Rites of Passage (novel)

To the Ends of the Earth is the name given to a trilogy of nautical, relational novels—Rites of Passage (1980), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989)—that were written by William Golding. The British writer won the Nobel Prize in 1983. These three novels, set on a British former man-of-war transporting migrants to Australia in the early 19th century, explore themes of class (assumed status) and man's reversion to savagery when isolated, in this case, the closed society of the ship's passengers and crew.

The first of the books, Rites, was awarded the Man Booker Prize in 1980. The trilogy as a whole was adapted by the late Leigh Jackson and Tony Basgallop for a 2005 BBC drama mini-series of the same name, directed by David Attwood and starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It aired in the United States in PBS' 2006 season of Masterpiece Theatre. It became available in 2016 on Netflix and Hulu streaming.

Rites of Passage (1980) is an account of a 6-month voyage to Australia in the early 19th century by an assorted group of British migrants on a converted man-of-war. It is in the form of a journal written by Edmund Talbot, a young aristocrat. His influential godfather has arranged for him to be employed with the Governor of New South Wales, and presents Talbot with a journal to record the significant events of the journey. He considers it a time of reflection for the young man. Talbot begins by describing the passengers of all classes (getting a tour of the ship) and crew members, who encompass a motley yet representative collection of early 19th-century English society. He becomes concerned with the downfall of passenger Reverend Colley.

Talbot has a somewhat ambiguous role in Colley's fall; although he quickly assumes a mediator's role between the Reverend and Captain Anderson, initially he had presumed on his status by going on the quarterdeck without the captain's express invitation, about which the latter man was protective. Colley dies after getting drunk and possibly being sexually assaulted by the ship's crew and officers. When one of the crew suggests officers were involved, the captain ends his investigation of Colley's death, as "buggery" (homosexual intercourse) is punishable by hanging. Talbot comes across Colley's journal, and feels guilty for seeing how eager Colley was to know him better. Colley is given a formal burial at sea. As the novel closes, Talbot is ambivalent about presenting his own journal to his godfather, as he fears it may not show him in the best light. He concludes that he does not have a choice, and eventually he seals the journal, in order to protect what he has written.

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