Dangerous Edges of Graham Greene: Journeys with Saints and Sinners

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Informative, broad-ranging, this title sheds new light on the life and literary art of one of the last century's most celebrated authors. The first volume to be authorized by the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust, "Dangerous Edges of Graham Greene" brings together writers, journalists and scholars to investigate as well as to assess Greene's prolific oeuvre and intense personal interests. Here the reader may explore everything from Greene's Vienna at the time of the filming of "The Third Man" to his sometimes fraught relationship with Evelyn Waugh, from Greene's unconventional fictional treatment of women to his "believing skepticism". While Greene often informed friends that "a ruling passion gives to a shelf of novels the unity of a system", critics of his literary art have found it extraordinarily difficult to define the content of this "ruling passion". Perhaps this is because Greene's own character seems so paradoxical, ironic even. Moreover, in believing that sin contains within itself the seeds of saintliness, he consistently loiters on what Robert Browning calls "the dangerous edge of things". In exploring this "dangerous edge", this book covers the full breadth of Greene's life and literary career.

Reviews

"Dangerous Edges of Graham Greene brings together some of the most innovative contemporary research on an essential modern author. Among the many topics addressed in this book are Greene's relations with his friend and contemporary Evelyn Waugh, the influence of Conrad on his works, his portrayal of women in fiction, the importance of psychoanalysis in understanding his works, and the surprising background of Stamboul Train. This highly readable collection presents essays by a group of established scholars, but also introduces the work of newcomers. Full of vitality and insight, Dangerous Edges will become indispensable to both scholars and aficionados." -- Richard Greene, Professor of English, University of Toronto, Canada, and editor of Graham Greene: A Life in Letters (London: Little, Brown, 2007; New York: W. W. Norton, 2008).
"As someone who thought he knew a fair bit about Graham Greene, this book taught me a wide range of fascinating things and proved, yet again, the richness of Greene in that he continues to entertain, challenge and excite us long after his passing." - Tim Butcher, author of Chasing the Devil: A Journey Through Sub-Saharan Africa in the Footsteps of Graham Greene (Vintage, 2011).
... this is a volume of essays to be read slowly, explored and savoured. It succeeds in the disparate functions of providing a range of scholarly articles for Greene enthusiasts and yet would be a great starting point for those less familiar with his work... a book that I can whole-heartedly recommend. -- A Sort of Newsletter (Newsletter of the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust
The essays17 in allcover a range of topics...The long bibliography suggests that interest in Greene is strong.'Choice Magazine

Author Bio

Dermot Gilvary is past Director of the Graham Greene International Festival, now in its fourteenth year. He teaches English language and literature at Oakham School, Rutland, England, UK. He is a playwright and the editor of Dr. Brigitte Timmermann's The Third Man's Vienna (Shippen Rock, Vienna, 2005). Darren J. N. Middleton (Ph.D., The University of Glasgow, Scotland) is Professor of Literature and Theology at Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, Texas, USA. He is the author of three books, including Theology after Reading: Christian Imagination and the Power of Fiction (Baylor University Press, 2008), as well as four edited volumes on religion, literature and film.