In the 1970s and 1980s, Graham Greene adopted the yearly habit of touring Spain and Portugal in the company of his Spanish friend, the priest and university professor Leopoldo Durán. The most outstanding fruit of these trips, almost always in summer, was the inspiration for his major Hispanic novel, Monsignor Quixote (1982), a celebration of friendship above ideological, political, or religious differences, incorporating allusions to Cervantes' famous comic novel within a critical vision of post-Franco Spain. Graham Greene's Journeys in Spain and Portugal: Travels with My Priest reconstructs each of Greene's trips through the Iberian Peninsula between 1976 and 1989, detailing their preparations, itineraries, anecdotes, companions, topics of conversation, and often surprising repercussions. Carlos Villar Flor outlines the trips' biographical importance and fills numerous gaps of documented information on this final phase of Greene's life. His detailed inquiry into Greene's Iberian adventures with Durán also helps us better to understand the genesis and resonances of Monsignor Quixote, which over time became Greene's favourite of his own novels, and the subsequent television adaptation. The book also addresses incidents and aspects that, for one reason or another, never emerged in Durán's own account of their travels together, Graham Greene: Friend and Brother (1994). These include the possible motivations for Greene's first visit to Spain, related to his role as an informant for MI6; the mysterious visits to an old English lady located in Sintra; the writer's attempts in the early 1980s to establish links with Spanish socialists; or the fascinating story of a Spanish nobleman's suspicious proposal to create a Greene Foundation. Ultimately, Greene's trips to Spain and Portugal appear as more layered and intriguing than Durán's account suggests, whilst Durán himself emerges aptly as a complex and quixotic figure--as much the protagonist of this book as Greene.
Evelyn Waugh at war is an irresistibly fascinating subject, as are his war novels and diaries. Drawn to units offering the greatest danger, but often frustrated in his search for action, Waugh served in multiple regiments, saw battle on Crete and worked behind the lines in occupied Croatia. In the Picture traces Waugh’s experiences, both vivid and mundane, with a completeness never before attempted and shows how they come alive in Sword of Honour. It also illuminates the brief hints within the narrative of key events of the war, while highlighting its strategic direction. Waugh’s individualistic relationships with superiors, subordinates and public opinion led to blame and controversy. Working mainly from archival sources, In the Picture examines Waugh’s fitness to be an officer, his conduct on Crete, his being sacked from the Special Service Brigade, and his service in Croatia. New, very surprising discoveries dispel entrenched myths.
Evelyn Waugh at war is an irresistibly fascinating subject. Drawn to units offering the greatest danger, but often frustrated in his search for action. In the Picture examines Waugh's fitness to be an officer, his being sacked from the Special Service Brigade, and his service in Croatia. New, very surprising discoveries dispel entrenched myths.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Graham Greene adopted the yearly habit of touring Spain and Portugal in the company of his Spanish friend, the priest and university professor Leopoldo Durán. The most outstanding fruit of these trips, almost always in summer, was the inspiration for his major Hispanic novel, Monsignor Quixote (1982), a celebration of friendship above ideological, political, or religious differences, incorporating allusions to Cervantes' famous comic novel within a critical vision of post-Franco Spain. Graham Greene's Journeys in Spain and Portugal: Travels with My Priest reconstructs each of Greene's trips through the Iberian Peninsula between 1976 and 1989, detailing their preparations, itineraries, anecdotes, companions, topics of conversation, and often surprising repercussions. Carlos Villar Flor outlines the trips' biographical importance and fills numerous gaps of documented information on this final phase of Greene's life. His detailed inquiry into Greene's Iberian adventures with Durán also helps us better to understand the genesis and resonances of Monsignor Quixote, which over time became Greene's favourite of his own novels, and the subsequent television adaptation. The book also addresses incidents and aspects that, for one reason or another, never emerged in Durán's own account of their travels together, Graham Greene: Friend and Brother (1994). These include the possible motivations for Greene's first visit to Spain, related to his role as an informant for MI6; the mysterious visits to an old English lady located in Sintra; the writer's attempts in the early 1980s to establish links with Spanish socialists; or the fascinating story of a Spanish nobleman's suspicious proposal to create a Greene Foundation. Ultimately, Greene's trips to Spain and Portugal appear as more layered and intriguing than Durán's account suggests, whilst Durán himself emerges aptly as a complex and quixotic figure--as much the protagonist of this book as Greene.
Evelyn Waugh at war is an irresistibly fascinating subject, as are his war novels and diaries. Drawn to units offering the greatest danger, but often frustrated in his search for action, Waugh served in multiple regiments, saw battle on Crete and worked behind the lines in occupied Croatia. In the Picture traces Waugh’s experiences, both vivid and mundane, with a completeness never before attempted and shows how they come alive in Sword of Honour. It also illuminates the brief hints within the narrative of key events of the war, while highlighting its strategic direction. Waugh’s individualistic relationships with superiors, subordinates and public opinion led to blame and controversy. Working mainly from archival sources, In the Picture examines Waugh’s fitness to be an officer, his conduct on Crete, his being sacked from the Special Service Brigade, and his service in Croatia. New, very surprising discoveries dispel entrenched myths.
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