The Tenth Man (novel)
LC Class | PR6013.R44 T4 1985b |
The Tenth Man is a 1985 short novel by the British novelist Graham Greene.
Background
In the introduction to the first edition of his novel,
Plot summary
The story begins in a prison in
The story comprises four parts. In Part I, set in prison, the occupying German guards issue a
In Part II, the war is over and Chavel is alive and free, but virtually destitute. He returns to the house he sold for his life and finds it occupied by Janvier's mother and sister, Thérèse. Assuming the false name Charlot, he becomes their servant.
Part III sees the arrival of an impostor, named Carosse, who claims to be Chavel. Carosse attempts to denounce Charlot, win the favour of Thérèse and stake a claim on the property.
Finally in Part IV, Charlot, having fallen in love with Thérèse, must save her from Carosse, as a means of redemption from his earlier cowardice.
Main characters
- Chavel - A Paris lawyer who in exchange for all his assets persuades Janvier to take his place in front of the firing squad and, when released penniless and homeless, goes back to his old house as a servant under the name of Charlot.
- Michel Mangeot – AKA Janvier, a fellow prisoner dying from tuberculosis, who achieves his lifelong goal of dying rich by trading his life for Chavel's.
- Thérèse - Michel's twin sister, who inherits Chavel's house, and with it a hatred of the man who by his wealth and cowardice caused her brother's death, but starts to fall in love with Charlot.
- Carosse - A collaborator and murderer, whose real name is Philippe Breton; on the run, comes to the house and pretends to be Chavel, thinking the latter to be dead; he attempts to displace Charlot in the affections of Thérèse.
Film, television and theatrical adaptations
The book was turned into a 1988 television movie starring
Footnotes
- ISBN 0-370-30831-X.
- ^ Greene 1985, p. 10.
- ^ The Tenth Man, IMDb. Retrieved 15 June 2015.