ABSTRACT
One concern of this book is to explore the kind of truth we expect from autobiography: less a factual truth than a truth-to-self (often called “sincerity” in life writing scholarship). Introducing this concern, this chapter examines the case of British draughtsman Eric Hebborn, who built his career of fakery by producing drawings in the styles of historical masters, then posing as an art dealer to sell them. Forging being akin to lying, this chapter explores the roles played by truth, lie and trust in Hebborn’s autobiography Drawn to Trouble (1993), which lays out his unusual delight in deceit.
