Fire Down Below

by William Golding

Published 21 June 1989
The final part of Golding's Sea Trilogy. A decrepit man-of-war is on the last stretch of its voyage to Sydney, blown off course and battered by wind, storm and ice. After a risky operation to reset its foremast with red-hot metal, an unseen fire is smouldering below decks.

Rites of Passage

by William Golding

Published 6 October 1980
In the cabin of an ancient, stinking warship bound for Australia, a man writes a journal to entertain his godfather back in England. With wit and disdain he records mounting tensions on board, as an obsequious clergyman attracts the animosity of the tyrannical captain and surly crew.