Prospero's Cell: Fake, Masterpiece, or Both?

Kudos to Ken Gammage for his comment of 26 December 2013.  He defines well the problem re Prospero's Cell:  A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corcyra (1945; 1962), which was Durrell's first and some consider his best work of travel literature.  But just what is it? — and who is the person or better, the persona, who creates this blend of non-fiction and fiction?  Of course, writers do something of this sort all the time — they invent and expand on reality to tell a good story.  Nothing wrong with a little bit of exaggeration, if done in moderation and for a good cause.  Patrick Leigh Fermor (a friend of LD's) writes his travel books in this vein.  So Durrell is certainly in this tradition.  He goes far beyond the usual limits, however, and I would argue that in so doing Durrell is fundamentally dishonest about his work and himself.  As David Green says in an earlier comment, Durrell's self is "edited" by his own hand — highly edited, I would add.  We'll have much to say about this topic.  For now, I'll limit myself to the contention that Durrell was a literary genius, but he was also a liar, a plagiarist, and a trickster.  He was essentially an illusionist, who deliberately deceived his readers and probably deluded himself in ways that are highly questionable.  Had these traits been known near the beginning of his career (he was 33 in 1945), he may well have been dropped by his prestigious publisher, Faber and Faber of London.  Feel free to disagree with any of my assertions.  —  BR