‘In coming to terms with his own early life . . . Graham Greene writes with a generosity and flexibility that are new in his work. At a point in his long career when it seemed unlikely he could surprise us, he has done it with this moving self-portrait of a man at ease with his past.’ New York Times, 1971
Graham Greene once said that writing A Sort of Life ‘was in the nature of a psychoanalysis. I made a long journey through time and I was one of my characters.’ Certainly the younger self that emerges is as complex and intriguing as any of those he created in his novels.
A Sort of Life takes him through Oxford, early married life and conversion to Catholicism, to the point where, against all advice, he gives up his safe job on The Times in order to write. This extraordinary memoir is, to quote Frances Donnelly’s preface, ‘an act of great intimacy’, taking us through all the false starts and griefs that fired the engine of Greene’s utter determination to pursue his craft. There can be no more fascinating or illuminating account of what it takes to become a writer.
We’re delighted to report that this classic memoir will be available to readers again. We first published it in our series of Slightly Foxed Editions more than a decade ago, and it proved so popular that it soon sold out. However, we are now reissuing it in a handsome hardback Plain Foxed Edition.
Please do go forth and place your order now, and we’ll post out copies ahead of its publication on 1 September in the spirit of good will and good reading!
With best wishes, as ever, from the SF office staff
Anna, Hattie & Jess