The Comedians (novel)
First edition cover | |
| Author | Graham Greene |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Bodley Head |
Publication date | 28 January 1965 (USA); 1966 (UK) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| OCLC | 365953 |
| Preceded by | A Burnt-Out Case |
| Followed by | Travels with My Aunt |
The Comedians (1965) is a novel by Graham Greene. It is set in Haiti under the rule of François "Papa Doc" Duvalier and his secret police, the Tontons Macoutes. The novel explores political repression and terrorism through the figure of an English hotel owner, Brown.
It was released first in the United States on 28 January 1965, and in 1966 in the United Kingdom.
The story begins as three men, Brown, Smith, and Jones, meet on a ship bound for Haiti. The three men are the "comedians" of Greene's title. Complications include Brown's friendship with a rebel leader, hotel guests who are politically active, and an affair with Martha Pineda, the wife of a South American ambassador. The fictional Hotel Trianon, the setting for much of the novel, was inspired by the Hotel Oloffson in central Port-au-Prince.
The novel was adapted as a feature film of the same name, released in 1967 and starring Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, Alec Guinness, Peter Ustinov, James Earl Jones, Cicely Tyson, Paul Ford and Lillian Gish.