The Heart of the Matter

London: Heinemann, 1948 First edition, first impression. Publisher's navy blue cloth with publisher's device to bottom right of rear board, spine lettered in silver, and tan endpapers, red topstain; in the original red dust jacket priced at 9s.6d.net. Very good book, with corners lightly bumped, boards bowed, spine slightly creased, and a small tear to the spine of front endpaper; good or better unclipped dust jacket, with heavy fading to spine and light chipping to head of spine and corners, a 1-inch closed tear to front panel, and some edgewear. Overall, a sturdy copy of a notoriously fragile book. Set in Sierra Leone during World War II, The Heart of the Matter follows Major Henry Scobie as he navigates the moral degradation and religious guilt that result from a romantic affair. Greene pulled from his own experience as a British intelligence officer in colonial Africa when writing Scobie's sympathetic character, who bears the struggling Catholic soul present in many of Greene's works. The Heart of the Matter was an immediate success, selling over 300,000 copies upon its release. In 2005, it made Time magazine's list of the one hundred best English novels since 1923. In 1953, the novel was made into a film directed by George More O'Ferrall and starring Trevor Howard and Maria Schell.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.