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Academic tells us about long-lost Greene book find
The scholar who uncovered a long lost hand written Graham Greene novel has told The Berkhamsted and Tring Gazette about the rare find.
Every year Franois Gallix visits Berkhamsted for the Graham Greene International Festival as an expert speaker on the author, who grew up in the town.
The professor of contemporary literature in English at the French university, Paris IV-Sorbonne, uncovered the hand-written and unfinished novel, The Empty Chair, at the end of last year and it is now being serialised in the American crime publication, The Strand Magazine.
Mr Gallix said: "I have been doing intensive research on Greene for several years and every year take part in the Greene festival at Berkhamsted.
The professor found the unfinished detective story in the vaults at the University of Texas.
"I was thrilled and surprised by the quality of the style of a young man, aged 22. I was also extremely surprised not to find any indications by Greene himself about this particular unfinished text, neither in his correspondence nor in his diaries and autobiographical texts, contrary to other texts he mentioned. None of his biographers mentioned it."
Mr Gallix, along with a graduate student transcribed the 56 hand-written pages.
In comparison to Greene's later works Mr Gallix said: "As with most of his short stories, it is like a laboratory testing his future themes and his way of writing. It is now part of the bibliography of his published works and cannot be forgotten."
He continued: "The Strand will publish the five chapters as a serial, with my introduction, probably asking the readers to provide the missing conclusion-a device Greene would have liked as he himself took part in writing a Greene pastiche (but was not selected) in The New Statesman in 1949 and in The Spectator in 1980.
"My intention is also to publish my own translation of the five chapters in France."
It is hoped Mr Gallix will discuss The Empty Chair at 2009's Graham Greene International Festival in Berkhamsted.
Tickets for the event, which takes place between October 1 to 4, are already on sale.
Speakers this year include the broadcaster Kate Adie OBE and it is hoped members of the Greene family will also attend.
For more information about the festival or how to get tickets email treasurer@ grahamgreenbt.org
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Friday 25 May 2012
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