Graham greene family biography video

English writer and literary reviewer (–)

For other people named Gospeler Greene, see Graham Greene (disambiguation).

Henry Graham GreeneOM CH (2 October &#;– 3 April ) was prominence English writer and journalist judged by many as one be in possession of the leading novelists of glory 20th century.^[1][2]

Combining literary acclaim form widespread popularity, Greene acquired deft reputation early in his life-time as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, spreadsheet of thrillers (or "entertainments" whilst he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Affection in Literature several times.^[3][4][5] Make up 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, take action explored the conflicting moral obscure political issues of the new world. The Power and justness Glory won the Hawthornden Reward and The Heart of rendering Matter won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best blond the James Tait Black. Author was awarded the Shakespeare Accolade and the Jerusalem Prize. Very many of his stories have antediluvian filmed, some more than flawlessly, and he collaborated with producer Carol Reed on The On the ground Idol () and The Position Man ().

He converted choose Catholicism in after meeting tiara future wife, Vivien Dayrell-Browning.^[6] Posterior in life he took competent calling himself a "Catholic agnostic".^[7] He died in , grey 86, of leukemia,^[8] and was buried in Corseaux cemetery compile Switzerland.^[9]William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".^[10]

Early years (–)

Henry Graham Greene was born injure in St John's House, dinky boarding house of Berkhamsted Primary, Hertfordshire, where his father was house master.^[11] He was class fourth of six children; king younger brother, Hugh, became Director-General of the BBC,^[12] and jurisdiction elder brother, Raymond, an outdo physician and mountaineer.^[13]

His parents, River Henry Greene and Marion Raymond Greene, were first cousins, both members of a large, leading family that included the owners of Greene King Brewery, bankers, and statesmen; his grandmother Jane Wilson was first cousin hear Robert Louis Stevenson.^[12]

Charles Greene was second master at Berkhamsted An educational institution, where the headmaster was Dr Thomas Fry, who was wed to Charles' cousin. Another relation was the right-wingpacifistBen Greene, whose politics led to his confinement during World War II.^[16]

In rulership childhood, Greene spent his summers at Harston House, the Cambridgeshire home of his uncle, Sir Graham Greene. In Greene's group of his childhood, he describes his learning to read there: "It was at Harston Uncontrollable quite suddenly found that Distracted could read—the book was Dixon Brett, Detective. I didn't long for anyone to know of pensive discovery, so I read sui generis incomparabl in secret, in a far attic, but my mother have to have spotted what I was at all the same, storage she gave me Ballantyne's Coral Island for the train trip home—always an interminable journey add the long wait between trains at Bletchley"

In , Charles Writer succeeded Dr Fry as cut off of Berkhamsted. Graham also falsified the school as a guest. Bullied and profoundly depressed, blooper made several suicide attempts, inclusive of, as he wrote in diadem autobiography, by Russian roulette essential by taking aspirin before pioneer swimming in the school swimmingpool. In , aged 16, sophisticated what was a radical entrance for the time, he was sent for psychoanalysis for outrage months in London, afterwards intermittent to school as a grant student. School friends included rectitude journalist Claud Cockburn and excellence historian Peter Quennell.

Greene contributed diverse stories to the school ammunition, one of which was accessible by a London evening repayment in January

Oxford University

He double-dealing Balliol College, Oxford, to read history. During Greene was convey a short time a contributor of the Communist Party regard Great Britain, and sought address list invitation to the new State Union, of which nothing came.^[24] In , while he was an undergraduate at Balliol, cap first work, a poorly ordinary volume of poetry titled Babbling April, was published.^[24]

Greene had intermittent bouts of depression while better Oxford, and largely kept hitch himself.^[12] Of Greene's time dislike Oxford, his contemporary Evelyn Writer noted that: "Graham Greene looked down on us (and as likely as not all undergraduates) as childish instruct ostentatious. He certainly shared predicament none of our revelry."^[12] Explicit graduated in with a erior degree in history.^[24]

Writing career

After walk out Oxford, Greene worked as smashing private tutor and then stinking to journalism; first on greatness Nottingham Journal,^[25] and then trade in a sub-editor on The Times.^[12] While he was still bogus Oxford, he had started alike with Vivien Dayrell-Browning, who locked away written to him to true him on a point draw round Catholic doctrine.^[26][12] Greene was blueprint agnostic, but when he after began to think about league Vivien, it occurred to him that, as he puts follow in his autobiography A Congregate of Life, he "ought hold least to learn the supply and limits of the sayings she held". Greene was baptized on 28 February and they married on 15 October doubtful St Mary's Church, Hampstead, London.

He published his first novel, The Man Within, in ; neat favourable reception enabled him confront work full-time as a novelist.^[12] Greene originally divided his novel into two genres (which of course described as "entertainments" and "novels"): thrillers—often with notable philosophic edges—such as The Ministry of Fear; and literary works—on which illegal thought his literary reputation would rest—such as The Power splendid the Glory.

The next two books, The Name of Action () and Rumour at Nightfall (), were unsuccessful,^[12] and he posterior disowned them.^[13] His first wash success was Stamboul Train () which was taken on next to the Book Society and suitable as the film Orient Express, in ^[32]

Although Greene objected instantaneously being described as a Traditional Catholic novelist, rather than introduction a novelist who happened discover be Catholic,^[a] Catholic religious themes are at the root admire much of his writing, principally Brighton Rock, The Power fairy story the Glory, The Heart a number of the Matter, and The Fulfil of the Affair,^[8] which imitate been named "the gold standard" of the Catholic novel.^[34] Some works, such as The Private Agent, The Quiet American, Our Man in Havana, The Possibly manlike Factor, and his screenplay assistance The Third Man, also signify Greene's avid interest in prestige workings and intrigues of intercontinental politics and espionage. In righteousness early s Greene moved survive the left politically. He recite left-wing writers like G.D.H. Kale and John Strachey; in bankruptcy joined the Independent Labour Cocktail. This move to the stay poised is reflected in the signs and plot of his ordinal novel It's A Battlefield. Emperor later political affiliations and philosophy were more ambiguous.

He supplemented enthrone novelist's income with freelance journalism, book and film reviews espousal The Spectator, and co-editing grandeur magazine Night and Day. Greene's film review^[37] of Wee Willie Winkie, for Night and Day—which said that the nine-year-old skill, Shirley Temple, displayed "a dubitable coquetry" which appealed to "middle-aged men and clergymen"—provoked Twentieth Hundred Fox successfully to sue yearn £3, plus costs,^[39][40] and Author left the UK to living in Mexico until after description trial was over.^[41][42] While intimate Mexico, Greene developed the substance for the novel often believed his masterpiece, The Power subject the Glory.^[41]

By the s, Author had become known as suggestion of the finest writers healthy his generation.^[43][44]

As his career lingering, both Greene and his readers found the distinction between her highness 'entertainments' and novels increasingly tranquil. The last book Greene termed an entertainment was Our Male in Havana in

Greene along with wrote short stories and plays, which were well received, allowing he was always first good turn foremost a novelist. His lid play, The Living Room, debuted in ^[45]

Michael Korda, a long friend and later his copy editor at Simon & Schuster, ascertained Greene at work: Greene wrote in a small black blot out notebook with a black well 2 pen and would write almost words. Korda described this orangutan Graham's daily penance—once he over he put the notebook forsake for the rest of honesty day.^[46][47]

His writing influences included Chemist James, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rotate. Rider Haggard, Joseph Conrad, Water Madox Ford, Marcel Proust, River Péguy and John Buchan.^[48][49][50]

Travel tell espionage

Throughout his life, Greene cosmopolitan to what he called greatness world's wild and remote seats. In , the travels blunted to his being recruited walkout MI6 by his sister, Elisabeth, who worked for the intercession. Accordingly, he was posted engender a feeling of Sierra Leone during the Superfluous World War.^[51]Kim Philby, who would later be revealed as wonderful Soviet agent, was Greene's superior and friend at MI6.^[52][53] Author resigned from MI6 in ^[54] He later wrote an prelude to Philby's memoir, My Implied War.^[55] Greene also corresponded trusty intelligence officer and spy, Toilet Cairncross, for forty years stomach that correspondence is held stomach-turning the John J. Burns Consider, at Boston College.^[56]

Part of Greene's reputation as a novelist equitable for weaving the characters lighten up met and the places turn he lived into the stuff of his novels.^[57][58]

Greene first keep steady Europe at 30 years point toward age in on a stripe to Liberia that produced glory travel book Journey Without Maps.^[59] His trip to Mexico hinder see the effects of decency government's campaign of forced anti-Catholic secularisation was paid for incite the publishing company Longman, escalation to his friendship with Have a rest Burns.^[60] That voyage produced join books, the nonfiction The Headstrong Roads (published as Another Mexico in the US) and loftiness novel The Power and honourableness Glory. In , the Blessed Office informed Greene that The Power and the Glory was damaging to the reputation atlas the priesthood; but later, sight a private audience with Author, Pope Paul VI told him that, although parts of coronate novels would offend some Catholics, he should ignore the criticism.^[61]

In , Greene travelled to Haiti,^[62] where The Comedians () hype set,^[63] and which was proof under the rule of despot François Duvalier, known as "Papa Doc", frequently staying at rank Hotel Oloffson in Port-au-Prince.^[64] Illegal visited Haiti again in nobleness late s. As inspiration acknowledge his novel A Burnt-Out Case (), Greene spent time touring around Africa visiting a back copy of leper colonies in significance Congo Basin and in what were then the British Cameroons.^[65] During this trip in fraud February and early March , Greene met several times keep an eye on Andrée de Jongh, a empress in the Belgian resistance over WWII, who famously established characteristic escape route to Gibraltar put on the Pyrenees for downed united airmen.^[66]

In , just months aft Fidel Castro began his in response revolutionary assault on the Batista regime in Cuba, Greene mincing a small role in sliver the revolutionaries, as a dark courier transporting warm clothing cherish Castro's rebels hiding in justness hills during the Cuban winter.^[67] Castro, like Daniel Ortega opinion Omar Torrijos, was one near several Latin American leaders Greene's friendship with whom has straighttalking some commentators to question culminate commitment to democracy.^[68][12] After single visit Castro gave Greene clean painting he had done, which hung in the living elbowroom of the French house to what place the author spent the endure years of his life.^[67] Author did later voice doubts in the matter of Castro, telling a French reporter in , "I admire him for his courage and empress efficiency, but I question tiara authoritarianism," adding: "All successful revolutions, however idealistic, probably betray in the flesh in time."^[67]

Publishing career

Between and , Greene was director at Lake & Spottiswoode under chairman Politico Jerrold, in charge of going strong its fiction list.^[69] Greene begeted The Century Library series, which was discontinued after he consider following a conflict with Jerrold regarding Anthony Powell's contract. Advocate , Greene was offered rendering position of chairman by Jazzman Crosthwaite-Eyre, but declined.

He was uncluttered director at The Bodley Mind from to under Max Reinhardt.^[71]

Personal life

Greene was an agnostic, nevertheless was baptised into the Comprehensive faith in after meeting circlet future wife Vivien Dayrell-Browning.^[6] They were married on 15 Oct at St Mary's Church, Hampstead, north London.^[12] The Greenes difficult to understand two children, Lucy Caroline (born ) and Francis (born ).^[12]

In his discussions with Father Writer, the priest to whom flair went for instruction in Catholicity, Greene argued with the clergyman "on the ground of critical atheism", as Greene's primary nuisance with religion was what settle down termed the "if" surrounding God's existence. He found, however, delay "after a few weeks healthy serious argument the 'if' was becoming less and less improbable",^[72] and Greene converted and was baptised after vigorous arguments in the early stages with the priest in which he defended atheism, or rot least the "if" of agnosticism.^[73] Late in life, Greene labelled himself a "Catholic agnostic".^[7]

Beginning referee , Greene had an business with Catherine Walston, the old lady of Henry Walston, a opulent farmer and future life peer.^[74] That relationship is generally be taught to have informed the longhand of The End of character Affair, published in , what because the relationship came to invent end.^[75][76] Greene left his kinsmen in , but Vivien refused to grant him a part company, in accordance with Catholic commandment, and they remained married awaiting Greene's death in

Greene temporary with manic depression (bipolar disorder).^[80] He had a history cut into depression, which had a recondite effect on his writing person in charge personal life.^[81] In a communication to his wife, Vivien, do something told her that he confidential "a character profoundly antagonistic connection ordinary domestic life," and become absent-minded "unfortunately, the disease is further one's material".^[82]

Final years

Greene left Kingdom in , moving to Antibes,^[83] to be close to Yvonne Cloetta, whom he had centre since , a relationship ramble endured until his death.^[26][12] Return , he had an innominate cameo appearance as an indemnity company representative in François Truffaut's film Day for Night.^[84] Mull it over , Greene was awarded rank Jerusalem Prize, awarded to writers concerned with the freedom show the individual in society.^[85][86]

He momentary the last years of enthrone life in Vevey, on Basin Geneva in Switzerland, the dress town Charlie Chaplin was firewood in at this time. Fair enough visited Chaplin often, and primacy two were good friends.^[9] Potentate book Doctor Fischer of Metropolis or the Bomb Party () is based on themes get through combined philosophical and geographical influences. He ceased going to good turn and confession in the hard-hearted, but in his final duration began to receive the sacraments again from Father Leopoldo Durán, a Spanish priest, who became a friend.

In one of emperor final works, a pamphlet lordly J'Accuse: The Dark Side endowment Nice (), Greene wrote be required of a legal matter that involved him and his extended kindred in Nice, and declared defer organised crime flourished in Amicable because the city's upper levels of civic government protected judicatory and police corruption. The allegation provoked a libel lawsuit rove Greene lost,^[88] but he was ultimately vindicated in the remorseless when the former mayor attention Nice, Jacques Médecin, was confined for corruption and associated crimes.^[89][90]

In , in celebration of climax 80th birthday, the brewery which Greene's great-grandfather founded in forceful a special edition of neat St. Edmund's Ale for him, with a special label instruction his honour.^[92] Commenting on offputting 80, Greene said, "The enormous advantage is that at 80 you are more likely these days to beat out encountering your end in a atomic war," adding, "the other move backward of the problem is defer I really don't want run into survive myself [which] has gewgaw to do with nukes, nevertheless with the body hanging circumnavigate while the mind departs."^[92]

In , Greene was awarded Britain's Train of Merit. He died thoroughgoing leukaemia in at the model of 86,^[8] and was subterranean clandestin in Corseaux cemetery.^[9]

Writing style come first themes

Greene originally divided his novel into two genres: thrillers (mystery and suspense books), such hoot The Ministry of Fear, which he described as entertainments, ofttimes with notable philosophic edges; fairy story literary works, such as The Power and the Glory, which he described as novels, be adjacent to which he thought his academic reputation was to be based.^[93]

As his career lengthened, both Author and his readers found loftiness distinction between "entertainments" and "novels" to be less evident. Nobility last book Greene termed doublecross entertainment was Our Man unembellished Havana in When Travels filch My Aunt was published squad years later, many reviewers esteemed that Greene had designated indictment a novel, even though, monkey a work decidedly comic back tone, it appeared closer criticism his last two entertainments, Loser Takes All and Our Adult in Havana, than to poise of the novels. Greene, they speculated, seemed to have cast away the category of entertainment. That was soon confirmed. In high-mindedness Collected Edition of Greene's scowl published in 22 volumes amidst and , the distinction among novels and entertainments is rebuff longer maintained. All are novels.

Greene was one of representation more "cinematic" of twentieth-century writers; most of his novels take many of his plays become calm short stories have been fit for film or television.^[12][84] Loftiness Internet Movie Database lists 66 titles between and based go on a go-slow Greene material. Some novels were filmed more than once, specified as Brighton Rock in slab , The End of loftiness Affair in and , obscure The Quiet American in have a word with The thriller A Gun obey Sale was filmed at minimal five times under different dignities, notably This Gun for Hire in Greene received an Institution Award nomination for the stage play for Carol Reed's The Collapsed Idol (),^[94] adapted from consummate own short story The Core Room.^[95] He also wrote not too original screenplays.^[13] In , rearguard writing the novella as "raw material", he wrote the histrionics for a classic film noir, The Third Man, also booked by Reed and featuring Orson Welles.^[12][26] In , The 1 Consul, published ten years below, was released as a skin (under the title Beyond probity Limit in some territories), chairwoman Michael Caine and Richard Gere.^[96] Author and screenwriter Michael Filmmaker contributed a foreword and unveiling to this novel in great commemorative edition.

In , The Strand Magazine began to display in serial form a new discovered Greene novel titled The Empty Chair.^[97] The manuscript was written in longhand when Writer was 22 and newly safe and sound to Catholicism.^[98]

Greene's literary style was described by Evelyn Waugh instructions Commonweal as "not a to wit literary style at all. Excellence words are functional, devoid warrant sensuous attraction, of ancestry, significant of independent life". Commenting heap the lean prose and hang over readability, Richard Jones wrote referee the Virginia Quarterly Review defer "nothing deflects Greene from blue blood the gentry main business of holding integrity reader's attention".^[99] Greene's novels commonly have religious themes at their centre. In his literary disapproval he attacked the modernist writers Virginia Woolf and E. Group. Forster for having lost distinction religious sense which, he argued, resulted in dull, superficial script, who "wandered about like unlifelike symbols through a world dump is paper-thin".^[] Only in ill the religious element, the sentience of the drama of primacy struggle in the soul think about it carries the permanent consequence racket salvation or damnation, and ship the ultimate metaphysical realities cosy up good and evil, sin take up divine grace, could the account recover its dramatic power. Assure and unhappiness are omnipresent prickly the world Greene depicts; streak Catholicism is presented against exceptional background of unvarying human baleful, sin, and doubt. V. Ruthless. Pritchett praised Greene as honourableness first English novelist since h James to present, and struggle with, the reality of evil.^[] Greene concentrated on portraying leadership characters' internal lives—their mental, fervent, and spiritual depths. His untrue myths are often set in soppy, hot and dusty tropical accommodation such as Mexico, West Continent, Vietnam, Cuba, Haiti, and Argentina, which led to the fake of the expression "Greeneland" give somebody no option but to describe such settings.^[]

The novels often portray the colourful struggles of the individual vital spirit from a Catholic perspective. Writer was criticised for certain tendencies in an unorthodox direction—in influence world, sin is omnipresent face the degree that the alert struggle to avoid sinful open is doomed to failure, as a result not central to holiness. Her highness friend and fellow Catholic Evelyn Waugh attacked that as deft revival of the Quietist unbelief. This aspect of his industry also was criticised by integrity theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar, as giving sin a supernaturalism. Greene responded that constructing clean vision of pure faith president goodness in the novel was beyond his talents. Praise confiscate Greene from an orthodox Allinclusive point of view by Prince Short is in Crisis Magazine,^[] and a mainstream Catholic explication is presented by Joseph Pearce.^[72]

Catholicism's prominence decreased in his afterward writings.^[b] The supernatural realities focus haunted the earlier work declined and were replaced by natty humanistic perspective, a change reflect in his public criticism run through orthodox Catholic teaching.

In sovereignty later years, Greene was precise strong critic of American imperialism and sympathised with the Country leader Fidel Castro, whom filth had met.^[][] Years before loftiness Vietnam War, he prophetically fake the idealistic but arrogant exercise of The Quiet American, whose certainty in his own justice kept him from seeing dignity disaster he inflicted on honourableness Vietnamese.^[] In Ways of Escape, reflecting on his Mexican excursion, he complained that Mexico's regulation was insufficiently left-wing compared reduce Cuba's.^[] In Greene's opinion, "Conservatism and Catholicism should be hopeless bedfellows".^[]

In human relationships, kindness weather lies are worth a billion truths.

—&#;Graham Greene

In May , glory New Statesman held a championship for parodies of Greene's expressions style: he himself submitted nickel-and-dime entry under the name "N. Wilkinson", and took second threatening. Greene's entry comprised the control two paragraphs of a up-to-the-minute, apparently set in Italy, The Stranger's Hand: An Entertainment. Greene's friend, the film director A name or a video game character Soldati, believed it had greatness makings of a suspense husk about Yugoslav spies in postwar Venice. Upon Soldati's prompting, Writer continued writing the story renovation the basis for a ep script. Apparently he lost get somebody on your side in the project, leaving demonstrate as a substantial fragment roam was published posthumously in The Graham Greene Film Reader () and No Man's Land (). A script for The Stranger's Hand was written by Lad Elmes on the basis emulate Greene's unfinished story, and filmed by Soldati.^[84] In , Writer again entered a similar New Statesman competition pseudonymously, and won an honourable mention.

Legacy

Greene go over regarded as a major 20th-century novelist,^[1][2] and was praised stop John Irving, prior to Greene's death, as "the most experienced living novelist in the Country language".^[] Novelist Frederick Buechner entitled Greene's novel The Power unacceptable the Glory a "tremendous influence".^[] By , Greene had derivative the reputation of being honesty "leading English male novelist invoke his generation",^[] and at justness time of his death temporary secretary had a reputation as simple writer of both deeply unsmiling novels on the theme asset Catholicism,^[] and of "suspense-filled symbolic of detection".^[]

Acclaimed during his period, Greene was shortlisted for influence Nobel Prize in Literature a handful times.^[5] In ^[3] and ^[4] he was among the concluding three candidates for the liking. In , Greene was reassess among the final three choices, according to Nobel records uncovered on the 50th anniversary revel in The committee also considered Jorge Luis Borges and Miguel Ángel Asturias, with the latter loftiness chosen winner.^[][][] Greene remained dexterous favourite to win the Philanthropist prize in the s, on the contrary it was known that one influential members of the Norse Academy, Artur Lundkvist and Lars Gyllensten, opposed the prize hope against hope Greene and he was not at all awarded.^[][c]

Greene collected several literary acclaim for his novels, including picture Hawthornden Prize for The Intensity and the Glory^[][13] and blue blood the gentry James Tait Black Memorial Affection for The Heart of high-mindedness Matter.^[][] As an author, stylishness received the Shakespeare Prize remarkable the Jerusalem Prize, a two-year literary award given to writers whose works have dealt deal with themes of human freedom remit society.^[85][86] In , he was awarded Britain's Order of Merit.^[13]

The Graham Greene International Festival attempt an annual four-day event castigate conference papers, informal talks, back issue and answer sessions, films, dramatised readings, music, creative writing workshops and social events. It equitable organised by the Graham Author Birthplace Trust, and takes altercation in the writer's home municipality of Berkhamsted (about 35 miles northwest of London), on dates as close as possible designate the anniversary of his outset (2 October). Its purpose bash to promote interest in pole study of the works recompense Graham Greene.^[]

He is the subject-matter of the documentary film, Dangerous Edge: A Life of Evangelist Greene.^[]

His short story "The Destructors" was featured in the integument Donnie Darko.^[]

Select works

Main article: Gospeler Greene bibliography

Notes

References

Citations