Lucky Lupin

Based on Charlie Mortimer's life with HIV/Aids during the early years (1984-1996), when there was neither treatment nor cure, The Lupin Diaries is a poignant yet light-hearted memoir from the bestselling author of Dear Lupin. Using a combination of good luck, gallows humour, Fray Bentos pies and copious quantities of Solpadeine, Charlie survived not only the illness but also the hysteria that accompanied the so-called 'gay plague'. Anyone infected became a social pariah; had the local launderette got word of his illness, they wouldn't have washed his sheets but burnt them. Charlie initially took to the sofa and prepared for death, but in time he found the courage required to beat his fatal diagnosis, becoming, among other things, a 'consigliere' for his good friend, the now-infamous and disgraced antiques dealer John Hobbs. The Lupin Diaries also covers the sometimes surprising reactions from Charlie's colourful array of family and friends, as well as his failed attempts at relationships and 'adoption' of a bank robber who lived with him for twelve years. With blistering and often hilarious candour, Charlie confronts head-on his experiences of confused sexuality, addiction and clinical depression, before ultimately finding lasting contentment. The Lupin Diaries is more than just a romp through a minefield of catastrophes. It is a story of survival against the odds, told in an inimitable style. Praise for Dear Lupin: As well as being the funniest book I've read in ages, it's also extremely touching. A delight then, on every front. The Spectator Very, very funny. Sunday Times Wry trenchant, often extremely funny, but also charmingly forbearing and forgiving. Country Life