Greene, Graham, 1904-1991
Dates
- Existence: 1904 - 1991
Biographical Note
Graham Greene was born in Berkhamstead, Hertfordshire on October 2, 1904. He attended Berkhamstead School, Balliol College at Oxford, and became a journalist. Greene converted to Roman Catholicism (1926) and married Vivien Dayrell-Browning (1927), with whom he had two children. Greene wrote and published The Man Within (1929), a critical and commercial success that enabled him to leave his job. Greene was an avid cinemagoer and reviewed many films in the 1930s before working as a screenwriter. Some of Greene’s film treatments were published as novels, including The Third Man. During World War II, he was employed at the Ministry of Information commissioning and editing war propaganda and as an air raid warden. Greene moved to the Secret Intelligence Service (1941) and was sent to Sierra Leone as a counter espionage officer (1941-1943). He moved to the Iberian branch of the Intelligence Service where he monitored operations in Gibraltar, Lisbon, Madrid, and Tangier. Greene’s experience of espionage work informed the plots of a number of his most celebrated novels. Greene continued working unofficially for the Intelligence Service after the war, which supported his extensive travels in the 1950s and 1960s. Greene and Vivienne lived apart staring in 1946, but never divorced. Greene had affairs with Catherine Walston and later Yvonne Cloetta, who was his companion until his death in 1990.
Found in 3 Collections and/or Records:
Greene, Graham, 1975-1981
Consists of correspondence to John Cumming, literary editor of The Tablet, from various English and Scottish writers. Manuscripts of poems, essays, and reviews by these authors are also included.
Collection is open for research.
Graham Greene papers
Collection is open for research; some folders are closed for privacy or condition concerns. Audiovisual materials may not be immediately available due to formatting issues. End dates for restrictions are indicated at the folder-level.
Gerald C. Walling collection of Graham Greene play ephemera
Consists of reviews, articles and playbills concerning the first productions of Greene's plays, mainly in London. The articles, all from Theatre World, include some biographical information on Greene and the actors who appeared in these premiere performances.
Collection is open for research.