A man of many talents; playwright, short story writer, screenwriter, critic and travel writer, English author Graham Greene is mainly remembered for his skill as a novelist. Many of his novels were adapted into successful movies. Because of his ability to write best sellers, some critics are rather snobbish about him and refuse to credit him with a contribution to literature. However, his books are much more than superficial thrillers and deal superbly with the human condition. He had a great ability to combine suspenseful plot and an insight into character.
The themes very often deal with moral dilemmas and political conflict. Graham Greene converted to Catholicism in 1926 and catholic guilt, redemption and the temptation of sin is a common strand throughout the stories, such as Brighton Rock, The End of the Affair, The Power and the Glory and The Heart of the Matter. Indeed, the subject could not be clearer in The Power and the Glory, which deals with a priest who has fallen heavily from grace. His characters are often filled with self-loathing and are deeply unhappy.
He was born in 1904 and went on to graduate from Oxford University, followed by a period in journalism. He became a full time novelist when his debut book, The Man Within was published in 1929. It was a reasonable success but the plaudits really came on the publication of his 1932 novel, Stamboul Train. This was made into a movie called Orient Express two years later. In addition to books, he wrote film and book reviews and his opinions were highly regarded.
Titles such as The Human Factor, Our Man in Havana and The Quiet American sealed Greene's reputation as a fine writer. He liked to set several novels against the exciting backdrop of tropical outposts where people lived on the breadline, such as in Mexico, Central and South America, Africa and South East Asia. The Quiet American is set in Vietnam and deals with the US policy in that country. Graham Greene had left wing sympathies and this informed much of his writing.
Excitement was not just confined to stories and a romantic legend has surrounded Graham Greene as more has been revealed about his own life. It's known that he worked as an intelligence agent for Britain's MI6 secret service during World War II. There have been suggestions, although no proof has materialized, that he continued with his espionage missions after the war was over. Greene died in 1991, an acclaimed writer and a man of mystery.
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