William Golding was a prominent English novelist and winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize for literature. He is known for novels like Lord of the Flies that explore the dark side of human nature. Lord of the Flies tells the story of British boys stranded on an island who descend into violence without adult guidance. Golding believed that anarchy ultimately defeats order as government cannot control human's innate barbarism. He wrote over 30 novels, short stories, plays and essays in his career exploring themes of humanity's fall from innocence.