William Golding: The Faber Letters review the making of a masterpiece

"When William Golding submitted Lord of the Flies to Faber in 1953 it had already been rejected at least seven times, maybe as many as 20. Charles Monteith could tell from the dog-eared typescript that it had done the rounds, and a reader for Faber called it absurd and uninteresting Rubbish and dull. Pointless. But Monteith, young and new to the job, could see the book's potential, and suggested ways that Golding then a Salisbury-based schoolmaster in his early 40s might improve it."

"Their early exchanges by post were formal in the extreme: it took two years for Dear Monteith, Dear Golding to become Dear Charles, Dear Bill. But as provincial grammar school boys who both read English at Oxford, the two were attuned to each other. And after the rescue act performed on his first novel, Golding remained humbly grateful for whatever help he could get: I'm in your hands as usual. I've no particular feeling of possession over the book."

"Monteith's touch was gentle for the next few years: enthusiastic, even effusive, he reassured Golding that his drafts of The Inheritors and Free Fall were the finished product. With later novels, such as The Spire and Rites of Passage, editorial feedback was tougher and more extensive. But there were no fallings out. I've always had a feeling of you there, present but not breathing down my neck! Golding said. He never seriously considered moving to another publishing house."

William Golding's Lord of the Flies endured numerous rejections before Charles Monteith at Faber recognized its potential and proposed substantive improvements. Monteith's editorial guidance led Golding to cut and revise the manuscript until it became a school syllabus classic. The professional collaboration evolved into a forty-year friendship that began with extremely formal correspondence and later became more familiar. Monteith offered gentle encouragement on early novels and firmer, more extensive feedback on later works. Golding repeatedly expressed gratitude and persistent anxieties about productivity, readership, and financial success, yet he remained loyal to Monteith and the publishing house.

Read at www.theguardian.com