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Lord of the Flies has long been a popular title for schools and can now be read in graphic novel format illustrated by Aimée de Jongh.

Aimée is a renowned graphic novelist. Her debut The Return of the Honey Buzzard won the Prix Saint-Michel and was adapted to a live-action film whilst her graphic novel Days of Sand was an international bestseller, and nominated for two Eisner awards. She has been published in eleven languages to date.

This graphic novel version is a retelling of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.  Golding is widely acknowledged as one of the most influential writers of modern times. Lord of the Flies, was his first novel and has been read by millions.  It has been translated into more than forty-five languages and adapted for screen and stage drama and now into a graphic novel. He drew on his own experience as a teacher and his service in the Second World War, where – as he says – he saw ‘what one man could do to another’.

Aimée very kindly answered some questions for us about turning one of the most popular titles for schools into the graphic novel format…

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When did you first read Lord of the Flies, and how did you come to end up adapting it?

I must have been 14 or 15 years old. In English class, we used to read the British literary classics and discuss them. At some point we could choose a book from the reading list and I chose Lord of the Flies. My mother even gave me her copy to read. I fell in love with Golding’s writing. It became one of my favourite books. About 10 years ago, I already dreamt of drawing a Lord of the Flies adaptation, but it was not possible at that time. Thankfully, years later, my Faber editor came back to me and asked me if I was still interested. They had been talking with the estate about a graphic novel adaptation. Of course I said yes! I’m still pinching myself that it actually happened, it’s such a gorgeous novel to work with.

Was there a particular mood you were trying to convey.

How did you do that?

What always stood out for me was how Golding describes the beautiful island and then the violence that takes place.

I tried to emphasize that contrast through the drawings.

As you read, Golding’s story gets darker and darker, and I chose to visualize that literally: you will notice the colours at the start of the book are way brighter than at the end.

How has your own previous work influenced your adaptation of Lord of the Flies?

Perhaps in the way that human nature has played a role in each of my graphic novels. But the most clear example must be that in my debut graphic novel from 2014, the main characters were named Simon and Ralph, as a small ode to Lord of the Flies!

Do you have a favourite section of the book – did that translate as your favourite illustration?

One of my favourite scenes is when the boys first explore the island. And indeed, I think that it translated to my favourite illustration. There’s an image spread out over 2-pages, where the boys are drawn very small and the beautiful forest surrounds them. If you had to ask me my personal favourite, that would be it.

Which characters or scenes were the trickiest and also the most satisfying to illustrate?

The small boys on the island have nightmares at night, of all kinds of monsters existing on the island. That was difficult to draw, because these monsters don’t exist – they’re simply night terrors. While drawing the monsters I didn’t want the reader to think they were actually there, and I struggled with that. But it was very satisfying to draw them in the end – I mean, who gets to draw monsters for a living?

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You can read more about this beautiful version of the classic novel Lord of the Flies, and discover our discounts for schools, by clicking the image to the left.  Thank you once again to Aimée for sharing a little bit about bringing such a well known and loved story to life so vibrantly.