# Lord of the Flies

**Author:** William Golding
**Lexile:** 770L
**Grade range:** Grades 9–12
**Age range:** 14–18
**First published:** 1954
**Page count:** 224
**Genre:** Allegory
**ISBN-13:** `9780399501487`
**ISBN-10:** `0399501487`
**Canonical URL:** https://readinglist.school/book/lord-of-the-flies
**License:** [CC BY 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please credit ReadingList.school when citing.

## About this book

A group of British boys stranded on an uninhabited island attempt to govern themselves with disastrous results. Nobel laureate William Golding's 1954 allegory is a foundational text of 9th-10th grade English curricula across the United States and is cited in Common Core Appendix B as a grade 9-10 exemplar.

## Themes

- civilization vs savagery
- loss of innocence
- power
- human nature

## Content notes

- violence
- death of children
- mob psychology

Common Sense Media age recommendation: 13+

## Where this book is assigned

### AP English Literature & Composition

- **recommended** · 11th grade — [source: AP Lit representative text list](https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-english-literature-and-composition)

### Cambridge IGCSE English Literature (0475)

- **required** · 10th grade — [source: Cambridge IGCSE Literature set text (current cycle)](https://www.cambridgeinternational.org/programmes-and-qualifications/cambridge-igcse-literature-english-0475/)

### Common Core State Standards (ELA)

- **recommended** · 9th grade — [source: CCSS ELA Appendix B, grades 9-10 exemplar](https://achievethecore.org/page/2699)
- **recommended** · 9th grade · Texas — [source: TEKS English I frequently taught text](https://tea.texas.gov/)
- **recommended** · 9th grade · Virginia — [source: FCPS English 9 core text adoption](https://www.fcps.edu/academics)

---

_Generated from primary-source citations indexed on ReadingList.school. For the full HTML view with reading-list cross-references, see https://readinglist.school/book/lord-of-the-flies._