David Hawksworth's Graham Greene Collection
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DAVID HAWKSWORTH’S GRAHAM GREENE COLLECTION. Graham Greene is my favourite writer and I have been reading and collecting his books since the early 1990’s. Looking back and as far as I can remember the first book I read was ‘Brighton Rock’. The book was a Penguin edition published in 1970. Below is the cover of this edition. It cost DM 15.90. I am not sure which book came next but it may have been ‘Stamboul Train’. This again was a Penguin edition but in the series ‘Penguin Twentieth Century Classics’. The cover is below. I bought other Graham Greene books from the same series which all carried similar formats but as my reading of his increased I just bought books in the edition available. So how did collecting Graham Greene books come about? I think it began with a day trip with my sister Celia to Hay-on-Wye. Again it must have been in the early 1990s. We were going in and out of book shops looking no doubt for Graham Greene books to read not to collect and I came upon a short story book ‘May we borrow your Husband and other comedies of the sexual life’. Could such a book exist? What and it costs £25.00. I just had to buy it and I think that is when my Graham Greene journey really started. 1 What I would like to do is show you many of the books written by Graham Greene which I have in my collection and if I can remember rightly how they came into my procession. Greene was a prolific writer (also of letters) and wrote numerous novels, plays and short stories. The books will be shown in the order of publication and are taken from ‘The Works of Graham Greene’ by Jon Wise and Mike Hill THE MAN WITHIN PUBLISHED JUNE 1929 BY HEINEMANN I have the UK edition without the dust cover. I bought the book on my work computer from a book seller in the UK. Just so you can see there is also a photo of the book with dust cover. This is highly collectible and very difficult to obtain. I also have a Penguin paperback (1980) THE NAME OF ACTION PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1930 BY HEINEMANN I have the USA first edition published in March 1931 by Doubleday, Doran and Co. in poor condition and no dust cover. Graham Greene was very disappointed with the book and did not allow it to be republished so any copy is extremely difficult to find. Without finding a copy there is no other way to read the book. The book with dust cover is very rare and is shown below. 2 RUMOUR AT NIGHTFALL PUBLISHED IN NOVEMBER 1931 BY HEINEMANN The book in my collection is the UK first edition without a dust cover. I bought the book from EBay and is the most expensive book I have bought up to now. Again very difficult to get hold of especially with a dustcover as Greene refused to allow as with his second book to have the book republished. He began to have doubts that he could establish himself as a writer. STAMBOUL TRAIN PUBLISHED DECEMBER 1932 BY HEINEMANN The book I have is a UK first edition with a facsimile book cover. The American version was published under the title ‘Orient Express’. Several of his books in the USA had different titles. One of my favourite covers is from a USA edition published in 1942 which I think I bought at Milwaukee airport USA. The book became a best seller and was a big breakthrough in his writing career. 3 IT’S A BATTLEFIELD PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 1934 BY HEINEMANN I only have a Penguin edition of this book. I paid £2.00 for it. Below is a photo of the edition I have. The cover illustration is from an artist called Paul Hogarth who was commissioned to design covers for Graham Greene Penguin re-issues editions. I think the first edition cover is really excellent and would love to have it in my collection. A good copy costs about £2K ENGLAND MADE ME PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1935 BY HEINEMANN. Again as with all the early books very difficult to find first editions. I have a Penguin edition with the Paul Hogarth designed illustration. The title of the book in the USA was ‘Shipwrecked’. I have a Bantam Book edition from 1956. The book was made into a film in 1972 and I have an original film poster as below 4 JOURNEY WITHOUT MAPS MAY 1936 BY HEINEMANN This is a travel book. Graham Greene trekked 350 miles in January – February 1935 across Liberia in West Africa. I only have one edition of this book –a Compass Books edition from 1961 which I bought for US$2.95 (knocked down from US$5.95) in a second hand book store near San Francisco I think in 1997. I remember paying by credit card. The first edition cover is excellent and I have copied this in below. A cousin of Graham Greene Barbara Greene accompanied him on the trip and she wrote a book ‘Too Late to Turn Back’. I have the 1981 edition bought on EBay. A GUN FOR SALE PUBLISHED IN JULY 1936 BY HEINEMANN Graham Greene called this an ‘Entertainment’. I only have paperback versions of this book (not even sure what the first edition looks like). The UK edition I have is a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic. The USA version was called ‘This Gun for Hire’. I have the paperback from Bantam Books published in 1960 5 BRIGHTON ROCK PUBLISHED JULY 1938 BY HEINEMANN Though Greene saw the book as a detective novel it did have several religious themes. It was from this point that critics referred to him as a ‘Catholic writer’ which Greene very much resented. My favourite two versions from my collection are: a version published by The Invincible Press in Australia. There is no date in it. The paperback is very shabby but I do believe it is a kind of first edition of sorts. I bought it in Powell’s Portland USA. The other is a USA paperback version published by Compass Books in 1965 (10th printing). Both books have the original first editions covers as shown below. THE LAWLESS ROADS PUBLISHED IN MARCH 1939 BY LONGMANN GREEN AND CO. This was a different kind of travel book. Greene travelled during early 1938 through Mexico and put together an account of the religious persecution prevalent in the country. As with all his early books first editions are hard to come by and generally expensive. The USA version is called ‘Another Mexico’. I have a rather bland uniform edition issued by Viking bought from ABE Books. One of my paperback versions is from Penguin Books published in 1947. On the cover it states Graham Greene but on the spine Graham Green. Below in the middle is the UK first edition book. Another one I need for my collection 6 THE CONFIDENTIAL AGENT PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1939 BY HEINEMANN Also referred to as an ‘Entertainment’. First editions of this book are very rare. I have five different editions – four in paperback and one in a small hardback version (no cover) owned by B. Davies University College of Wales. Below are two of the covers both from Penguin 1965 and 1971 THE POWER AND THE GLORY PUBLISHED MARCH 1940 BY HEINEMANN Possibly considered Greene’s masterpiece. It certainly established Greene much to his consternation as a Catholic writer. It is centred on a whisky priest who is on the run in one of the southern states in Mexico during the anti-clerical purges. I have a Penguin Twentieth Century Classic, as well Heinemann Pocket edition (1945) and a Vanguard Library edition (1952) both in poor condition and a very special fiftieth anniversary edition book issued by Viking with an introduction by John Updike. The book is from the library of Vivien Greene in her house at Grove House, Iffley Turn Oxford. She married Graham Greene in 1927 and remained his wife despite a very long separation. Vivien was an authority and collector of dolls houses. She died in 2003. I bought the book from a Waterfields Oxford catalogue for £25.00 in 2004. The USA edition published by Viking Press is called ‘the Labyrinthine Ways’. I have a first edition of one of the first 3000 published in poor condition but the dust cover is more than acceptable and is one of my favourites in my collection. 7 BRITISH DRAMATISTS PUBLISHED IN SEPTEMBER 1942 BY WILLIAM COLLINS The book was part of a series of books called ‘Britain in Pictures’. It is a thin book with only 48 pages with many illustrations. Greene wrote most of his book on a boat on his way to Sierra Leone between December 1941 and January 1942 to his posting with M16. I have the first edition bought in Hay-On- Wye for £30.00. I have to admit I have never read the book THE MINISTRY OF FEAR PUBLISHED IN MAY 1943 BY HEINEMANN. Graham Greene considered the book his favourite from his ‘Entertainment’ novels. Set during the war there are brilliant descriptions of wartime London. I have three editions. The often mentioned ‘Penguin Twentieth Century Classic’, the UK first edition with a facsimile dust cover and the USA first edition third printing with original dustcover. I think I bought both firsts on EBay. 8 THE LITTLE TRAIN PUBLISHED IN JUNE 1946 PUBLISHED BY EYRE AND SPOTTISWOODE This is one of four such children’s books.