Vivien Dayrell-Browning, was a Catholic convert. Henry Graham Greene was an agnostic journalist. She wrote to him, to point out certain misconceptions he had expressed. They continued corresponding, and, as he considered marrying her, Greene decided that he “…ought to at least learn the nature and limits of the beliefs she held”. He eventually converted to her faith out of conviction; he was baptized and they were married. They went on to have two children but they opted for an amicable separation later. Greene neither divorced nor remarried, despite the fact that he did have a number of other relationships after the separation.
Wealthy influential parents, well-educated; in fact his father was the head of the school where Greene studied; Graham Greene had it all …. but did he? A victim of bipolar depressive disorder, he found pleasure in nothing. He was even sent for psychotherapy at the age of fifteen, to help him overcome his condition. Brooding and depressed, he was often the butt of jokes, bullying and tormenting. He tried to commit suicide several times, but the attempts were botched and he survived. His happiest moment was on a visit to his uncle. He discovered that he could ‘read’. It became a secret that he kept to himself, revealing it to none, hiding in the attic to devour the books he found in his uncle’s well-stocked library. This allowed him to keep to himself and shun the company of his tormentors.
His first attempt at publishing was not a success; a collection of poems that was not well-received by readers. However, later he went on to become an accomplished writer in the genres of literary fiction and thrillers; describing him as a novelist, a playwright, and a literary critic would cover major aspects of his writings.
Two underlying strains that are evident themes of Graham Greene’s work are religious themes and international politics and espionage. He has to his credit four novels that are described as his ‘Catholic novels’. They include Brighton Rock, The Heart of the Matter, The Power and the Glory and The End of Affairs. He did not like being labeled as a ‘Roman Catholic novelist’ but ironically, his works were based on religious themes and so he earned a label.
Greene also wrote a number of thrillers dealing with international politics and espionage. The most popular of these include The Confidential Agent, Our Man in Havana, The Quiet American, The Third Man and the Human Factor. Probably his most outstandingly popular work was Stamboul Train (1932), that was well-received by the Book Society and went on to be filmed into The Orient Express in 1934. Interestingly, during World War II, he was associated with the British intelligence services and that probably explains his interest in political espionage. He traveled widely in the third world countries and collected ideas and information that helped him with his writings.
Aside from writing novels, Greene was a freelance journalist and wrote book reviews and film reviews for The Spectator. He wrote a particularly interesting review about young Shirley Temple’s performance in Wee Willie Winkie, stating that her ways were highly appealing to middle-aged men. The review caused immense embarrassment for the publication; but today the review is considered to be an early indication of the later trend of sexualisation of children for purposes of entertainment.
Graham Greene’s literary style was considered ‘functional and devoid of sensual attraction’ (Evelyn Waugh). Greene’s simplicity of word choice makes his work readable and engages the reader and holds his attention. Greene himself weaves in an underlying religious theme. He criticized modernist writers for creating characters that appear soulless, dull and rather superficial; like ‘cardboard symbols’ (Greene), only because the writers had moved away from ‘religious themes’. .