Home › Classics › Our Man in Havana
  • Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene book cover
  • Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene book cover
1 2

Our Man in Havana

by Graham Greene

Espionage, invention, and the machinery of intelligence

$18.54 USD
$30.90 USD $18.54 USD
Save 40%

Paperback New English

Delivery to your door
In stock·Dispatches in 1–2 business days
Standard shipping* from $4.35
Standard shipping transit* 5–8 business days after dispatch

Faster options are available.

Rates and delivery estimates depend on your destination and item quantity. Estimates are informational only; the final shipping method and rate are selected at checkout.
Secure checkout
American Express Apple Pay DiscoverGoogle Pay Mastercard PayPalVisa
30-day eligible returns Returns & refunds policy

AlbakiReads Editorial

Espionage, invention, and the machinery of intelligence

Set in Havana against the Cold War backdrop, Graham Greene’s novel turns a vacuum-cleaner salesman’s financial desperation into an unlikely intelligence operation. Wormold invents reports and military installations to satisfy MI6, drawing on Shakespeare tales and vacuum-cleaner designs; the premise shifts when his fabrications begin to match events beyond his control. The setup brings together comic invention, a study of a man under economic pressure, and satire of government intelligence. First published in 1959, the novel uses the conventions of espionage fiction to examine how an invented story can acquire consequences in a political world.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in Cold War-era espionage fiction and political satire.
  • Readers who enjoy novels built around deception, fabricated intelligence, and an ordinary person drawn into secret service.
  • Readers exploring Graham Greene or classic twentieth-century fiction.

Themes

Espionage and fabricated intelligenceEconomic necessityPolitical satireInvention and consequence

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"[Graham Greene] is the ultimate chronicler of twentieth-century man's consciousness and anxiety." --William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies

MI6's man in Havana is Wormold, a former vacuum-cleaner salesman turned reluctant secret agent out of economic necessity. To keep his job, he files bogus reports based on Charles Lamb's Tales from Shakespeare and dreams up military installations from vacuum-cleaner designs. Then his stories start coming disturbingly true...

First published in 1959 against the backdrop of the Cold War, Our Man in Havana remains one of Graham Greene's most widely read novels. It is an espionage thriller, a penetrating character study, and a political satire of government intelligence that still resonates today. This Penguin Classics edition features an introduction by Christopher Hitchens.

Penguin Classics is the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, representing a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Shipping & returnsShipping options, delivery timing, and our return policy.

In-stock items normally dispatch within 1–2 business days. The ZIP-code estimator on this page is informational only; the final shipping method, price, and availability are confirmed at checkout for your full order.

For the initial delivery estimate we use these transit windows after dispatch: Standard 5–8 business days, Expedited 2–4 business days, and Priority 1–2 business days. Holiday delays are not included.

Eligible items can be returned within 30 days in accordance with our return policy.

Customer reviews

You may also like

View all