Enter Director Graham Greene

Abstract

At the beginning of June 1957 Ansbacher’s gave a luncheon to which they invited Graham Greene. He had supplemented his war income by serving as a director for Eyre & Spottiswoode then worked there as editorial director from 1944 to 1948, inventing a Mrs Montgomery, whose manuscript was supposedly lost at the press to amuse himself. Greene told Max he missed publishing and was looking for something to do after he had written his 500 words a day so Max asked him to join the board of The Bodley Head and help revamp their list. Like Priestley, Greene’s own publisher was William Heinemann. Greene did not much like Priestley, but he liked Max immediately and permanently, in part because Max was so affable. Max’s first letter to ‘Dear Greene’ was an apology sent 5 June, two days before Greene’s official election to the board. ‘I’m so sorry that you so very much disliked the first page proofs that we sent you. The book was accepted by the previous management and as we took over the list as it was we just went ahead with the production of all the books on it … I am postponing publication … I am most grateful for your advice.’ Within a week Greene had glanced through the catalogue and suggested

combining Rex Warner’s translations of Euripides, of which [The Bodley Head had] published three, into one volume at a reasonable price … What is the position today of Kenneth Grahame who was an idol of one’s childhood? … I remember Norman Dale as a very good writer of adventure stories for children … Barbara Comyns. She’s a crazy but interesting novelist whom I started when I was at Eyre & Spottiswoode … George Bernanos. The Diary of A Country Priest … Marcel Aymé. If we still have rights in his books I do think some concerted drive should be made to put him over in English.¹