The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene. Short summary

5 seconds

Major Scobie was stationed in the West African colony during the last world war. His wife Louise could not make friends. Scobie sympathized with her, but did not love her.

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Major Scobie lived with his wife Louise in the West African colony. He was in charge of security in the colony during the last world war.

Louise loved poetry as well as literature. She could not, however, find friends. Her husband sympathized with her but did not love her. Their only daughter, named Catherine, had passed away in Great Britain several years before the events described in the work. Scobie and Louise were both people of faith.

Louise’s husband was not promoted to the rank of commissioner, which upset her greatly. This was both because of her personal ambition and because she hoped to be accepted into the local British community.

The major was the superintendent in charge of inspecting the local passenger ships. He tried to find smuggled precious metals in the ships, but his attempts were always unsuccessful. One day Scobie found a letter in the cabin of the captain of a Portuguese ship that was to be sent to someone in Germany.