The Spire

William Golding

£9.99

Available on back-order

Dean Jocelin has a vision: that God has chosen him to erect a great spire on his cathedral. His mason anxiously advises against it, for the old cathedral was built without foundations. Nevertheless, the spire rises octagon upon octagon, pinnacle by pinnacle, until the stone pillars shriek and the ground beneath it swims. Its shadow falls ever darker on the world below, and on Dean Jocelin in particular.

ISBN: 9780571362332 Category:

Description

Succumb to a churchman’s apocalyptic vision in this prophetic tale by the radical Nobel Laureate and author of Lord of the Flies, introduced by Benjamin Myers (narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch as an audiobook).

There were three sorts of people. Those who ran, those who stayed, and those who were built in.

Dean 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 …

Astounding … So recklessly beautiful, so sad and so strange … Holds such a place in my soul that it’s more or less a sacred text.’ Sarah Perry

‘A kind of miracle … Genius.’ Guardian

‘A visionary … Golding at his best.’
Benjamin Myers

Quite simply, a marvel.’ NYRB

A superb tragedy A classic.’ Rebecca West

‘A master fabulist .. An iconoclast.’ John Fowles

Additional information

Weight 0.228 kg
Dimensions 19.8 × 12.9 × 1.6 cm
Author

Publisher

Imprint

Cover

Paperback

Pages

x, 253

Language

English

Edition

Reprint

Dewey

823.914 (edition:23)

Readership

General – Trade / Code: K

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