Antrobus Stories

Eleven charming, delicate sketches of diplomatic life in service of the crown. After decades spent representing Britain around the globe, Antrobus has earned a shirtful of medals and the right to pass afternoons in his London club, musing over old times. His memory is long, and every old embarrassment still rankles, no matter how ridiculous. The incident with the Yugoslav ghost train, for instance, still causes him to clench his fists in fear. When he speaks of Sir Claud Polk-Mowbray, he takes pains to lower his voice, lest an American hear. And his stomach has never recovered from the incident involving the fried flag.   Based on Lawrence Durrell's own experience in the diplomatic corps, Antrobus's cutting observation is drawn from the strange and humorous truth. Few are those with a better sense of place than Durrell, and even fewer with wit to match.

For the British delegation to Vulgaria, no problem is too small to become a crisis in this lively story collection of diplomatic misadventure In the words of Antrobus, master diplomat in the King's service, diplomacy was once 'a quiet and restful trade carried on in soothing inanity among a hundred shady legations and embassies all over the globe.' What changed? What caused this most noble profession to fall from grace? Women, of course. A diplomatic incident begins brewing as soon as the lovely new French ambassador-or is it ambassadress?-arrives in Vulgaria. One of the British delegation is instantly besotted, and about to begin his pursuit when a rival appears in the form of roguish Italian diplomat Bonzo di Porco. Because these are servants of the most advanced governments in the world, they settle their dispute rationally: with swords.   Jealousy, selfishness, swordplay? All are commonplace in Antrobus's embassy. In these nine juicy tales, the King's diplomats may seldom be diplomatic, but they always manage to get the job done-with or without bloodshed.

Versatile British novelist, travel writer, and member of the real-life family portrayed in the PBS Masterpiece production, The Durrells in Corfu, Lawrence Durrell worked in the Foreign Service during and after World War II, where he experienced the absurdities of international diplomacy firsthand.