Description:

An “adventurous . . . intelligent . . . ingenious” novel of crime and punishment in pre–World War II London (V. S. Pritchett).

During a demonstration in Hyde Park, Communist bus driver Jim Drover acts on instinct to protect his wife by stabbing to death the policeman set to strike her down. Sentenced to hang—whether as a martyr, tool, or murderer—Drover accepts his lot, unaware that the ramifications for the crime, and the battle for his reprieve, are inflaming political unrest in an increasingly divided city. But Drover’s single, impulsive act is also upending the lives of the people he loves and trusts. Caught in a quicksand of desperation, sexual betrayal, and guilt, they will not only play a part in Drover’s fate, but they’ll become agents—both unwitting and calculated—of their own fates as well.

Turning the traditional narrative of the police procedural, domestic drama, and political thriller on its head , It’s a Battlefield was described by Graham Greene himself as “a panoramic novel of London,” one without heroes and villains, only “the injustice of man’s justice.”

Review

“[Greene] writes in a cinematographic style that shoots a keen, swift-moving camera eye from one point to another round the circle of his drama. . . . This is a distinctive story, engrossing, alive and decidedly well worth reading.” — The New York Times

Praise for Graham Greene
“The most ingenious, inventive and exciting of our novelists, rich in exactly etched and moving portraits of real human beings . . . A master of storytelling.” —V. S. Pritchett, The Times (London)

“In a class by himself . . . The ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man’s consciousness and anxiety.” —William Golding

“A superb storyteller with a gift for provoking controversy.” — The New York Times

“Greene had the sharpest eyes for trouble, the finest nose for human weaknesses, and was pitilessly honest in his observations. . . . For experience of a whole century he was the man within.” —Norman Sherry, Independent

“No serious writer of [the twentieth] century has more thoroughly invaded and shaped the public imagination than Graham Greene.” — Time

“One of the finest writers of any language.” — The Washington Post

“A superb storyteller—he had a talent for depicting local colour, a keen sense of the dramatic, an eye for dialogue, and skill in pacing his prose.” — The New York Times

“Graham Greene was a profound and experimental stylist.” — Time Out

“Graham Greene had wit and grace and character and story and a transcendent universal compassion that places him for all time in the ranks of world literature.” —John le Carré

“Greene was a force beyond his books.” —Melvyn Bragg

“Greene’s fictional products are to conventional mystery stories what an Alfred Hitchcock exercise in cinematic suspense is to the ordinary Grade B Whodunit.” — Weekly Book Review

“Mr. Greene’s extraordinary power of plot-making, of suspense and of narration . . . moves continuously both in time and space and in emotion.” — The Times (London)

“Graham Greene taught us to understand the social and economic cripples in our midst. He taught us to look at each other with new eyes. I don’t suppose his influence will ever disappear.” —Auberon Waugh, The Independent

“A masterly storyteller . . . An enormously popular writer who was also one of the most significant novelists of his time.” — Newsweek

About the Author

Graham Greene (1904–1991) is recognized as one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, achieving both literary acclaim and popular success. His best known works include Brighton Rock , The Heart of the Matter , The Quiet American , and The Power and the Glory. After leaving Oxford, Greene first pursued a career in journalism before dedicating himself full-time to writing with his first big success, Stamboul Train. He became involved in screenwriting and wrote adaptations for the cinema as well as original screenplays, the most successful being The Third Man. Religious, moral, and political themes are at the root of much of his work, and throughout his life he traveled to some of the wildest and most volatile parts of the world, which provided settings for his fiction. Greene was a member of the Order of Merit and a Companion of Honour.

From the Inside Flap

Drover, a Communist bus driver, is in prison appealing his death sentence for killing a policeman during a riot at Hyde Park Corner, a policeman he thought was about to club his wife. A battle rages to save Drover?s life from the noose. The Assistant Commissioner, high-principled and over-worked; Conrad, a paranoid clerk; Mr. Surrogate, a rich Fabian; Condor, a pathetic journalist feeding on fantasies; and Kay, pretty and promiscuous - all have a part to play in Drover?s fate. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

From the Back Cover

“The most ingenious, inventive and exciting of our novelists... A master of storytelling.” – The Times --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Drover, a Communist bus driver, is in prison, sentenced to death for killing a policeman during a riot at Hyde Park Corner. A battle for a reprieve with many participants ensues: the Assistant Commissioner, high-principled and over-worked; Conrad, a paranoid clerk; Mr Surrogate, a rich Fabian; Condor, a pathetic journalist feeding on fantasies; pretty, promiscuous Kay - all have a part to play in his fate.