Historical Figure
Graham Greene
1904–1991
British writer and playwright (1904–1991)
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Biography
Henry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
In Their Own Words (5)
Innocence always calls mutely for protection when we would be so much wiser to guard ourselves against it: innocence is like a dumb leper who has lost his bell, wandering the world, meaning no harm.
Pt. I, ch. 3, sect. 3 , 1955
Reality in our century is not something to be faced.
Pt. 1, ch. 1, sct. 1 , 1958
Have you seen a room from which faith has gone?...Like a marriage from which love has gone...And patience, patience everywhere like a fog.
The Potting Shed (1957) , 1957
My two fingers on a typewriter have never connected with my brain. My hand on a pen does. A fountain pen, of course. Ball-point pens are only good for filling out forms on a plane.
International Herald Tribune (7 October 1977) , 1977
Cynicism is cheap—you can buy it at any Monoprix store—it’s built into all poor-quality goods.
Pt. 1, ch. 1, sct. 3 , 1966
Timeline
The story of Graham Greene, told in moments.
Published The Man Within, his first novel. It sold 8,000 copies. He converted to Catholicism the same year to marry Vivien Dayrell-Browning. The faith stuck longer than the marriage.
Joined MI6. Served in Sierra Leone under Kim Philby. When Philby was exposed as a Soviet spy, Greene refused to condemn him. They stayed friends.
The Quiet American published. It predicted the disaster of American involvement in Vietnam a decade before it happened. American critics hated it. Vietnamese readers said he got it right.
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