Close Quarters: A Novel

by William Golding

Overview

Sequel to the Man Booker Prize-winning Rites of Passage

To the Ends of the Earth, William Golding's great sea trilogy, presents the extraordinary story of a warship's troubled journey to Australia in the early 1800s. Told through the pages of Edmund Talbot's journal—with equal measure of wit and disdain—it records the mounting tensions and growing misfortunes aboard the ancient ship.

An instant maritime classic, and one of Golding's finest achievements, the trilogy was adapted into a major BBC/PBS Masterpiece miniseries staring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Harris and Sam Neill.

To the Ends of the Earth:

1. Rites of Passage

2. Close Quarters

3. Fire Down Below

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374526368
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	12/01/1999
Series:	To the Ends of the Earth Series , #2
Pages:	281
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

William Golding (1911–93) was born in Cornwall, England. His first novel, Lord of the Flies, was published in 1954 and became an international bestseller. In 1983, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Editorial Reviews

Golding's shipboard image-making (the two British vessels as a social microcosm, the old warship self-destructing) remains powerful, his ironic eloquence is a verbal treat—and those who relish his characteristic blend of cheer and dread will find this a more-than-respectable bridge from Rites of Passage to the trilogy's conclusion.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Accomplished storytelling.” - Publishers Weekly

“A work of ferocious energy, controlled with all the skill and cunning of a master. One eagerly awaits the final volume.” - The Spectator

“The evocation of atmosphere and the depiction of a little floating world that is mortally stricken are superb... Deeply engrossing and written with the infinite care that one has come to expect of Golding.” - Chicago Tribune

From the Publisher