Thursday 25 September
Afternoon
1415: Court House, beside St Peter’s Church.
Graham Greene’s Common: A Battlefield Guide (under three miles; includes uphill stretches and WWI trenches) led by Richard Shepherd, with readings from A Sort of Life and The Human Factor. Assemble outside the Court House for introduction. Cars/lifts and stout walking shoes required for the start of the walk at Inns of Court War Memorial, New Road Car Park. If wet, illustrated talk with readings in the Court House.
Evening
1830: The Town Hall.
Opening Night Supper (Drinks at pay bar from 5.30). Please book online by Monday 15 September at the latest.
2000: The Civic Centre.
Film: Ministry of Fear (Paramount, 1944, 83 minutes), directed by Fritz Lang, starring Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, and Carl Esmond. Paramount snapped up the film rights to Greene’s novel solely on the strength of its title. Introduced by Mike Hill.
Friday 26 September
Morning
0945: The Town Hall.
England Made Me – the historian and Greene bibliographer Jon Wise will discuss an accomplished but now neglected early novel by Graham Greene.
1045 break for tea and coffee
1115: The Town Hall.
Faith and Revolution in Graham Greene’s Mexico (1910-1940) – the historian Ricardo Alvarez-Pimentel (Baylor University, USA) will help us understand the complex world which inspired The Lawless Roads and The Power and the Glory.
Break for lunch
Afternoon
1430: The Town Hall.
Human and Humane Factors: The Graham Greene Approach to Life – the novelist and literary scholar Randy Boyagoda (University of Toronto, Canada) will take us into Greene’s late masterpiece about an honorable traitor.
1530 p.m. break for tea and coffee
1600: The Town Hall.
Reading Graham Greene – the acclaimed author, comedian, film-maker, theatre producer and broadcaster Armando Iannucci tells us why he is a such a big fan of Graham Greene.
Evening
2000: The Civic Centre.
Film: Brighton Rock (BBC Films, 2011, 107 minutes), the second cinematic adaptation of one of Greene’s greatest works, this film is set in the 1960s. It is directed by Rowan Joffé, and stars Helen Mirren, Sam Riley, Andrea Riseborough and John Hurt. Introduced by Mike Hill.
Saturday 27 September
Morning
0945: Deans’ Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street).
Who Killed Kolly Kibber: A Deep Dive into the Difficulty of Adapting Brighton Rock – the novelist and film scholar Shirley Day will contrast Greene’s original novel, its postwar theatrical adaptation and the two distinct film versions to reveal why Brighton Rock continues to fascinate and frustrate those who attempt to bring it to life.
1045 break for tea and coffee
1115: Deans’ Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street).
‘Dear heart’: The Graham Greene-Catherine Walston Correspondence, 1947-1978 – the literary historian Kevin Ruane, a regular speaker at the Festival and its incoming Director, will discuss his vast project of editing the largest and most revealing collection of Greene’s correspondence.
Break for lunch
Afternoon
1430: Deans’ Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street).
Graham Greene’s Achill: A Record of Love – the oral historian Dr Angela Maye-Banbury will create a picture of the island off the coast of Mayo where Graham Greene and Catherine Walston spent some of their happiest times.
1530 Break for tea and coffee
1600: Deans’ Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street).
‘My Best Entertainment’: The Ministry of Fear – Festival regulars Creina Mansfield and Mike Hill discuss the extraordinary story of Nazi spies and a mysterious cake which Greene wrote in Sierra Leone in 1942.
1715 – the Graham Greene Birthday Toast
Evening
2000: Old Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street)
Festival Dinner: three courses with wine and coffee: vegan/vegetarian option. Please book online by Monday 15 September at the latest.
Sunday 28 September
Morning
0900: Old Hall and Careers Centre, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street), 9.00 a.m.
Guided Tour of the School Archives, including a look at the Exhibition Room, the green baize door, Old Hall and the School Chapel. (Meet outside Old Hall.)
1000: Careers Centre, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street), 9.00 a.m.
If Greene hadn’t made that mistake… – the surgeon and literary scholar Ramón Rami-Porta (Mutua Terrassa University, Spain) considers what Greene’s life and career might have been had he never become a Catholic.
1100 break for tea and coffee
1130: Careers Centre, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street), 9.00 a.m.
Female Aspects of The Third Man – the film scholar Brigitte Timmermann (Vienna) opens up a seldom-discussed issue in relation to the production of one of the world’s greatest films.
1300: Old Hall, Berkhamsted School (Castle Street)
Farewell Lunch: two-course cold buffet, wine and coffee; vegan/vegetarian option. Please book by Monday 15 September at the latest.
Festival Speakers
- Ricardo J. Álvarez-Pimentel holds a doctorate from Yale University and is an assistant professor of history at Baylor University. He is currently writing a book on counter-revolution and the women of Mexican Catholic Action, which will be published by the University of Nebraska Press.
- Randy Boyagoda is a professor of English and senior administrator at the University of Toronto. A biographer and critic, he has also published four celebrated novels, of which the most recent, the second volume of a trilogy, is Dante’s Indiana. This is his second appearance at the Festival.
- Shirley Day is a novelist, independent producer, and film scholar. She is currently engaged in doctoral research on Graham Greene and adaptation at the University of East Anglia. This is her second appearance at the Festival.
- Mike Hill has been director of the Graham Greene Festival on six occasions. He edits A Sort of Newsletter, the quarterly magazine of the Graham Greene Birthplace Trust. With Jon Wise, he has recently co-written and published the third volume of a Greene bibliography.
- Armando Iannucci, CBE, is one of the most celebrated public figures in Britain. An acclaimed comedian, writer, and broadcaster, he is the creative force behind many productions including The Thick of It, Veep, The Death of Stalin, and The Personal History of David Copperfield.
- Creina Mansfield is a frequent contributor to the festival. A narratologist, she taught for many years at Manchester University and is the author of The Quiet Soldier: Phuong’s Story, a novel which reaches beyond the silences of The Quiet American to uncover the secret life of its chief female character.
- Angela Maye-Banbury holds a doctorate in philosophy and is an oral historian, who taught for many years at Sheffield Hallam University. She lives on Achill Island, County Mayo, where she promotes the study of oral history.
- Ramón Rami-Porta is a distinguished thoracic surgeon with a particular expertise in fighting lung cancer. He is also a literary scholar and this will be his third presentation to the Festival.
- Kevin Ruane, who will be directing the 2026 Festival, is an emeritus professor History at Canterbury Christ Church University and a by-fellow of Churchill College, University of Cambridge. He is the author of a number of books including major studies of Winston Churchill and Anthony Eden. This will be his sixth Festival talk.
- Brigitte Timmermann, a frequent contributor to the festival, holds a doctorate in history and is the author of a major work on the making of The Third Man. She conducts themed walking tours in Vienna and lectures on a variety of historical subjects.
- Jon Wise, a frequent contributor to the Festival, is a Graham Greene Birthplace Trustee, and his responsibilities include managing the Trust’s website. He is co-editor of Graham Greene Studies, an online academic journal dedicated to the life and work of the writer. He is co-author with Mike Hill of a three-volume bibliographic guide to Greene’s writings.