Tim Butcher on the story of Barbara Greene in Africa, at 5x15

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Tim Butcher on the story of Barbara Greene in Africa, at 5x15

20 Sep 2010

Speakers: Tim Butcher

Journalist Tim Butcher introduces us to Graham Greene’s cousin Barbara. The now-celebrated, then-obscure novelist travelled through Sierra Leone and Liberia in 1935 to research his book Journey without Maps. He was accompanied by his cousin Barbara, who went along because she thought the trip sounded “rather jaunty”. Tim Butcher followed in their footsteps through a country ravaged by war and disease – in the Greenes’ day, this was literally uncharted territory for Europeans. Although Barbara Greene has been forgotten by history, her cousin ended up owing his life to her adaptability and courage in unfamiliar circumstances.