Travels with My Aunt
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| Author | Graham Greene |
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| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Penguin |
| Released | 1969 |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 272 pages |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-018501-1 |
Travels with My Aunt (1969) is a novel written by British author Graham Greene. It has been adapted into film once, in 1972.
The novel follows the travels of Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, and his eccentric Aunt Augusta as they find their way across Europe, and eventually over continents. Aunt Augusta pulls Henry away from his quiet suburban retirement into a world of adventure, crime and the sordid details of her past.
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[edit] Plot overview
The novel begins when Henry Pulling, a boring, uncharming retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at his mother's funeral. Despite having little in common, they form a bond.
Henry finds himself drawn into Aunt Augusta's world of travels, adventures, romance and absence of bigotry.
He travels first with her to Brighton, where he meets old acquaintances of his aunt, and gains an insight into one of her many past lives. Here a psychic foreshadows that he will have many travels in the near future. This prediction invariably becomes true as Henry is pulled further and further into his aunt's lifestyle, and delves deeper into her past.
Their voyages take them from Paris to Istanbul on the Orient Express, and as the journey unfolds, so do the stories of Aunt Augusta, painting the picture of a woman for whom love has been the defining feature of her life.
Henry returns to his quiet retirement after his travels, but tending his garden no longer holds the same allure, and with a letter from his aunt, he finally gives up his old life to join his aunt and her lover in South America and to marry a young girl.
[edit] 1972 Film adaptation
The film adaptation stars Maggie Smith, Alec McCowen, Louis Gossett Jr. and Cindy Williams.
The movie was adapted by Jay Presson Allen, Hugh Wheeler and Katharine Hepburn (uncredited) from the novel by Graham Greene. It was directed by George Cukor.
It won the Academy Award for Costume Design and was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role (Maggie Smith), Best Art Direction-Set Decoration and Best Cinematography.
[edit] Play Adaptation
The play adaptation was created by Giles Havergal former Artistic Director of The Glasgow Citizens Theatre. It was first performed as a play at The Glasgow Citizens Theatre on the 10 November 1989 with the following cast: Giles Havergal, Derwent Watson, Patrick Hannaway, and Christopher Gee. Since then, the version adapted by Havergal has been performed in London, New York, San Francisco and at theatres throughout the English-speaking world.
[edit] Band
Travels (With My Aunt) is also an electro/thrash/punk band from Phoenix, AZ. Includes ex members of HIV And The Positives and Project:Popularity.
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