Henry) Graham Greene

(1904 – 1991)

Graham Greene, one of the greatest 20^th century men of literature, was a novelist, a playwright, a short-story writer and an essayist. He was born in 1904 to the family of a schoolmaster. Later he said that he remembered his childhood and schooldays with dread. In 1925 he graduated from Oxford after which worked as a reporter for “The Times”. His service in the Foreign Office enabled Greene to see many countries of the world. Later he reflected his experiences in the numerous novels, taking the reader to Mexico, Haiti, Vietnam, the countries of Europe, Africa and Latin America.

Graham Greene divided his novels into “entertainment” and “serious” ones. However, the reader will find that his “serious” novels are remarkable for their thrilling plot, while “entertainment” novels always have a deep social implication. Many of Greene’s novels were screened, as well as translated into other languages. (In the 1960s, after the trial of the Soviet dissidents, Daniel and Siniavsky, Greene refused to cooperate with the Soviet writers and grant permission for translation of his books into Russian. Cooperation was resumed only in 1983.)

From 1965 the writer lived in France and Switzerland. His interest in the Roman Catholic Church was reflected in some of his novels, including “Doctor Fischer of Geneva, or The Bomb Party”. Graham Greene died in 1991.

The list of works by Graham Greene (and their Russian translations) given below is by no means full, but it gives an idea of how fruitfully the writer worked.

Novels Published:Translated:
The Man Within (1929) England Made Me (1935) A Gun For Sale (1936) The Confidential Agent (1939) The Power and the Glory (1940) The Ministry of Fear (1943) The Heart of the Matter (1948) The Quiet American (1955) Our Man in Havana (1958) A Burnt-Out Case (1961) The Comedians (1966) Travels With My Aunt (1969) The Honorary Consul (1973) The Human Factor (1978) Dr. Fischer of Geneva, or the Bomb Party (1980) Monsignor Quixote (1982) The Captain and the Enemy (1988)	Человек внутри (1989) Меня создала Англия (1986) Наемный убийца (1965) Тайный агент (1962) Сила и слава (1987) Ведомство страха (1965) Суть дела (1961) Тихий американец (1956) Наш человек в Гаване (1959) Ценою потери (1964) Комедианты (1966) Путешествия с тетушкой (1989) Почетный консул (1983) Человеческий фактор (1988) Доктор Фишер из Женевы, или Ужин с бомбой (1986) Монсеньер Кихот (1989) Капитан и враг (1991)
Plays
The Living Room (1957) Carving a Statue (1964) Alas, Poor Mailing (1975)	Комната для живых (1957)
Short Stories
The Basement Room and Other Stories (1935) Twenty-four Stories (1939) The Tenth Man (1939) The Last Word (1990)	Комната в подвале (1957)   Поездка за город. Рассказы (1967) Десятый (1986) Последнее слово (1991)
Other Works
Journey Without Maps: A travel Book (1936) The Lost Childhood and Other Essays (1951)	Путешествие без карты (1961) Утраченное детство (1965)
Cinema Scripts
The First and the Last (1937); The New Britain (1940); Brighton Rock (1947); The Fallen Idol (1948); Loser Takes All (1956); Our Man In Havana (1960); The Comedians (1967)

About the Novel

The writer dedicated the novel to his daughter, Caroline Bourget, at whose Christmas table the story first came to his mind. G. Greene never ceased writing and was often called “the last living classic of English literature”. This short novel is a dark satire. Doctor Fischer is a multi-millionaire, and his fortune is founded on human hygiene. At his regular parties he surrounds himself with acolytes, all rich, all prepared to go through humiliation for one of Dr. Fischer’s gifts. The man is cold, cruel and manipulative. His daughter Anna-Luise, a gentle creature, abhors her father’s lifestyle and attitude. She falls in love with and marries Alfred Jones, an Englishman who has suffered tragedies and is immune to Dr. Fischer’s attempts to corrupt him. Determined to prove that even the most decent person can be bought, Dr. Fischer plans his ultimate party with a strange and diabolical twist. The party gifts contain one of two things – a cheque for 2 million Swiss francs, or a lethal bomb.

Дата добавления: 2015-05-29