Described by Graham Greene as "the only book I have written for the fun of it", "Travels with My Aunt" is the story of Henry Pulling, a retired and complacent bank manager, who meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time at what he supposes to be his mother's funeral. She soon persuades Henry to abandon his dull suburban existence to travel her way - to Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay. Through Aunt Augusta, one of Greene's greatest comic creations, Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society; mixes with hippies, war criminals, and CIA men; smokes pot; and breaks all currency regulations.
Greeneland has been described often as a land bleak and severe. A whisky priest dies in one village (1), a self-hunted man lives with lepers in another (2). But Greeneland has its summer regions, and in the sunlight everything looks different. "Travels with My Aunt" is full of sunlight, and full of fun - and the movie, with Maggie Smith as Aunt Augusta, is more than funny; it's downright hilarious.
You can read the book on www.archive.org - give them a small donation while you're there! - but, unfortunately, there's only a short trailer of the movie on YouTube. However, filmclassics.com.au will sell you an all-region manufactured-on-demand copy for a mere $12.75. Go for it!
(1) "The Power and the Glory"
(2) "A Burnt-Out Case"
