''The Paper Men'' is a 1984 novel by British writer

William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel '' Lord of the Flies'' (1954), Golding published another 12 volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 19 ...

Plot summary

The novel follows Wilfred Barclay, an alcoholic and middle-aged writer trapped in an unhappy marriage, and his conflict with Rick Tucker, a young professor determined to write Barclay's biography. Barclay tries to escape Tucker’s attention by fleeing to Europe. Tucker is desperate to gain control over the writer's personal papers as he pursues Barclay across Europe.

Origins

Golding was inspired to write the novel when reading

Carlos Baker Carlos Baker (May 5, 1909 – April 18, 1987) was an American writer, biographer and former Woodrow Wilson Professor of Literature at Princeton University. Baker was born in 1909 in Biddeford, Maine. He received his A.B. from Dartmouth College ...

's biography of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

. Wilfred Barclay is to some extent a self-portrait by Golding, who was not patient with his critics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paper Men, The Novels by William Golding 1984 British novels Novels about writers Faber & Faber books