The Tenth Man

The Tenth Man (1985) is a short novel by the British novelist Graham Greene. Background In the introduction to the first edition of his novel, Greene states that he had forgotten about this story until receiving a letter about it from a stranger in 1983. Greene had first suggested it as an idea for a film script in 1937, set during the Spanish Civil War, and later developed it while under contract with MGM during the 1940s. Nothing came of it and the rights were offered for sale by MGM in 1983. The buyer (Anthony Blond) allowed Greene to revise and subsequently publish the work. Greene also writes of this novel that "I prefer it in many ways to The Third Man". Plot summary The story begins in a prison in occupied France during the Second World War. It is decreed that one in every ten prisoners is to be executed; lots are drawn to decide who will die. One of the men chosen is a rich lawyer. He offers all his money to anyone who will take his place. One man agrees. Upon his release from prison the lawyer must face the consequences of his actions. The story comprises four parts. In Part I, set in prison, the occupying German guards issue a decimation order to the thirty inmates. One of the three chosen by drawing lots is a rich lawyer named Chavel. Chavel becomes hysterical and desperately offers his entire wealth to any man willing to die in his place. A young man, Michel Mangeot, known as Janvier, who is dying of tuberculosis, accepts his offer and is executed as Chavel in the morning.