New Stories by Graham Greene and Ian Fleming

The discovery of a lost literary manuscript always leads to much excitement in the ranks of the bibliophiles. When an author dies, readers naturally assume that we will never hear from him/her again. Just last year, Gabriel García Márquez’s abandoned last novel Until August was published posthumously. The hubbub around the arrival of the book exceeded its reception, as the novel about a married woman’s sexual escapades didn’t quite reach Marquezian standards. The release of the book also launched many a debate on whether the book should have been published when the Nobel laureate himself had wanted it “destroyed”.

While the ethics of publishing a book posthumously is a different matter, the unearthing of a long-lost work excites all. The Strand Mystery Magazine cashes in on just this appeal, by sourcing previously unpublished works by icons like Ernest Hemingway and John Steinbeck and Agatha Christie to name just a handful. The latest issue of the 75-year-old quarterly magazine has spurred much interest as earlier this week it released two previously unpublished works by the novelist and journalist Graham Greene and the creator of James Bond Ian Fleming. Greene’s story ‘Reading at Night’ was found at the University of Texas at Austin.

Given his journalism background, Greene has always been known for his fast-paced and dramatic books, and the economy of his prose. His writing method is legendary as every day he would write 500 words and would even stop mid-sentence if he had reached the desired word count. While ‘Reading at Night’ is not yet available online and can only be accessed in the print edition of The Strand, the story is said to be unlike Greene’s other works as it is an “eerie gem”. As the title suggests it tells of a solo male traveller holed up in bed reading scary stories as a storm rages outside on the French Riviera. The horrors are never revealed outright, but anyone who has read a scary book alone in an unfamiliar place will be able to relate to the shivers that tone and setting can cause. Fleming’s story ‘The Shameful Dream’ has none of his signature bravado, there are no car chases, no villains conspiring the end of the world. Like Greene’s story it is said to be a departure from his oeuvre. Here we have a journalist who has seen better days dreading a visit to a “sadistic media mogul’s mansion”. It is said to be more literary than adventurous.

There is much excitement over both these stories, as both are seen as departures from the authors’ signature style. Which reminds one of the Future Library Project (2014-2114) where the world’s leading authors contribute a manuscript, which will only be opened a hundred years hence. Margaret Atwood was the first author to contribute a manuscript, but since then others like Nobel laureate Han Kang, and acclaimed authors like Elif Shafak and David Mitchell have also contributed books. The intention of the Future Library Project is that the books will remain ‘lost’ for one hundred years, but wonders what the reception to these books will be a century from now. Will they be seen as aberrations to the writer’s style or will they be seen as a continuum?

authorsbooksGraham GreeneIan FlemingmanuscriptsWeb Exclusive