4 ms·
I went to Greene's old school (where his father had been headmaster). It's interesting how much stuff from the school pops up in his novels - from the school m
by dcminter 6y ago
I went to Greene's old school (where his father had been headmaster).
It's interesting how much stuff from the school pops up in his novels - from the school motto in "Monsignor Quixote" to the route walked from the school in "The Captain and the Enemy".
Minor anecdote: He visited the school once, and I remember seeing him stop at a corner and turn to look directly at me. Only in retrospect do I realise that he may have been looking across the decades at me as he might have been himself (the architecture and uniform hadn't changed much).
If you're looking for a light read then I recommend "Our Man in Havana" as a taster of Greene. It's amusing and less imbued with the claustrophobia of his more serious novels.
- moomin 6y agoThe scene at the end where the police chief discusses his wallet is chilling, though. Pretty sure he left it out of the screenplay.
- bencollier49 6y agoOh, hi there, so did I. I never got around to reading Greene, despite the connection, and now I feel as though it might be an interesting exercise. Certainly the biography in this piece makes me interested in him; I can see aspects of myself in him. Unrelated to the school, of course.
- dcminter 6y agoDefinitely worth a shot - you should find the early parts of "The Captain and The Enemy" strangely familiar. I do find the suffocating catholic guilt themes a bit depressing (read "The Ministry of Fear" or "Brighton Rock" for prime examples), but they're extraordinary nonetheless. (Edit) As you probably know, "Greenes" House and "The Greene Field" were named for his father.
- Nursie 6y agoAm sad to report that at some point in the 90s that field got astroturfed :(