Close Quarters : A Novel

Sequel to the Man Booker Prize-winning Rites of Passage

To the Ends of the Earth, William Golding's great sea trilogy, presents the extraordinary story of a warship's troubled journey to Australia in the early 1800s. Told through the pages of Edmund Talbot's journal--with equal measure of wit and disdain--it records the mounting tensions and growing misfortunes aboard the ancient ship.

An instant maritime classic, and one of Golding's finest achievements, the trilogy was adapted into a major BBC/PBS Masterpiece miniseries staring Benedict Cumberbatch, Jared Harris and Sam Neill.

To the Ends of the Earth:
1. Rites of Passage
2. Close Quarters
3. Fire Down Below

“Golding's shipboard image-making (the two British vessels as a social microcosm, the old warship self-destructing) remains powerful, his ironic eloquence is a verbal treat--and those who relish his characteristic blend of cheer and dread will find this a more-than-respectable bridge from Rites of Passage to the trilogy's conclusion.” - Kirkus Reviews

“Accomplished storytelling.” - Publishers Weekly

“A work of ferocious energy, controlled with all the skill and cunning of a master. One eagerly awaits the final volume.” - The Spectator

“The evocation of atmosphere and the depiction of a little floating world that is mortally stricken are superb... Deeply engrossing and written with the infinite care that one has come to expect of Golding.” - Chicago Tribune