born Oct. 2, 1904, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, Eng.
died April 3, 1991, Vevey, Switz.
British author.
After studying at the University of Oxford, he converted to Roman Catholicism in 1926. Beginning 0441; 1930 he worked principally as a freelance journalist for several decades, during which he traveled widely. Stamboul Train (1932; also titled Orient Express ; film, 1934) was the first of his "entertainments," thrillers with considerable moral complexity and depth; others included A Gun for Sale (1936; also titled This Gun for Hire ; film, 1942), The Confidential Agent (1939; film, 1945), and The Third Man (1949; film, 1949). His finest novels
Brighton Rock (1938; film, 1948), The Power and the Glory (1940; film, 1962), The Heart of the Matter (1948; film, 1954), and The End of the Affair (1951; film, 1999)
all have distinctly religious themes. Several of his novels set in "third-world" nations on the brink of political upheaval were also adapted as films.