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Shades of Greene
A collection of eighteen short stories with cast & crew listing.
- GenresShort StoriesFiction
329 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1975
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53 people want to read
About the author
Graham Greene
814 books6,217 followersHenry Graham Greene was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century.
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a reputation early in his lifetime as a major writer, both of serious Catholic novels, and of thrillers (or "entertainments" as he termed them). He was shortlisted for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times. Through 67 years of writing, which included over 25 novels, he explored the conflicting moral and political issues of the modern world. The Power and the Glory won the 1941 Hawthornden Prize and The Heart of the Matter won the 1948 James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Best of the James Tait Black. Greene was awarded the 1968 Shakespeare Prize and the 1981 Jerusalem Prize. Several of his stories have been filmed, some more than once, and he collaborated with filmmaker Carol Reed on The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).
He converted to Catholicism in 1926 after meeting his future wife, Vivienne Dayrell-Browning. Later in life he took to calling himself a "Catholic agnostic". He died in 1991, aged 86, of leukemia, and was buried in Corseaux cemetery in Switzerland. William Golding called Greene "the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety".
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 11, 2018
This book collects the eighteen Graham Greene stories which were dramatised by Thames Television as a series by the same name - published in 1975. I have not seen any of these, to my knowledge, but they attracted some well known actors (who are listed at the start of each story), including Sir John Gielgud, Virginia McKenna, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Roy Kinnear, Denholm Elliot (in several) and Koo Stark.
They are a varied collection, some a few pages in length, others, like the excellent Under the Garden significantly longer, but all still short stories. They take place predominantly in the UK, but there are stories in France, in Jamaica, one in Thailand and one in Africa (although exactly where is not divulged - somewhere in Belgian Africa, so perhaps Congo).
I always enjoy GGs writing, and he crafts clever short stories. The only one from this collection that I have read previously is Under the Garden and joining this at 5 stars individually were , A Chance for Mr Lever (which is the one set in Africa), The Blue Film and The Root of all Evil. There were a number of 4 star stories, and a few three star stories, but overall this balances out at 4 stars.
They are a varied collection, some a few pages in length, others, like the excellent Under the Garden significantly longer, but all still short stories. They take place predominantly in the UK, but there are stories in France, in Jamaica, one in Thailand and one in Africa (although exactly where is not divulged - somewhere in Belgian Africa, so perhaps Congo).
I always enjoy GGs writing, and he crafts clever short stories. The only one from this collection that I have read previously is Under the Garden and joining this at 5 stars individually were , A Chance for Mr Lever (which is the one set in Africa), The Blue Film and The Root of all Evil. There were a number of 4 star stories, and a few three star stories, but overall this balances out at 4 stars.
March 1, 2025
I bought this book for some light reading whilst working in Saudi Arabia where I wouldn't have access to a bookshop for some time and wasn't disappointed. The stories cover a variety of styles and a few I found exceptional although I enjoyed them all, bar one. Thankfully, there are 18 short stories in this volume or the title might have been ...
April 5, 2017
Greene was commissiomned to make screen-plays of 18 stories. Some are terrific but all underline his views of the world and the kinds of character he used in his many novels.
March 9, 2021
Well, it didn’t take too much to get through this book. Although it is advertised (and subtitled) as the “Thames Television’s dramatized series of Graham Greene’s stories,” it’s really just a reprint of the stories, without any of the changes that were made to the scripts for the TV series. All of the stories appeared previously in May We Borrow Your Husband (1967), or A Sense of Reality (1963), or in Twenty-One Stories (1954) and all appeared again in The Collected Stories (1972).
Oddly, neither of Greene’s bibliographers include this publication in their reference works. It was printed jointly by The Bodley Head and Heinemann in 1975 in association with the Thames Television Series of this collection of 18 of Greene’s stories dramatized for TV. Wobbe’s bibliography was published in 1979, so this volume must have simply been overlooked. Wise’s later bibliography includes the TV series as F31, but again overlooks the publication. Strange.
Oddly, neither of Greene’s bibliographers include this publication in their reference works. It was printed jointly by The Bodley Head and Heinemann in 1975 in association with the Thames Television Series of this collection of 18 of Greene’s stories dramatized for TV. Wobbe’s bibliography was published in 1979, so this volume must have simply been overlooked. Wise’s later bibliography includes the TV series as F31, but again overlooks the publication. Strange.
January 10, 2020
Not a bad collection for $1 at the used book-store. Best ones are "When Greek Meets Greek", "Two Gentle People", and "The Over-Night Bag".
January 4, 2022
Segnalo gli ottimi racconti In agosto costa poco e L'origine di tutti i mali
November 11, 2025
Five stars for especially the last Story "under the garden"!!! Great collection!!!
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews