Gerald Durrell: The Authorised Biography

JOHN BURTON, World Land Trust Review

‘Botting’s biography is vast, vibrant, intense.’

MICK MIDDLES, Manchester Evening News

‘In this superb biography Douglas Botting keeps you turning the pages and even succeeds in conjuring tears at the end. Meticulous research has enabled him to bring us an in-depth picture of the man. It is a measure of its success that I seriously resented having to go to work, or to bed, whilst reading it.’

HILARY PAIPETI, The Corfiot Magazine, Greece

Epigraph (#ulink_83e260b9-cec0-566f-abe5-42681324d054)

Right in the Hart of the Africn Jungel a small wite man lives. Now there is one rather xtrordenry fackt about him that is that he is the frind of all animals.

From ‘The Man of Animals’ by Gerald Durrell, aged ten

Whoever saves one life,

Saves the world.

The Talmud

When you get to the Pearly Gates and St Peter asks you, ‘Well, what did you do?’ if you can say, ‘I saved a species from extinction,’ I think he’ll say, ‘OK, well, come on in.’

John Cleese

Contents

COVER (#u5e98352e-72c8-50d2-85aa-6095aedeb6ec)

TITLE PAGE (#uf109b1b3-12b2-58e8-b96f-319c68d008da)

COPYRIGHT (#u1d16985f-abc2-5490-ba8b-c4d98838591a)

PRAISE (#u357a640c-2182-5264-b8eb-0c47990ee8e3)

EPIGRAPH (#u5e9d1ac3-99e0-5171-b3be-3e78af5a5d90)

PREFACE (#ued66f7f9-0f6a-54f8-a834-bb3d35fe9d5a)

PROLOGUE (#u38bb8dbf-3933-5ace-ad5e-98446aa0f45a)

PART 1: ‘The Boy’s Mad … Snails in his Pockets!’ (#u591d26ea-59cb-59c2-bed5-5394daaa587a)

1 Landfall in Jamshedpur: India 1925–1928 (#u52f0587a-7226-568d-bfa1-c27765d6b8a0)

2 ‘The Most Ignorant Boy in the School’: England 1928–1935 (#ubb9065f9-f609-528b-9dd0-f4c73a653c1a)

3 The Gates of Paradise: Corfu 1935–1936 (#u07d6beb2-9495-58eb-8f13-ccdc66158eec)

4 The Garden of the Gods: Corfu 1937–1939 (#ue2273203-231a-5c04-97de-f3a9303bc759)

5 Gerald in Wartime: England 1939–1945 (#ud7d3c692-65db-5af3-8d64-0eefa5c421a7)

6 Odd-Beast Boy: Whipsnade 1945–1946 (#u6cdead58-1ac1-5d93-810b-4b6293433f7f)

7 Planning for Adventure: 1946–1947 (#uacf7cf89-51b4-50b1-a84d-45896b68f067)

PART 2: Promise Fulfilled (#u3d40bc85-3ba2-5ebf-9e85-d8ca0f326851)

8 To the Back of Beyond: First Cameroons Expedition 1947–1948 (#u6d3f1566-0a7f-5873-940b-67f912aa685d)

9 In the Land of the Fon: Second Cameroons Expedition 1948–1949 (#u2c8666e4-1d47-5a4c-af86-569367843de1)

10 New Worlds to Conquer: Love and Marriage 1949–1951 (#litres_trial_promo)

11 Writing Man: 1951–1953 (#litres_trial_promo)

12 Of Beasts and Books: 1953–1955 (#litres_trial_promo)

13 The Book of the Idyll: 1955 (#litres_trial_promo)

14 Man and Nature: 1955–1956 (#litres_trial_promo)

15 ‘A Wonderful Place for a Zoo’: 1957–1959 (#litres_trial_promo)

PART 3: The Price of Endeavour (#litres_trial_promo)

16 A Zoo is Born: 1959–1960 (#litres_trial_promo)

17 ‘We’re All Going to be Devoured’: Alarms and Excursions 1960–1962 (#litres_trial_promo)

18 Durrell’s Ark: 1962–1965 (#litres_trial_promo)

19 Volcano Rabbits and the King of Corfu: 1965–1968 (#litres_trial_promo)

20 Crack-Up: 1968–1970 (#litres_trial_promo)

21 Pulling Through: 1970–1971 (#litres_trial_promo)

22 The Palace Revolution: 1971–1973 (#litres_trial_promo)

23 Gerald in America: 1973–1974 (#litres_trial_promo)

24 ‘Two Very Lost People’: 1975–1976 (#litres_trial_promo)

25 Love Story: Prelude: 1977–1978 (#litres_trial_promo)

26 Love Story: Finale: 1978–1979 (#litres_trial_promo)