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DAVID HAWKSWORTH’S GRAHAM GREENE COLLECTION.

Graham Greene is my favourite writer and I have been reading and collecting his books since the

early 1990’s.

Looking back and as far as I can remember the first book I read was ‘Brighton Rock’. The book was a

Penguin edition published in 1970. Below is the cover of this edition. It cost DM 15.90. I am not sure

which book came next but it may have been ‘Stamboul Train’. This again was a Penguin edition but in

the series ‘Penguin Twentieth Century Classics’. The cover is below. I bought other Graham Greene

books from the same series which all carried similar formats but as my reading of his increased I just

bought books in the edition available.

So how did collecting Graham Greene books come about? I think it began with a day trip with my

sister Celia to Hay-on-Wye. Again it must have been in the early 1990s. We were going in and out of

book shops looking no doubt for Graham Greene books to read not to collect and I came upon a

short story book ‘May we borrow your Husband and other comedies of the sexual life’. Could such a

book exist? What and it costs £25.00. I just had to buy it and I think that is when my Graham Greene

journey really started.

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What I would like to do is show you many of the books written by Graham Greene which I have in my

collection and if I can remember rightly how they came into my procession. Greene was a prolific

writer (also of letters) and wrote numerous novels, plays and short stories. The books will be shown

in the order of publication and are taken from ‘The Works of Graham Greene’ by Jon Wise and Mike

Hill

THE MAN WITHIN PUBLISHED JUNE 1929 BY HEINEMANN

I have the UK edition without the dust cover. I bought the book on my work computer from a book

seller in the UK. Just so you can see there is also a photo of the book with dust cover. This is highly

collectible and very difficult to obtain. I also have a Penguin paperback (1980)

THE NAME OF ACTION PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1930 BY HEINEMANN

I have the USA first edition published in March 1931 by Doubleday, Doran and Co. in poor condition

and no dust cover. Graham Greene was very disappointed with the book and did not allow it to be

republished so any copy is extremely difficult to find. Without finding a copy there is no other way to

read the book. The book with dust cover is very rare and is shown below.

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RUMOUR AT NIGHTFALL PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 1931 BY HEINEMANN

The book in my collection is the UK first edition without a dust cover. I bought the book from EBay

and is the most expensive book I have bought up to now. Again very difficult to get hold of especially

with a dustcover as Greene refused to allow as with his second book to have the book republished.

He began to have doubts that he could establish himself as a writer.

STAMBOUL TRAIN PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1932 BY HEINEMANN

The book I have is a UK first edition with a facsimile book cover. The American version was published

under the title ‘Orient Express’. Several of his books in the USA had different titles. One of my

favourite covers is from a USA edition published in 1942 which I think I bought at Milwaukee airport

USA. The book became a best seller and was a big breakthrough in his writing career.

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IT’S A BATTLEFIELD PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 1934 BY HEINEMANN

I only have a Penguin edition of this book. I paid £2.00 for it. Below is a photo of the edition I have.

The cover illustration is from an artist called Paul Hogarth who was commissioned to design covers

for Graham Greene Penguin re-issues editions. I think the first edition cover is really excellent and

would love to have it in my collection. A good copy costs about £2K

ENGLAND MADE ME PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1935 BY HEINEMANN.

Again as with all the early books very difficult to find first editions. I have a Penguin edition with the

Paul Hogarth designed illustration. The title of the book in the USA was ‘Shipwrecked’. I have a

Bantam Book edition from 1956. The book was made into a film in 1972 and I have an original film

poster as below

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JOURNEY WITHOUT MAPS MAY 1936 BY HEINEMANN

This is a travel book. Graham Greene trekked 350 miles in January – February 1935 across Liberia in

West Africa. I only have one edition of this book –a Compass Books edition from 1961 which I bought

for US$2.95 (knocked down from US$5.95) in a second hand book store near San Francisco I think in

1997. I remember paying by credit card. The first edition cover is excellent and I have copied this in

below. A cousin of Graham Greene Barbara Greene accompanied him on the trip and she wrote a

book ‘Too Late to Turn Back’. I have the 1981 edition bought on EBay.

A GUN FOR SALE PUBLISHED IN JULY 1936 BY HEINEMANN

Graham Greene called this an ‘Entertainment’. I only have paperback versions of this book (not even

sure what the first edition looks like). The UK edition I have is a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic.

The USA version was called ‘This Gun for Hire’. I have the paperback from Bantam Books published in

1960

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BRIGHTON ROCK PUBLISHED JULY 1938 BY HEINEMANN

Though Greene saw the book as a detective novel it did have several religious themes. It was from

this point that critics referred to him as a ‘Catholic writer’ which Greene very much resented. My

favourite two versions from my collection are: a version published by The Invincible Press in

Australia. There is no date in it. The paperback is very shabby but I do believe it is a kind of first

edition of sorts. I bought it in Powell’s Portland USA. The other is a USA paperback version published

by Compass Books in 1965 (10th printing). Both books have the original first editions covers as shown

below.

THE LAWLESS ROADS PUBLISHED IN MARCH 1939 BY LONGMANN GREEN AND CO.

This was a different kind of travel book. Greene travelled during early 1938 through Mexico and put

together an account of the religious persecution prevalent in the country. As with all his early books

first editions are hard to come by and generally expensive. The USA version is called ‘Another

Mexico’. I have a rather bland uniform edition issued by Viking bought from ABE Books. One of my

paperback versions is from Penguin Books published in 1947. On the cover it states Graham Greene

but on the spine Graham Green. Below in the middle is the UK first edition book. Another one I need

for my collection

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THE CONFIDENTIAL AGENT PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1939 BY HEINEMANN

Also referred to as an ‘Entertainment’. First editions of this book are very rare. I have five different

editions – four in paperback and one in a small hardback version (no cover) owned by B. Davies

University College of Wales. Below are two of the covers both from Penguin 1965 and 1971

THE POWER AND THE GLORY PUBLISHED MARCH 1940 BY HEINEMANN

Possibly considered Greene’s masterpiece. It certainly established Greene much to his consternation

as a Catholic writer. It is centred on a whisky priest who is on the run in one of the southern states in

Mexico during the anti-clerical purges. I have a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic, as well

Heinemann Pocket edition (1945) and a Vanguard Library edition (1952) both in poor condition and a

very special fiftieth anniversary edition book issued by Viking with an introduction by John Updike.

The book is from the library of Vivien Greene in her house at Grove House, Iffley Turn Oxford. She

married Graham Greene in 1927 and remained his wife despite a very long separation. Vivien was an

authority and collector of dolls houses. She died in 2003. I bought the book from a Waterfields

Oxford catalogue for £25.00 in 2004. The USA edition published by Viking Press is called ‘the

Labyrinthine Ways’. I have a first edition of one of the first 3000 published in poor condition but the

dust cover is more than acceptable and is one of my favourites in my collection.

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BRITISH DRAMATISTS PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1942 BY WILLIAM COLLINS

The book was part of a series of books called ‘Britain in Pictures’. It is a thin book with only 48 pages

with many illustrations. Greene wrote most of his book on a boat on his way to Sierra Leone between

December 1941 and January 1942 to his posting with M16. I have the first edition bought in Hay-On-

Wye for £30.00. I have to admit I have never read the book

THE MINISTRY OF FEAR PUBLISHED IN MAY 1943 BY HEINEMANN.

Graham Greene considered the book his favourite from his ‘Entertainment’ novels. Set during the

war there are brilliant descriptions of wartime London. I have three editions. The often mentioned

‘Penguin Twentieth Century Classic’, the UK first edition with a facsimile dust cover and the USA first

edition third printing with original dustcover. I think I bought both firsts on EBay.

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THE LITTLE TRAIN PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1946 PUBLISHED BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE

This is one of four such children’s books. I have a Puffin Books edition (paperback) from 1988. The

illustrations are by Edward Ardizzone. The first edition is illustrated by Dorothy Craigie who was

Graham Greene’s mistress.

NINETEEN STORIES PUBLISHED IN JULY 1947 BY HEINEMANN

Eight of the short stories had already appeared in an earlier collection in 1935 ‘The Basement Room

and Other Stories’. The nineteen stories were written between 1929-1941. I have two USA editions.

A USA first edition without dust cover published in 1949 by the Viking Press and a Lion Library Edition

published in 1955.

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THE HEART OF THE MATTER PUBLISHED IN MAY 1948 BY HEINEMANN

The setting of the book is in a West African colony. Seen alongside ‘The Power and the Glory’ and

‘Brighton Rock’ as one of Greene’s Catholic novels. The Daily Telegraph considered the book ‘a

magnificent conception, poignant and convincing’. I have five different editions. The most important

one is the UK first edition. It is not in very good condition but it does have the dust cover. I bought

the book in Lyme Regis in 2016 for £45.00. The best copy I have is a Book of the Month New York

edition published in 1996. The book is in prime condition and I bought it in Boston USA. (no photo

available). The other three are: Reprint Society (1950 – no photo) Penguin (1969), and Viking

Compass Book (1974).

THE THIRD MAN and THE FALLEN IDOL PUBLISHED IN JULY 1950 BY HEINEMANN

May be Graham Greene’s best known book but as Greene said himself ‘The Third Man was never

written to be read but only to be seen’. The film is set in Vienna during the four power occupation

after the Second World War and is directed by Carol Reed and starred among others Trevor Howard

and Orson Wells as the infamous Harry Lime. The film music was arranged and composed by Anton

Karas and played on a zither. I have four pieces of original memorabilia from the film. The ‘Film-

Kurier’ ‘Der Dritte Mann’ from October 1950. Also ‘Atlas Filmheft ‘Der Dritte Mann’ As well as two

music sheets from the soundtrack (one shown below). I also have the film script in a book published

by Faber and Faber in 1988. I actually bought it in Berkhampstead where Graham Greene was born.

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But now back to the books. I have both the UK and USA first editions. The UK edition is two

entertainments including ‘The Fallen Idol’ (incidentally also made into a film). The USA edition

published by Viking Press is just the ‘Third Man’ but expanded on the front cover to ‘The story for the

motion picture, by Graham Greene’ I think the cover is excellent as you can see below. In the

publisher comments it states that the film ’will eventually be seen many millions of people in

America and Europe’. How right were the Viking Press. Both books were bought on EBay. I have three

paperback editions: Pan Books (1955 cover below), Penguin (1971) and Penguin (1976).

THE LITTLE RED FIRE ENGINE PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1946 BY MAX PARRISH AND CO

The second of Graham Greene’s children books. I have the fourth impression published in 1954 and

illustrated by Dorothy Craigie and a Picture Puffins edition published in 1977 with illustrations by

Edward Ardizzone.

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THE LOST CHILDHOOD AND OTHER ESSAYS PUBLISHED MARCH 1951 BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE

I have the USA first edition published by Viking Press in 1952, I think I bought the book surprisingly in

a second hand book shop in Munich for €5.00. Also a Penguin edition published 1964. This is another

book which I have not read.

THE END OF THE AFFAIR PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1951 BY HEINEMANN

I have both the UK and USA first editions. (It is much easier to find first editions with later published

dates). Both editions are dedicated to Catherine Walston a married women who Graham Greene had

a long and often fraught relationship with. Interestingly in the UK edition it just states ‘To C’ and in

the USA ‘TO CATHERINE with love’. I have two paperback editions Bantam Books (March 1955) and

the often mentioned Penguin Twentieth Century Classic (1975).

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THE LITTLE HORSE BUS PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1952 BY MAX PARRISH AND CO

The third of Graham Greene’s children books illustrated by Dorothy Craigie. I have a first edition but

without dust cover. I bought the book from a book shop in Cecil Court Charing Cross Road London in I

think 1999. It cost me £30.00.

THE LIVING ROOM PUBLISHED MAY 1953 BY HEINEMANN

This was the first of Graham Greene’s plays. The world premiere interestingly took place in

Stockholm in October 1952 and the premiere the UK at the The Wyndham’s Theatre in London 16

April 1953. The latter somewhat surprises me as I have a theatre program for ‘The Living Room’ at

the Theatre Royal Brighton for week commencing 2nd March 1953. I have both the UK (two copies

one without dust cover which cost £3.00 from a second hand book shop on the Charing Cross Road

London) and USA first editions. One can see how important his relationship with Catherine Walston

was as both books are dedicated to ‘CATHERINE WITH LOVE’

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THE LITTLE STEAM ROLLER PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1953 BY MAX PARRISH AND CO.

This was the fourth and last of Graham Greene’s children’s books. As before illustrated by Dorothy

Craigie. I have two of the reissues published in 1974 and illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. I know I

bought the second copy (in extremely good condition) in 2012 and I think it was in Rye in Kent.

TWENTY ONE STORIES PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1954 BY HEINEMANN

Graham Greene did not add another 21 stories to the 19 published in 1947. He took two out and

added four new ones. I have two Penguin paperbacks (1974 and 1981) and the USA first edition

complete with dustcover. The USA edition was first published in 1962 so eight years later by Viking

Press. My copy is in perfect condition and I bought it in a second hand bookstore Wikhegan Books,

117 Main Street, Northeast Harbor Maine USA in October 2013 for US$45.00 plus tax US$ 2.48

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LOSER TAKES IT ALL PUBLISHED JANUARY 1955 BY HEINEMANN

Another ‘Entertainment’ (it actually states that in the UK first). I like the dedication from Greene to

Alexander Frere the chairman of his UK publishers William Heinemann ‘this tale has not been written

for the purposes of encouraging adultery, the use of pyjama tops or registry office marriages. Nor is it

meant to discourage gambling’ (it took place in Monte Carlo). I have UK and USA (only published in

paperback by Viking Press in 1957) firsts and two Penguin paperbacks (1977 and 1983). I like the

German title ‘Heirate nie in Monte Carlo’ (Never get married in Monte Carlo.). Also in my collection is

a film poster from 1956 similar to the one copied in below.

THE QUIET AMERICAN PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1955 BY HEINEMANN

Evelyn Waugh in the London Sunday Times described the book as ‘masterly, original and vigorous’

when it was published. The book is very much influenced by the times Graham Greene spent in Indo-

China writing for Paris Match, the Sunday Times and Le Figaro. I have six editions. The UK (a present

from Mike Welford for my 50th birthday) and USA first editions, a Reprint Society (1957) – given to

me by Phil Davies (from in fact his father) who I worked with for years and three Penguin editions

(1962, 1969 and 1974). There is an excellent film version released in 2002 starring Michael Caine

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THE POTTING SHED PUBLISHED FEBRAURY 1958 BY HEINEMANN

I have just one edition of this play in rather poor condition – the UK first edition (Reprinted 1958).

Inside the book there is a rubber stamp of The British Council 46, Caroline Street Cardiff. The UK

edition has the original script of the play with the USA version having a different third act. In my

collection I have a program for the production at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre for the spring

and summer season 1958

OUR MAN IN HAVANA PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1958 BY HEINEMANN.

Another ‘Entertainment’ and an excellent comedy-thriller set in pre-revolutionary Cuba. Seen by

some critics as a ‘clever recipe for producing amusement and excitement’ I have several editions: UK

first with dust cover, rather a poor copy, USA first with dust cover published by Viking Press (bought

on 29 January 2015 at Peter Harrington, Fulham Road Chelsea, London for £65.00), a very interesting

embossed version which friends bought me for my 60th birthday, a Reprint Society hard back (1960)

which I bought in Arundel for £2.50, and two Penguin Books in paperback. (1962 – first in Penguin as

below and 1971?). There is an excellent book by Christopher Hull ‘Our Man Down in Havana’ which is

all about Greene’s association with Cuba – well worth a read.

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THE COMPLAISANT LOVER PUBLISHED JUNE 1959 BY HEINEMANN

This is a comedy play of adultery first performed at the Globe Theatre in London on 18 June 1959.

Produced by John Gielgud with a cast including Ralph Richardson and Paul Scofield. I have the theatre

program with a note 18-8-59 written on it. The UK first edition I bought in Lyme Regis n 2015 for

£4.50. At one point the book belonged to Avon County Library last taken out 16 January 1984. In the

UK version there is a postscript from Greene on censorship. I have an excellent copy of the USA first

edition which was published in 1961 by Viking Press. I also have a second copy of the USA edition

without a dust cover but with blue bindings instead of red and between pages 18 and 19 are two

photographs from the play.

A BURNT OUT CASE PUBLISHED JANUARY 1961 BY HEINEMANN

Interestingly the first edition is a Swedish version Ütbrand published in 1960. The book took place in

a leper colony in the Congo. (Greene had been there in 1959 to research the novel). The main

character is a man called Quarry who is seen as a likeness to Greene himself. Greene considered the

book the darkest he had ever written. I have the UK first edition with dust cover in rather poor

condition but surprisingly not the USA first. Two other editions I have are a hardback from the

Reprint Society (1962) and a paperback from Bantam Books (1967).

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IN SEARCH OF A CHARACTER: TWO AFRICAN JOURNALS PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1961 BY BODLEY

HEAD

The book comprises ‘Congo Journal’ (first entry 31 January 1959) which is Greene’s research for ‘A

Burnt-Out Case’ and ‘Convoy to West Africa’ (first entry 9 December 1941) was a prelude to writing

‘Heart of the Matter’. Greene did not keep these journals for publication. I have both the UK and USA

first editions with dust covers. The USA version published by Viking Press I bought in 2013 for US$

15.83 w/tax at Old Professor’s Bookshop, 99 Main Street, Belfast, Maine, USA. I have a paperback

Penguin (1971). I liked the review on the front of this book ‘There are brilliant little portraits,

descriptions and reflections’ Philip Tonybee, Observer.

INTRODUCTIONS TO THREE NOVELS PUBLISHED 1962 BY P.A. NORSTEDT AND SONERS

The book was published in Stockholm by P.A. Norstedt and Soners and consists of introductions to

‘The Power and the Glory’, The Heart of the Matter’ and ‘The End of the Affair’. I am only aware of

this edition which I bought from EBay. It is a very thin book of about 50 pages more like a paperback

than a hardback. Many of the pages of the copy I have are stuck together at the top which I found

most surprisingly and made it difficult to read. On one of my visits to a bookshop in Cecil Street,

London I saw the book and the pages were exactly the same.

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A SENSE OF REALITY PUBLISHED JUNE 1963 BY BODLEY HEAD

Just four short stories so I will mention them ‘Under the Garden’, ‘Dream of a Strange Land’, A visit to

Morin’ and ‘A Discovery in the Woods’. My UK first edition (second impression) with dust cover is a

really excellent copy which I bought surprisingly for US$10.00 in Boston, USA. I also have the USA

first edition with dust cover published by Viking Press as well as a 1968 Penguin edition.

CARVING A STATUE PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1964 BY BODLEY HEAD

Another play by Graham Greene. The first performance was at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket London

on 17 September 1964. I have the programme from the first night. The father in the play was played

by Ralph Richardson and his son by Dennis Watermann. Again I have another interesting theatre

programme from the play this time from the Theatre Royal Brighton for performances commencing

31 August 1964 with the comment ‘prior to production at the Theatre Royal’ There is only one

edition of this book the UK first. I have an excellent copy with dust cover which if I remember

correctly I bought the book from Powells Book Store in Portland Oregon, USA about 2005.

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THE COMEDIANS PUBLISHED JANUARY 1966 BY BODLEY HEAD

This was Graham Greene’s first novel since 1961 – so five years lapsed and also his first novel

published by Bodley Head instead of Heinemann. Described in a Penguin Book (1967) as ‘a blazing

best seller set in tropical tyrannical Haiti’. Greene visited Haiti three times and the book depicted the

Haiti of Papa Doc Duvalier who described Greene as ‘a liar, a stool-pigeon, a spy, a drug addict and a

torturer’. The UK first with dust cover is a poor copy and was in the Richmond District Library at some

point. I bought the USA first edition published by Viking Press actually in Schellingstrasse in Munich I

think for DM 40.00 or maybe even €40.00. I also have another Penguin (1976). I also have an

excellent book titled ‘Seeds of Fiction’ by Bernard Diederich about Greene’ adventures in Haiti and

Central America.

MAY WE BORROW YOUR HUSBAND? AND OTHER COMEDIES OF THE SEXUAL LIFE PUBLISHED

MARCH 1967 BY BODLEY HEAD

Well back to where it all started. Twelve short stories. There is a very unusual Epigraph in the book

‘Cling to the virtues normally manifested by all Lebanese’ Prime Minister Smi-as-Sulh. As mentioned

previously I bought the UK first edition in Hay-on-Wye and also have the USA first published by Viking

Press. The other edition not surprisingly is a Penguin (1971).

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COLLECTED ESSAYS PUBLISHED MARCH 1969 BY BODLEY HEAD

I have to admit that I have never read the book. There are 80 essays spanning 463 pages of which 38

are collected in book form for the first time and 42 are reprinted from ‘The Lost Childhood and

Other Essays’. I have an excellent USA first edition with dust cover published by Viking Press which I

bought in Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA in 2013 for US$35.00 without tax. I also have two

paperback Penguins (1970 and 1983)

TRAVELS WITH MY AUNT PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1968 BY BODLEY HEAD

The UK first edition which I have has a very colourful dust cover. I have a really good copy and I have

a feeling it was a present from my sister Celia and her husband Dave. The book is dedicated ‘for

H.H.K. who helped me more than I can tell’ who is Yvonne Cloetta Graham Greene’s ‘happy, healthy

kitten’. Yvonne Cloetta shared his life for 32 years and there is a book ‘In Search of a Beginning’

which I have about their relationship. I also have the USA first edition and a paperback Bantam Book

(1971) which both have the same cover. In my collection I have a theatre program from the

Whitehall theatre for the play with its first performance at the Whitehall 16 March 1993.

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A SORT OF LIFE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1971 BY BODLEY HEAD

This is Graham Greene’s first autobiography. It covers his life from his birth in 1904 to 1932 the year

he had his first commercial success with ‘Stamboul Train’. The book is dedicated ‘for the Survivors,

Raymond Greene (his brother – he made the announcement on BBC in 1953 that Everest had finally

been climbed), Hugh Greene (his brother – Director General of BBC) and Elisabeth Dennys (his sister).

I have the UK first published by Bodley Head incidentally bought from Richard Frost and a Book Club

Associates edition (1971) which cost me £3.00. I also have the USA first edition published by Simon

and Schuster in very good condition which I bought in Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA in 2013 for

US$30.00.

THE PLEASURE-DOME: THE COLLECTED FILM CRITICISM 1935-40 PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1972 BY

SECKER AND WARBURG.

This book edited by John Russell Taylor is a collection of film reviews illustrated with black and white

stills from many of the films. Graham Greene wrote in his introduction that ‘the idea of reviewing

films came to me at a cocktail-party after the dangerous third Martini’. One of his reviews in the

magazine ‘Night and Day’ for ‘Wee Willie Winkie’ starring Shirley Temple actually went to the High

Court of Justice in March 1938. Greene lost the libel case. I have the UK first edition with dust cover.

A very heavy and large book which I bought for £35.00. I have also a paperback edition published by

Oxford University Press in 1980. I have as yet not read the book.

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THE HONORARY COUNSEL PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1973.

Another five years had passed since Graham Greene’s last novel. The story takes place on the

borders of Argentina and Paraguay. He had visited both countries in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I

have the UK first addition with dust cover but not the USA edition. The epigraph in the book is a

quote from Thomas Hardy ‘All things merge in one another-good into evil, generosity into justice,

religion into politics….’ I also have two paperback books with different covers both published by

Pocket Books New York from 1974 onwards.

THE PORTABLE GRAHAM GREENE PUBLISHED 1973 BY VIKING PRESS

This is a book of selective writings edited by Philip Stratford. The book has never really been on my

radar and in fact it was not published in hardback in the UK. The book was first published in the USA

by Viking Press. The book which I have not yet read is split into four parts: ‘Reminiscences’, ‘Fiction’,

‘Criticism’ and ‘Commitments’. I have a paperback Penguin USA edition reprinted in 1978.

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LORD ROCHESTERS MONKEY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1974 BY BODLEY HEAD

This I consider a very strange book which one might not associate Graham Greene with. It is an

illustrated biography of John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester (1647-1680). Written by Greene in

the early 1930’s it was rejected by his publishers Heinemann at that time. Lord Rochester was a poet

and a courtier to Charles II. I am not aware of the reasons why Greene decided to write this book. I

have the first UK edition with dust cover and I bought the book in Hay-on-Wye for £35.00. I wonder if

I will ever get around to reading the book.

THE RETURN OF A.J.RAFFLES PUBLISHED 1975 BY BODLEY HEAD

A further play by Graham Greene which was first performed in an RSC production at the Aldwych

Theatre, London 4 December 1975. The title needs a bit of explaining because who is A.J. Raffles? He

features in the short story ‘The Amateur Cracksman’ by E.W.Hornung published in 1899. Raffles was

a gentlemen thief in late Victorian Great Britain. Greene was an expert on Victorian and Edwardian

crime fiction and in fact Greene contributed to a book ‘Victorian Detective Fiction’ published in 1966.

It is a catalogue of the collection made by Dorothy Glover, formerly Dorothy Craigie (see above) and

Graham Greene. It is a limited signed edition of 500 copies of which I have number 437. I bought the

book on EBay for £100.00. It has never been re-published. I have the UK first in paperback (the first

250 were hard bound and signed by Greene) and the USA first edition with dust cover of the play.

.

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THE HUMAN FACTOR PUBLISHED MARCH 1978 BY BODLEY HEAD.

This was a novel of espionage with Greene drawing on his own experience working in M16. (The

main character Maurice Castle is often seen as the legendary Soviet double agent Kim Philby).

Greene’s intention was to ‘present the Service unromantically as a way of life, men going daily to

their office to earn their pension’. I have the UK first edition with dust cover (but not the USA

version) which I bought in Chipping Camden for £15.00 as well as the Book Club Associates London

edition (1978) which I bought at Laurence Oxley, 17 Broad Street, Alresford, England for £3.00. I like

the dedication ‘to my sister Elisabeth Dennys who cannot deny some responsibility’. My collection is

completed with the well-known by now Penguin Twentieth Century Classics edition.

DOCTOR FISCHER OF GENEVA or THE BOMB PARTY PUBLISHED MARCH 1980 BY BODLEY HEAD

What an interesting book title. The idea behind the book came on Christmas Day 1978 Greene was

with his daughter and grandchildren at their home in Switzerland. The book is in fact dedicated to his

daughter Caroline Bourget. I have both the UK and USA (published by Simon and Schuster) first

editions both in excellent condition together with a paperback Penguin (1980).

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WAYS OF ESCAPE PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1980 BY BODLEY HEAD

This is Graham Greene’s second biography which covers his life from 1929-1978. The Canadian first

edition published by Lester and Orpen Dennys, Toronto precedes the UK first. I have excellent copies

of both firsts with dust jackets. The UK first I bought on 21 December 2006 from Draycott Books,

Chipping Campden for £20.00 I also have two paperbacks a Washington Square Press (1982) and a

Penguin (1981). I am missing the USA first edition.

THE GREAT JOWETT PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1981 BY BODLEY HEAD

This is a play about Benjamin Jowett, the Victorian Master of Balliol College, Oxford which in fact was

Graham Greene’s old college. The play was first broadcast as a radio play by the BBC on 6 May 1939

and again much later in 1980 also on the BBC. The book form was published as a limited edition of

525 copies of which 500 for sale were numbered and signed by Greene. My copy in a red

presentation case is in immaculate condition and is number 487. The book which was bought from

Fosters’ Bookshop, 95 Bell Street, London was presented to me by my family on the evening of my

Open University graduation on 20 June 2009 at the Birmingham Symphony Hall.

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J’ACCUSE: THE DARK SIDE OF NICE PUBLISHED MAY 1982 BY BODLEY HEAD.

This is a very thin book 69 pages with the text printed in both English and French. I am only aware of

one edition of this book and that is the UK first edition. Though it has a printed dust cover it is a

paperback book. If I recall correctly I bought this book through Waterstones not on the internet but

by writing to their book search department. It is worth just mentioning briefly what the book is

about. It is Greene’s attack on corruption and organised crime in Nice and it seeks to defend the

daughter of his lover Yvonne Cloetta against her former husband Daniel Guy. The book was banned

in France and Greene for a time lived in fear of his life.

MONSIGNOR QUIXOTE PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1982 BY BODLEY HEAD

The book is set in Spain and relates to the travels across the country of Father Quixote with his friend

Sancho Zancas a communist ex-mayor. In the later years of his life Graham Greene’s closest male

friend was Leopoldo Durán a Spanish Roman Catholic priest. For more than twenty years they made

annual trips together around north-west Spain and Portugal by car. Monsignor is based on Durán. I

have a book ‘Graham Greene Friend and Brother’ by Leopoldo Durán published in 1994 also from the

library of Vivien Green. From the novel I have the UK (a birthday present from Celia and Dave), USA

published by Simon and Schuster and Canadian published by Lester & Orpen Dennys first editions

with dust covers all in excellent condition. I also have the obligatory Penguin paperback (1983).

28

YES AND NO and FOR WHOM THE BELL CHIMES PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1983 BY BODLEY HEAD

Two plays written by Graham Greene. Both plays were first performed at The Haymarket Studio

Theatre, Leicester on 20 March 1980 and Greene came to Leicester for ten days during rehearsals.

Just a word about ‘Yes and No’. It involves two people the director and the actor. The director asks

lots of questions and makes speeches and the actor always answers ‘yes’ or ‘no’. The play ends as

follows:

Director Can’t you see how important your part is?

Actor Yes ---and No

The book was published as a limited edition of 750 copies which were numbered and signed by

Greene. I have number 50

GETTING TO KNOW THE GENERAL: THE STORY OF INVOLVEMENT PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1984 BY

BODLEY HEAD.

General Omar Torrijos was the de facto head of Panama from 1968 to 1981 (he died in a plane crash

in August 1981). The General in the winter of 1976 sent Greene a first class ticket and an invitation to

visit him. They became great friends and Greene made several trips to Panama. Greene was in fact

one of the Panamanian delegation in Washington in 1977 to sign an agreement between Torrijos and

Jimmy Carter which gave Panama full sovereignty over the Panama Canal. The book is a memoir to

his friendship. I have the UK first edition and also the Canadian which I bought in Cecil Street, London

both in very good condition but I am missing the USA first. I also have a Penguin paperback (1986)

which surprisingly I bought for €3.00 in a Frankfurt bookshop about 2004.

29

THE TENTH MAN PUBLISHED MARCH 1985 BY BODLEY HEAD

Though the book was only published in 1985 Graham Greene actually wrote the book in 1944 when

he was under a two year contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and it was later discovered in MGM’s

archives in 1983. Interestingly the first publication of ‘The Tenth Man’ was in two parts in ‘You’ the

‘Mail on Sunday’ magazine. In ‘You’ it states ‘hardback edition will be published March 11’. I have

both magazines in my collection together with two UK first editions one bought for €10.00 at Roland

Mayrhnas, Antiquariat, Haaggasse 12, Tübingen, the USA first bought for US$12.45 at Powell’s

Portland, Oregon, USA and the ‘Penguin Twentieth Century Classic edition (1985).

THE CAPITAN AND THE ENEMY PUBLISHED SEPTEMBER 1988 BY REINHARDT BOOKS

Have now reached the point of the last book Graham Greene wrote. He dedicated it to ‘For Y with all

the memories we share of nearly thirty years’ The ‘Y’ being Yvonne Cloetta. I bought the UK first

edition with dust jacket from a book shop in Stow-on-the-Wolds for £6.00. I also have the USA first

published by Viking Press which like the UK first is in excellent condition as well as a Penguin

paperback (1989)

30

WHY THE EPIGRAPH PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1989 BY NONESUCH PRESS

The book is a limited edition of 950 numbered copies which were signed by Graham Greene. I have

number 78. I paid £100.00 for it. Not all of his books carried an epigraph such as ‘The Third Man’ and

‘The Tenth Man’ as these were as Greene stated in the Author’s Note ‘treatments for films, and I had

no wish to see either in book form’. In ‘Monsignor Quixote’ there is a quote from Shakespeare ‘There

is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes I so’.

REFLECTIONS ON TRAVEL WITH MY AUNT PUBLISHED SPRING 1989 BY FIRSTS & COMPANY N.Y.

Published in an edition of 250 all signed by Graham Greene. I have copy number 22. This is a really

beautiful book which has been hand bound. This was given to me as a leaving present when I left

Garden Denver Thomas on Friday, 28 June 2019.

31

YOURS ETC. LETTERS TO THE PRESS 1945-89 PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1989 BY REINHARDT BOOKS

The letters were selected and introduced by Christopher Hawtree. At the start of the introduction

there is a quote from Graham Greene ‘I’ve always liked reading newspapers. My enemies might say I

get my ideas from theological works and newspapers’. I only have the Canadian first edition

published by Lester & Orpen Dennys, Toronto and a Penguin paperback (1991). I have yet to read the

over 200 letters.

REFLECTIONS PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1990 BY REINHARDT BOOKS

I will quote directly from the dustcover of the UK first edition. ‘Reflections’ is a selection, made by

Graham Greene and Judith Adamson, of previously uncollected travel reports, essays and reviews’.

There are about 70 of them in total and I again must admit I have not read any of them. I have the UK

first edition which is in excellent condition.

32

THE LAST WORD AND OTHER STORIES PUBLISHED JULY 1990 REINHARDT BOOKS

This was the final volume of short stories which included a preface from Graham Greene. There were

twelve stories written between 1923-1989 with one of them ‘A Branch of the Service’ being

published for the first time. I have only the UK first edition a fine copy with dust cover in my

collection.

A WORLD OF MY OWN: A DREAM DIARY PUBLISHED JUNE 1992 REINHARDT BOOKS

The book was published posthumously. Graham Greene died 3 April 1991. There is a forward by

Yvonne Cloetta, Vevey Switzerland (where in fact he died). In the introduction Graham Greene wrote

‘I decided to choose, out of a diary of more than eight hundred pages, begun in 1965 and ended in

1989 selected scenes from My Own World. In a sense it is an autobiography….of a rather bizarre life

during the last third of the century….’ I bought the UK first edition actually in Munich in a book shop

in the Schellingstrasse for €10.00

33

THE GRAHAM GREENE FILM READER: MORNINGS IN THE DARK PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1995 BY

CARCANET PRESS

What a long title and what a long book 738 pages. According to the John Wise and Mike Hill

bibliography the book covers ‘film reviews, essays, book reviews, film scripts, stories and treatments,

interviews, lectures, letters’. The most comprehensive section is ‘film reviews’ with 385 pages

covering the over 400 reviews between 1935-1940 for the Spectator alone and those for the

magazine ‘Night and Day’ in 1937. (I have copied in below how the paper and magazine looked in the

1930’s) The book is edited by David Parkinson and I have the UK first edition with dust cover. This

book will take some reading and I am not sure if I will ever get round to reading it.

ARTICLES OF FAITH: THE COLLECTED TABLET JOURNALISM OF GRAHAM GREENE PUBLISHED

SEPTEMBER 2006 BY SIGNAL BOOKS.

‘The Tablet’ is a Catholic international weekly first published in May 1840. Graham Greene first wrote

for the journal in 1936 with his final contribution being ‘The Grass’ a poem which appeared in 17

October 1987 publication. An interesting contribution 23/30 December 1978 was titled ‘Christmas

Reading’ which was a piece from a possible novel ‘How Father Quixote became a Monsignor’. Greene

wrote in November 1978 to Tom Burns the editor and close friend of Greene this ‘is the first chapter

of a novel which will probably never be completed’. How wrong could he be. I have the UK first

edition edited with an introduction by Ian Thomson.

34

GRAHAM GREENE: A LIFE IN LETTERS PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 2007 BY LITTLE BROWN

Well I have come to the last one. Not the last one in my collection but as mentioned previously the

section in the John Wise and Mike Hill bibliography under ‘Books by Graham Greene’. It was

estimated that he wrote up to 2000 letters per year. The collection of 436 letters is arranged

chronologically with most of the ten chapters taking a title from his books. The UK first edition edited

by Richard Greene (not related) was a Christmas present from my sister and brother in law Margaret

and Tony.

Well I have come to the end of this chapter about my Graham Greene collection but I have not covered

by a long way all the books I have in my collection but as one often says ‘that’s another story’.

David Hawksworth

January 2021