The novelist Graham Greene ranks at number 6 on Tim Shipman's infamous Best Spy Writers list — and yet we haven't given him enough airtime on the podcast. Time to put that right.

Graham Greene didn't just write about spies — spying was the family business. His uncle founded Naval Intelligence. His sister recruited him into SIS. And Greene himself walked out of the Service the day before D-Day. Why? The answer may involve his boss and drinking companion: Kim Philby.

Guest host Matt Hurst debriefs Professor Kevin Ruane — Greene scholar and Director of the Graham Greene International Festival — on the novelist's secret double life.

In this episode:

The Greene family spy business: an uncle in Naval Intelligence, a sister in SIS, a brother running black ops in Malaya, and another spying for three countries at once (badly)
Why Greene quit SIS on the eve of D-Day — and the Philby theory
"Recreational espionage": how Greene's letters reveal decades of meetings with "the old firm" before trips to Vienna, Cuba, Poland and Vietnam
The Quiet American: the 1955 novel that predicted the Vietnam War, and why journalists like David Halberstam and Neil Sheehan carried it in their knapsacks
Was Greene spying in Vietnam? The "Catholic solution" and the hunt for a third force
The 1958 film Greene called a travesty — and his fan letter to Sean Connery for a remake that never happened
Greene vs le Carré: the endorsement that made le Carré's name, and the letter that said "you're not my friend"
Why Greene would love Slow Horses

This is the first of what we hope will be many episodes exploring the great spy novelists — subscribe to Spybrary so you don't miss what's coming.

The Graham Greene International Festival runs 24-27 September in Berkhamsted, UK — 30 minutes from London Euston. Spy highlights include Ben Brown's play A Splinter of Ice, Robert Verkaik on The Writer and the Traitor, and le Carré biographer Adam Sisman on Greene and le Carré. Tickets at grahamgreenebt.org

All links at spybrary.com/306