To the Ends of the Earth is the title given to a trilogy of nautical, relational novels—Rites of Passage (1980), Close Quarters (1987), and Fire Down Below (1989)—by British author William Golding. Set on a former British man-of-war transporting migrants to Australia in the early 19th century, the novels explore themes of class 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 of Passage, was awarded the 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. Plot summaries Rites of Passage Rites of Passage (1980) is an account of a six-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 “of shame” after getting drunk and performing a sex act on one of the ship's crew. 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