• The Diplomat

    The Diplomat

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    A powerful story of grief and recovery, set in the 1990s drug underworld of Melbourne, from bestselling and award-winning author Chris Womersley.

    1991. Fresh out of detox and five years after his involvement in the theft of Picasso’s masterpiece The Weeping Woman from the NGV, Edward Degraves – art forger and drug addict – returns to Melbourne for a new start. All he needs to do is make one last visit to The Diplomat, a seedy motel renowned for its drug dealers and eccentrics. But Edward’s new-found sobriety is both a torment and a gift. As he revisits old haunts, he is confronted by reminders of the past: ruined relationships, a stalled career as an artist and – looming over everything – the death of his beloved wife Gertrude. Shot through with grief and dark comedy, The Diplomat is a powerful story of love and recovery – and a stark evocation of the fine line between self-destruction and redemption.

    1991. Fresh out of detox and five years after his involvement in the theft of Picasso's masterpiece The Weeping Woman from the NGV, Edward Degraves - art forger and drug addict - returns to Melbourne for a new start. All he needs to do is make one last visit to The Diplomat, a seedy motel renowned for its drug dealers and eccentrics. But Edward's new-found sobriety is both a torment and a gift. As he revisits old haunts, he is confronted by reminders of the past: ruined relationships, a stalled career as an artist and - looming over everything - the death of his beloved wife Gertrude. Shot through with grief and dark comedy, The Diplomat is a powerful story of love and recovery - and a stark evocation of the fine line between self-destruction and redemption.