Travel Writer Profiles - Gerald Durrell
Of the Durrell brothers, it is Lawrence who is the best known. The elder Durrell is famous for his illustrious writing credits including his stunning Alexandria Quartet of novels. However, Lawrence’s younger brother Gerald was a great author in his own right.
While never reaching the literary heights of his elder brother, Gerald wrote several books of note, most on his favourite topics - animals and conservation.
The Durrells were children of the Raj. Gerald, along with his siblings, was born in India in the 1920s and grew up on the Greek island of Corfu. It was here that Gerald wrote his most well-known and best loved book, My Family and Other Animals.
It is Gerald’s love of Corfu’s flora and fauna that is the premise for the book, along with the antics of his family. What makes the book so successful is the childlike wonderment with which it is written. Gerald pays attention to the details of his surroundings, bringing Corfu to life. Anyone who has read the book will remember the family’s hilariously morbid maid, Lugubria, and the wise Dr. Stephanides who helps them settle in to island life. The book is peppered with funny, interesting and moving incidents, such as Gerald’s sister Margo falling ill after kissing the feet of St Spiridon…
Gerald followed My Family and Other Animals with two further books about his time in Corfu - Birds, Beasts and Relatives, and The Garden of the Gods.
While not a travel writer as such, Gerald Durrell writes so beautifully about Corfu that it tempts the reader to visit.
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