"sku":"NP9780143138815","price":19.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9780143138815.jpg?v=1767741623","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/the-spire-isbn-9780143138815","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}