Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Brass Butterfly | 1958 | William Golding | Buy |
William Golding’s dramatic work consists of The Brass Butterfly (1958), a play set in ancient Rome. The play explores themes of innovation and power that echo his fiction’s interest in the consequences of human ambition.
The Brass Butterfly is based on Golding’s own short story “Envoy Extraordinary” and was first performed in London with Alastair Sim in the lead role. The plot centers on an inventor who presents dangerous new technologies to a Roman emperor, and the emperor’s decision about whether to allow them to exist. It is a comedy, which sets it apart from the darker tone of Golding’s novels.
The play is not widely performed today, and copies can be difficult to find. But readers interested in Golding’s full range of work will appreciate seeing him write for the stage, especially since the themes of civilization, power, and what happens when people are given tools they may not be ready for are consistent with his fiction.