A hundred years ago this autumn, Graham Greene went up to Oxford University to begin his undergraduate studies. Balliol College has had more than its fair share of famous alumni over the years, including our most recent departure from Number Ten, Boris Johnson. Nobody, whatever their politics, could accuse Classics scholar Boris of being boring.

Those more interested in the colourful life and times of Graham Greene, meanwhile, could never be bored by new research and insights into the writer and his prodigious output. Indeed, the Festival is an annual feast for those with an insatiable appetite for all things Greene. It’s also an ideal opportunity to soak up the atmosphere of Berkhamsted and clink glasses with fellow Greene fans. It’s where the future writer was born, where he went to school, and is therefore the most fitting place to host the Festival every year.

This year’s 2022 Festival covers such fertile ground as theatre, lost stories, espionage, films set in Mexico and Spain, the cyber age and surveillance, and psychopaths. As well as this intellectual sustenance, there is also the popular Festival Dinner on Saturday evening in the Old Hall of Berkhamsted School. We hope to see you there.

Tickets will be on sale at the door for all events other than the meals, but it would be preferable if you could book in advance via the website, www.grahamgreenebt.org/tickets. Season Tickets, which offer a discount, are available for those who plan to attend all talks and films.

We are sponsored by Greene King Ltd. and Berkhamsted Town Council, for which we are very grateful, and supported by Berkhamsted School.

Christopher Hull, Festival Director