It was named in the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, reaching number 41 on the editor's list, and 25 on the reader's list. The novel, which was Golding's debut, was generally well received. Themes include the tension between groupthink and individuality, between rational and emotional reactions, and between morality and immorality. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Lord of the Flies is a 1954 novel by the Nobel laureate British author William Golding.
