Graham Greene: Biography and Photos

Writer Graham Greene is considered one of the most notable figures of English literature of the 20th century. During his long life he created many works and was repeatedly nominated for the Nobel Prize, but he never received it, although he was worthy of it no less than many other laureates.

Graham Greene: Biography (Childhood)

He was born into a large family of Charles Henry Green, who at that time was the director of one of England's most privileged schools. From childhood I was fond of reading adventure literature. Constant conflicts with schoolmates caused several suicide attempts. As a result, the boy was taken from school for home schooling, and then sent to Balliol College, operating at Oxford University.

The beginning of the writer's career

At the end of the college Graham Greene began working as a journalist in the editorial office of the journal Nottingham Journal, and later as a freelance correspondent for The Times. At the age of 22, he accepted Catholicism, thus expressing his protest against the Anglican church that dominates the United Kingdom. True, there are other opinions on this score (say, he was very much in love with a classmate whose parents agreed to their marriage only if the future son-in-law's faith was changed).

In 1929, his first novel, The Man Inside, was published, which had a certain success with readers. This made Graham Green think about writing a career.

After the first book, others followed. In particular, such hit-and-seek detective stories as "Istanbul Express", "The Assassin", "The Trustee" and "Office of Fear" brought to the writer. The last novel was written in the midst of the war and told about the adventures of Londoner Arthur Rowe. He accidentally gets a film, which is hunted by Nazi spies, and the young man has to try very hard to stay alive.

Green considered these books entertaining, in contrast to one of his early works - the novel "I was created by England," in which the writer reflected the process of changing English society under the influence of scientific and technological progress.

Travels

As early as the 1930s, a young writer visited Liberia and Mexico. These trips made a huge impression on him, which resulted in 2 books of travel notes "Roads of lawlessness" and "Travel without a map." In 1940, published and the best novel, which, according to critics, wrote Graham Greene. "Power and glory" caused a sharp protest from the Catholic Church, although in fact he was talking about the Christian ministry of a fallen priest who is going to receive the dying person, although he knows that he is being shot for this.

Work in exploration

During the Second World War, Graham Greene serves as Queen of the Intelligence Service on the territory in Portugal and in Sierra Leone. At the same time, he officially was a representative of the Foreign Ministry of Great Britain. Work in intelligence helped him a lot when writing dramatic novels, which were popular with readers.

After the end of World War II, Graham Greene was sent to Indochina as a correspondent for New Republic magazine. Seen there, especially the events of 1955-1956, formed the basis of the novel "The Quiet American."

In the following decade, the writer visited several "hot spots" in different parts of the world and became acquainted with influential politicians of that time, including some dictators.

Political Views

Despite the fact that during his life Graham Greene has repeatedly changed socio-political preferences, he has always remained uncompromising in all forms of arbitrariness and violence, including colonial, dictatorial, fascist regimes, racism and religious intolerance.

At the same time, after the writer spoke in defense of the accused in the case of Daniel and Sinyavsky, he was not published in the USSR for more than 12 years.

The last years of his life, Green spent in Switzerland, where he died in 1991, April 3.

Graham Greene: Movies

Many of the writer's works were screened. Among them, the first in the history of world cinema film about the hitman - "Weapons for hire" with Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, based on the plot of the novel "The Assassin" (1942).

Another significant picture was the detective "The Third Man", released on screens in 1949 and shot based on the same name by Graham Greene. She became a prize winner of the Cannes Film Festival, and also received BAFTA and Oscar.

The painting "The Third Man" has repeatedly been recognized as one of the best in the history of world cinema and the best British film of all time.

Despite the completely Hollywood appearance, which was in his youth Graham Greene, the actor of it did not work. However, the writer was nominated for Oscar in 1950 for the script of the film "The Defiled Idol". True, he did not get the prize, although shortly before that the picture was recognized as the best British film by BAFTA. In addition, in 1954, Graham Greene successfully coped with the role of producer of the painting "The Hand of a Stranger".

About creativity

Among the most popular works of the writer are the novels "Our Man in Havana", "Human Factor", "Honorary Consul" and "The Essence of the Case." Graham Greene reflected in them his vision of Christian charity, which does not die even in people who are complete sinners. Thus, in the novel The Nature of the Case, an honest colonial policeman is described who tries not to offend anyone: neither his wife, nor his mistress, nor those who turn to him, and must constantly lie, and in the Honorary Consul, a doctor sympathetic to the conspirators, Feels compassion for their hostage and dies in an attempt to save the diplomat.

The questions of Christian values are not the only thing that Graham Greene reflected in his work. "Destroyers" (narrative) is a work of a completely different kind. It reveals the phenomenon of child cruelty, which especially frightens its causelessness and senselessness.

"Comedians"

This work of the author is considered one of his best works, so he deserves to tell more about him. The main place of the novel "Comedians" (Graham Green) - the island of Haiti during the reign of Francois Duvalier. It is written on the basis of memoirs of the writer, who repeatedly visited this country, including during the years of dictatorship. In the novel, Graham Greene showed what it means to live in a state where lawlessness and terror reign. Even the best intentions of the heroes are broken against the wall erected by Duvalier and his henchmen, and the most horrible is the realization of the hopelessness and senselessness of the struggle to which they come.

By the way, Greene himself in a letter to AS Freer, to whom he devoted the novel, answered critics who accused him of unnecessary dramatization of what is happening in Haiti: "This black night can not be blackened."

Based on the book in 1967 was to remove the eponymous film, in which the main roles were played by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Awards

As already mentioned, in the mid-1960s Graham Greene was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, but Swedish academics refused to award it to him because of disagreement with his political views.

However, at that time the writer already owned many literary awards, including the bonuses of Hawthornden, James Tate Blake, Shakespeare. In addition, he was awarded the British orders "Knights of Honor" and "For Merit". Especially valuable for Graham Green himself was the Jerusalem Prize, which was awarded to the authors, who reflected in their works the themes of human freedom in society.

Festival

Every year, in the first weeks of October, writers, critics and journalists come to the writer's hometown to take part in scientific conferences devoted to the work of Graham Green. The events are held within the framework of the festival, organized by the foundation of his name.

Now you know what works belong to the pen of the famous English writer Graham Greene, and which films were shot on their basis. The uniqueness of his talent lies in the fact that he was able to create equally interesting works, both entertaining content, and deeply philosophical, making you think about the place of a person in society.