 First edition cover | |
| Author | William Golding |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Faber & Faber |
Publication date | 1971 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 178 |
| ISBN | 978-0-571-09866-8 UK first edition hardcover |
The Scorpion God is a collection of three novellas[1] by William Golding published in 1971. They are all set in the distant past: "The Scorpion God" in ancient Egypt, "Clonk Clonk" in pre-historic Africa, and "Envoy Extraordinary" in ancient Rome. A draft of "The Scorpion God" had been written but abandoned in 1964, "Clonk Clonk" was newly written for the book, and "Envoy Extraordinary" had been published before, in 1956. "Envoy Extraordinary" became a play called The Brass Butterfly which was performed first in Oxford and later in London and New York.
This was Golding's first publication since The Pyramid in 1967 and his last until Darkness Visible in 1979, which he started to write in 1975 after a long period of "creative hibernation", the beginning of which is described in a journal he started at the time, under the heading 'History of a Crisis'.[2][3]
- ^ Drabble, Margaret (ed.). "Golding, Sir William (1911-93)". The Oxford Companion to English Literature (6th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 416. ISBN 978-0-198-61453-1.
- ^ Carey, John (2012). "Chapter 23. The Scorpion God and 'History Of A Crisis'". William Golding: The Man who Wrote Lord of the Flies. Free Press. pp. 327–338. ISBN 978-1-4391-8732-6.
- ^ Carey, John (2012). "Chapter 24. The Gap Years". William Golding: The Man who Wrote Lord of the Flies. Free Press. pp. 339–363. ISBN 978-1-4391-8732-6.