Fictional Representations of (Un)ethical Journalistic Practices in Graham Greene’s Work

Graham Greene was one of the great novelists of the twentieth century. He was also one of its great journalists, but that aspect of his work has been seen primarily as background to the fiction. In a work of political, theoretical and cultural awareness, Beatriz Valverde forces us to expand our sense of Graham Greene’s involvement with journalism -- as a practicing journalist, as one who depicted journalists in his fiction and as one who reflected deeply on the ethics and the political impact of journalism.

-- Richard Greene, Professor of English, University of Toronto, Canada

This is a scholarly and ground-breaking examination of the journalist’s world in Greene’s fiction supported by an impressive range of academic theory. The author forensically examines the motives of the surprising number of leading and minor fictionalized journalist characters scattered throughout Greene’s fiction. Valverde’s comprehensive grasp of the news reporting world - ethical and unethical, biased and unbiased–innovatively reinterprets Greene’s fiction in terms of journalistic practice. She ably demonstrates how Greene uses his experience to highlight the tensions between detachment and involvement in the world of journalism.

-- Dr. Jon Wise, co-author of The Works of Graham Greene: A Guide to the Graham Greene Archives

An absorbing, scholarly and wide-ranging analysis which fills a gap in Greene studies. In an age of "fake news", it is also timely, examining the need for accurate, reliable and independent journalism. Should journalists be committed or uninvolved in the stories they report, and how should we consume the news they present to us? As a journalist, essayist, letter-writer and novelist, Graham Greene had much to say on these issues, and Beatriz Valverde expertly analyzes his contribution to this important debate. It is an impressive study.

--Mike Hill, co-author of The Works of Graham Greene: A Guide to the Graham Greene Archives

This thought-provoking bookoffers fascinating insights into the role of journalists, while showing the breadth and subtlety of Greene’s understanding of the profession. The research is thorough, the style engaging, and it fills a noticeable gap in Graham Greene studies. Some of his most famous characters are journalists, and yet there are others that have received little attention. Here we discover so many more—and learn so much more! This will be enjoyed both by Greene enthusiasts and those interested in the vital role of journalism then and now.

--Dr. Creina Mansfield