Abstract
Our Man Down in Havana: The Story Behind Graham Greene’s Cold War Spy Novel, by Christopher Hull
Highlights
In their memoirs British diplomats and spies—categories not always separated—are fond of calling themselves “our man in ...,” apparently unaware of the satirical origin of the phrase in Graham Greene’s 1958 comic novel, Our Man In Havana, the center-piece of Christopher Hull’s exhaustive investigation of Greene’s visits to the Cuban capital between 1938 and 1983
As well as Greene’s own published accounts, Hull draws on unpublished diaries, extensive letters that Greene wrote to friends and lovers, and interviews with Cubans whom Greene had met, notably Nydia Sarabia
Greene’s involvement with Cuba and the wider Caribbean was substantial. He eventually met Fidel Castro twice, as well as other important Cuban figures such as Armando Hart, Haydée Santamaría, Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Lisandro Otero, Pablo Armando Fernández, Alejo Carpentier, Miguel Barnet, and Virgilio Piñera. He developed a close relationship with Panamanian President Omar Torrijos, and was awarded a temporary diplomatic passport that allowed him to attend the ceremony in Washington DC to mark the eventual transfer of control over the Panama Canal
Summary
In their memoirs British diplomats and spies—categories not always separated—are fond of calling themselves “our man in ...,” apparently unaware of the satirical origin of the phrase in Graham Greene’s 1958 comic novel, Our Man In Havana, the center-piece of Christopher Hull’s exhaustive investigation of Greene’s visits to the Cuban capital between 1938 and 1983. As well as Greene’s own published accounts, Hull draws on unpublished diaries, extensive letters that Greene wrote to friends and lovers, and interviews with Cubans whom Greene had met, notably Nydia Sarabia.
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