One of Patrick Hennessey's publisher's publicists is vehement that he has no time for an interview during his whistle-stop tour of Hong Kong. Another is adamant that he does. And the handler from the financial institution that flew the best-selling author, former army officer and trainee barrister out from London for a charity fund-raiser and motivational-speaking dinner is maintaining a slightly hands-off attitude. So, once past the minders, what's The Most Popular Boy in School actually like?
Popular is an understatement. The queue for a signed copy of The Junior Officers' Reading Club - the fresh-faced 27-year-old's spirited account of service in the British Army in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan - following a lunchtime talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club, stretches half way around the room. And Hennessey, dapper in a cream linen suit, Brigade of Guards tie and charity wristband, takes time to chat and swap anecdotes with each eager purchaser.
Later, sporting sunglasses to ward off the glare at the Fringe Club's rooftop bar, he talks confidently and easily about the meteoric success of his book, which follows in the grand tradition of such military autobiography as Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That and Dispatches by Michael Herr.
'I didn't set out to write anything controversial, or a confessional thing,' says Hennessey, who rose to the rank of captain in the Grenadier Guards. 'I loved my time in the army, and I hope the book conveys that. There is a terrific sense of family, which is really very valuable.'
It is the sense of duty and belonging that has brought him here, raising funds for Help For Heroes, a British charity that seeks to assist members of the armed forces disabled in the line of duty. 'The general level of care that's provided is pretty good, but we're trying to fund what the army calls 'nice-to-haves' - converting a car so it can be driven by someone who's lost a leg, adapting a house so it's wheelchair friendly,' says Hennessey.
'It's been very successful, and if my coming out here raises some extra money, then so much the better.'