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Dec 10, 2020 · The confidential agent by Greene, Graham, 1904-1991. Publication date 1982 Topics England -- Fiction, England Publisher New York : Viking Press Collection
It is of no surprise then that The Confidential Agent does not dwell on morality or religion as much as some of Greene's other books. It does have elements of those deliberations - after all The Confidential Agent is based on and inspired by the Spanish Civil War - but it does not go into great depths. And, this for me is where it falls down.
`The Confidential Agent' is one of the few books of mine which I have cared to reread--perhaps because it is not really one of mine. It was as though I were ghosting for another man. D., the chivalrous agent and professor of Romance literature, is not really one of my characters, nor is Forbes, born Furtstein, the equally chivalrous lover.
Though this is straight international-adventure stuff, Greene lifts it from worn ruts by cutting out glamorous trappings and substituting a loyal, conscientious agent who gets pushed around just once too often and turns on the pack. He comes to England to negotiate a coal contract, as lone wolf, and is double-crossed at home and abroad, subjected to assault and battery, robbery, threats, and ...
Dec 1, 1992 · But Greene feared that The Power and the Glory would not sell, and he needed money to support his family. Therefore, in the mornings, he wrote one of his "entertainments", The Confidential Agent. As an entertainment, The Confidential Agent qualifies as a thriller. It has a fast-moving plot, reversals of fortune, and plenty of action.
In Greene’s “magnificent tour-de-force among tales of international intrigue,” rival agents engage in a deadly game of cat and mouse in prewar England (The New York Times). D., a widowed professor of Romance literature, has arrived in Dover on a peaceful yet important mission.
Much better than it's reputation as a failed Lauren Bacall vehicle Confidential Agent is a good anti-fascist espionage film featuring a convincing central performance by Charles Boyer. Bacall is a bit out of her depth at this point in her career but it's hardly a distraction while the supporting cast is excellent particularly Peter Lorre, Katina Paxinou & George Coulouris.
