'David Kerr has successfully survived a test by fire during his Diplomatic 'Apprenticeship' at the Embassy in Washington D.C. Rewarded by promotion to the prized post of Legation Secretary in Athens, his career is firmly on track for further fast advancement. His reception at the Legation in Athens, and the lifestyle it promises is all David had hoped for.
'But during the postings in Greece and subsequently as Consul in the Belgian Congo, Estelle continues to jeopardise her husband's career by her intransigence. David rides out the storms and stays at his post during the civil unrest following the Congo's independence from Belgium, until his Mission is closed on the orders of the new Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba.' (Back cover)
In the Diplomatic : The Apprentice
Inverloch
:
Joe Tennant
,
1998
Z1499975
1998
single work
novel
'David Kerr, dux of his graduation year at the University of Cape Town is the last 'English' (speaking) appointee to the Diplomatic Service. The extremist Afrikaner 'Apartheid' Party has just gained power - and is determined on revenge against their 'English' compatriots for grievances going back to the Anglo/Boer war at the turn of the century.
'He receives an unexpected immediate transfer to the Washington Embassy, and foolishly, rushes into marriage with a local Afrikaner girl, only to be devastated on his wedding night when rejected by his bride of a few hours. With no time to clarify the issue, the couple board a luxury liner for the journey to America. Arriving in Washington, David finds he is engages on two fronts.
'The Afrikaner administrators in Pretoria are resolved to purify the 'Service' of foreign 'English' influence, and obstruct his career at every stage. Incredibly, by his conventional standards, his wife persists in rejecting him, and eventually he finds consolation elsewhere.
'The wars of attrition at home and office continue against a background of the diplomatic privileges and extraterritoriality of Foreign Service life: Washington's glamorous social circle; Presidential receptions at the White House; and the daily Protocol, Consular, Cypher and Administrative duties at the embassy.' (Back cover).
