Skip to content
  • Common Currency
  • Campaigns
    • PENWrites
    • Writers at Risk
    • Writers in Residence
    • Free speech in the UK
  • News
  • Events
  • Translation
    • PEN Translates
    • PEN Transmissions
    • International Translation Day
    • The World Bookshelf
      • Books
      • Authors
      • Translators
    • PEN Presents
      • Issues
      • Books
      • Apply to PEN Presents
  • Prizes
    • PEN Pinter Prize
    • PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize
  • Donate
  • Join
Home > Translation > The World Bookshelf > Books > Mission London

Mission London

The new Bulgarian ambassador to London is determined to satisfy the whims of his bosses at all costs. Putting himself at the mercy of a shady PR-agency, he is promised direct access to the very highest social circles. Meanwhile, on the lower levels of the embassy, things are not as they should be. With criminal gangs operating in the kitchens, police on the trail of missing ducks from Hyde Park and a sexy Princess Diana impersonator employed as the cleaner, how is an ambassador supposed to do his job?

Combining the themes of corruption, confusion and outright incompetence, Popov masterly brings together the multiple plot lines in a sumptuous carnival of frenzy and futile vanity, allowing the illusions and delusions of the post-communist society to be reflected in their glorious absurdity!

Visit missionlondon.istrosbooks.com for more information, including more translations, book cover designs from across Europe, a reader’s group forum and details of the forthcoming film!

Author

Alek Popov

Alek Popov

Books

Mission London

Alek Popov was born in Sofia, Bulgaria in 1966. He graduated from St. Constantine Ciril Philosopher College for Ancient Languages and Cultures in Sofia and later received his Masters of Arts degree in Bulgarian Language and Literature from the University of Sofia.

Alek published his first collection of short stories The Other Death in 1992.  Through the years he has contributed to numerous publications and has produced six collections of short stories. His first novel Mission: London, based on colourful impressions from being the Cultural Attaché at the Bulgarian Embassy in the United Kingdom, was published in 2001. It has been widely acclaimed as “the funniest contemporary Bulgarian book” for its sarcastic projection of the Bulgarian diplomatic elite.

He has won several literary awards including the National Radio’s Pavel Veshinov Award for the best criminal short story; the Graviton Award for best science fiction; the Raško Sugarev Award for best short story; the prize Helicon for best prose book of the year, 2002; the annual prize of Clouds magazine for the English translation of Mission London, 2004; and most recently the National Prize for Drama Ivan Radoev.

Alek’s short stories have been have been translated into German, Hungarian, Polish, Serbian, Chez, French, Danish, English and Turkish. His novel Mission London was published in Serbian from Geopoetica publishing house and in Hungarian from Kijarat Kiado. It is currently prepared for print in France.

Today Alek is one of the most popular young writers in Bulgaria with a broad range of creative interests. He continues to focus on prose, but also authors screenplays and facilitates various creative workshops.

Translator

Charles Edward Gill de Mayol de Lupe

Charles Edward Gill de Mayol de Lupe

Books

Mission London

Charles Edward Gill de Mayol de Lupe was born in London. He was educated at Winchester College, and went on to study French and Spanish at St Catherine’s College, Oxford. He moved to Bulgaria in 2000 and makes his living teaching and translating.

Daniella Gill de Mayol de Lupe

Daniella Gill de Mayol de Lupe

Books

Mission London

Daniella Gill de Mayol de Lupe was born in Sofia, Bulgaria. She finished her secondary education at Lycee Francais ”Romain Rolland” and has a BA in French philology from Sofia University. Following her graduation, she moved to England and did a Film Studies course at Oxford University and a BA in Modern History at Oxford Brookes University. She is currently living in Sofia, where she teaches and translates from/to French and English.

Published by

Istros Books, 2014
Buy Book

Share

The new Bulgarian ambassador to London is determined to satisfy the whims of his bosses at all costs. Putting himself at the mercy of a shady PR-agency, he is promised direct access to the very highest social circles. Meanwhile, on the lower levels of the embassy, things are not as they should be. With criminal gangs operating in the kitchens, police on the trail of missing ducks from Hyde Park and a sexy Princess Diana impersonator employed as the cleaner, how is an ambassador supposed to do his job?

Combining the themes of corruption, confusion and outright incompetence, Popov masterly brings together the multiple plot lines in a sumptuous carnival of frenzy and futile vanity, allowing the illusions and delusions of the post-communist society to be reflected in their glorious absurdity!

Visit missionlondon.istrosbooks.com for more information, including more translations, book cover designs from across Europe, a reader’s group forum and details of the forthcoming film!

Join our mailing list

Sign up to receive the latest English PEN news and events.

SIGN UP
  • About
  • Privacy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Partners
  • Jobs
  • Contact us

With thanks to our Core Funders

©1921 - 2023

English PEN is a company limited by guarantee number 5747142 (England & Wales) and a registered charity, number 1125610.

We use cookies to help us improve your experience on our website. By closing this notification or interacting with the website you agree to our use of cookies. ACCEPT Find out more
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT