The Quest for Graham Greene, an intentionally selective, intriguingly suggestive portrait, probes hitherto unexplored facets of the Anglo-Catholic novelist (1904-91). Among them are a nervous breakdown at age 16 that sent him to a London psychoanalyst who introduced him to spiritualism and the literary avant-garde; Greene's Byzantine ties to British intelligence, which continued long after his 1944 resignation from MI6; and his involvement in a tax-fraud scheme that led to exile from England in 1966. In approved postmodernist fashion, W. J. West uses the first person while recounting his diggings in various archives.

Entertainment Weekly
West even works in clues from Greene's novels, which are more factual than many realize, resulting in a real cloak-and-dagger bio.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

W.J. West has unearthed and pieced together all-new material regarding Graham Greene, which sheds light into the darker regions of Greene's personal, religious, financial, and international affairs. Based on information gleaned from private archives and a cache of letters belonging to thriller writer Rene Raymond (known to his reading public as James Hadley Chase) West exposes, among other information, the reasons behind Greene's sudden, self-imposed exile from England. What the Chase letters show is that Greene and Chase shared the same tax consultant and that the two men, along with Charlie Chaplin and Noel Coward, became unwittingly embroiled in a tax evasion and fraud operation scandal with roots in the Hollywood mafia. Through further investigation, West also uncovers the origins of Greene's literary ambitions and his obsession with Catholicism, as well as new discoveries concerning Greene's crucial mental breakdown as a teenager. West also reveals more information on Greene's involvement with espionage, M16, and his ties with Kim Philby.

FROM THE CRITICS

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