"I ONLY WANTED A RELATIVE TRUTH TO MAKE LIFE TOLERABLE"

GREENE, Graham. The Potting Shed. London: William Heinemann, (1958). Small octavo, original gray-blue cloth, original dust jackets. $250.

First English edition of Greene's second play.

Greene did not write his first play, The Living Room, until 1953; he found the process surprisingly enjoyable. "Greene learned that unlike a film script, where the writer is excluded from the act of creation once the script has been completed, the playwright doesn't become a forgotten man. He thought he would be 'an unwelcome stranger lurking ashamed in the stalls,' but it was not so. He discovered that with a play the writing continues after the play goes into production: 'It would extend through rehearsals and through the opening weeks of tour.' He thoroughly enjoyed rehearsals and was struck by the fact that the actors all played a part in suggesting improvements: 'in the play as a whole… nearly a dozen lively informed intelligences criticising and suggesting'" (Sherry, The Life of Graham Greene II: 454). Published one year earlier in New York. Owner signature.

Only minor wear to dust jacket extremities. A near-fine copy.