Gerald Darrell personal life children. The true story of the Durrells in Corfu

Gerald Malcolm Durrell(eng. Gerald Malcolm Durrell), OBE (7 January 1925, Jamshedpur, British India - 30 January 1995, St Helier, Jersey) - English naturalist, zoologist, writer, founder of the Jersey Zoo and the Wildlife Trust, which are now bear his name. Gerald Durrell was born on January 7, 1925 in the Indian city of Jamshedpur.
The Durrell family outside their home in Corfu He was the fourth and youngest child of British civil engineer Lawrence Samuel Durrell and his wife Louise Florence Durrell (née Dixie). According to relatives, at the age of two, Gerald fell ill with “zoomania,” and his mother recalled that one of his first words was “zoo” (zoo). In 1928, after the death of their father, the family moved to England, and seven years later - on the advice of older brother Gerald Lawrence - to the Greek island of Corfu. Gerald Durrell in Bafut There were few real educators among Gerald Durrell's first home teachers. The only exception was the naturalist Theodore Stephanides (1896-1983). It was from him that Gerald received his first knowledge of zoology. Stephanides appears more than once on the pages of Gerald Durrell's most famous book, the novel My Family and Other Animals. The book “The Amateur Naturalist” (1982) is also dedicated to him. In 1939 (after the outbreak of World War II), Gerald and his family returned to England and got a job in one of the London pet stores. But the real start of Darrell's research career was his work at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. Gerald got a job here immediately after the war as a “student caretaker,” or “animal boy,” as he called himself. It was here that he received his first professional training and began collecting a “dossier” containing information about rare and endangered species of animals (and this was 20 years before the appearance of the International Red Book). In 1947, Gerald Durrell, having reached adulthood (21 years old), received part of his father's inheritance. With this money, he organized three expeditions - two to British Cameroon (1947-1949) and one to British Guiana (1950). These expeditions do not bring profit, and in the early 50s Gerald finds himself without a livelihood and work.
The famous Cameroonian King Fon, with whom Gerald got drunk Not a single zoo in Australia, the USA or Canada could offer him a position. At this time, Lawrence Durrell, Gerald's older brother, advises him to take up his pen, especially since “the English love books about animals.” Gerald's first story, “The Hunt for the Hairy Frog,” was an unexpected success; the author was even invited to speak on the radio. His first book, The Overloaded Ark (1953), was about a trip to Cameroon and received rave reviews from both readers and critics. The author was noticed by major publishers, and the royalties for The Overloaded Ark and Gerald Durrell's second book, Three Singles To Adventure (1954), allowed him to organize an expedition to South America in 1954. However, at that time there was a military coup in Paraguay, and almost the entire collection of animals had to be left there. Darrell described his impressions of this trip in his next book, “Under the Canopy of the Drunken Forest” (The Drunken Forest, 1955). At the same time, at the invitation of Lawrence, Gerald Durrell vacationed in Corfu. Familiar places evoked a lot of childhood memories - this is how the famous “Greek” trilogy appeared: “My Family and Other Animals” (1956), “Birds, Beasts and Relatives” (1969) and “The Garden of the Gods” (The Gardens) of The Gods, 1978). The first book of the trilogy was a wild success. In the UK alone, My Family and Other Animals was reprinted 30 times, and in the USA 20 times. Sculpture at the Jersey Zoo In total, Gerald Durrell wrote more than 30 books (almost all of them were translated into dozens of languages) and directed 35 films. The debut four-part television film To Bafut With Beagles (BBC), released in 1958, was very popular in England. Thirty years later, Darrell managed to film in the Soviet Union, with active participation and assistance from the Soviet side. The result was the thirteen-episode film “Durrell in Russia” (also shown on Channel 1 of USSR television in 1986-88) and the book “Durrell in Russia” (not officially translated into Russian). In the USSR, Darrell's books were published repeatedly and in large editions. In 1959, Darrell created a zoo on the island of Jersey, and in 1963, the Jersey Wildlife Conservation Trust was organized on the basis of the zoo. Darrell's main idea was to breed rare and endangered species of animals in a zoo with the aim of further resettling them in their natural habitats. This idea has now become a generally accepted scientific concept. If it were not for the Jersey Trust, many animal species would survive only as stuffed animals in museums. Gerald Durrell died on January 30, 1995, of blood poisoning, nine months after a liver transplant, at age 71. In total, Gerald Durrell wrote 37 books. Of these, 26 were translated into Russian. 1953 - “The Overloaded Ark” 1954 - “Three Singles To Adventure” 1954 - “The Bafut Beagles” 1955 - “The new Noah” 1955 - “ Under the canopy of the drunken forest" (The Drunken Forest) 1956 - "My Family and Other Animals" (1960 - "A Zoo in My Luggage" 1961 - "Zoos" (Look At Zoos) ) was not translated into Russian 1961 - “The Whispering Land” 1964 - “Menagerie Manor” 1966 - “The Way of the Kangaroo” / “Two in the Bush” 1968 - “Donkey Thieves” "(The Donkey Rustlers) 1968 - "Rosy Is My Relative" 1969 - "Birds, Beasts And Relatives" (Birds, Beasts And Relatives) 1971 - "Halibut Fillet" / "Flounder Fillet" ( Fillets of Plaice) 1972 - “Catch Me A Colobus” 1973 - “Beasts In My Belfry” 1974 - “The Talking Parcel” 1976 - “Ark on the Island” The Stationary Ark) 1977 - “Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons” 1978 - “The Garden of the Gods” 1979 - “The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium” 1981 - “The mockery bird” 1982 - “The Amateur Naturalist” was not translated into Russian 1982 - “Ark on the Move” was not translated into Russian 1984 - “The Naturalist in fly" (How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist) 1986 - "Durrell in Russia" (Durrell in Russia) has not been officially translated into Russian (there is an amateur translation) 1990 - "The Ark's Anniversary" 1991 - "Mother of marriageable age "(Marrying Off Mother) 1992 - “The Aye-aye and I” Awards and prizes 1956 - Member of the International Institute of Arts and Letters 1974 - Member of the Institute of Biology in London 1976 - Honorary Diploma of the Argentine Society for the Protection of Animals 1977 - Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters from Yale University 1981 - Officer of the Order of the Golden Ark 1982 - Officer of the Order of the British Empire (O.B.E.) 1988 - Honorary DSc, Emeritus Professor, Durham University 1988 - Richard Hooper Day Medal - Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 1989 - Honorary DSc, University of Kent, Canterbury 26 March 1999 - Gerald Durrell's Jersey Zoo was renamed Jersey Zoo on its 40th anniversary Durrell Wildlife Park and the Jersey Wildlife Trust into the Durrell Wildlife Trust Jersey Zoo Animal species and subspecies named after Gerald Durrell Clarkeia durrelli- a fossil Upper Silurian brachiopod from the order Atrypida, discovered in 1982 (however, there is no exact information that it was named in honor of Gerald Durrell). Nactus serpeninsula durrelli- a subspecies of the nocturnal snake gecko from Round Island (part of the island state of Mauritius). Named in honor of Gerald and Lee Durrell for their contribution to the conservation of this species and the fauna of Round Island in general. Mauritius has issued a stamp featuring this gecko.
Ceylonthelphusa durrelli- a very rare freshwater crab from the island of Sri Lanka. Benthophilus durrelli- a fish from the goby family, discovered in 2004. Kotchevnik durrelli- a moth from the carpenter family, discovered in Armenia and described in 2004. Mahea durrelli- Madagascar bug from the family of tree stink bugs. Described in 2005. Centrolene durrellorum- a tree frog from the family of glass frogs. Found in Ecuador in the eastern foothills of the Andes. Discovered in 2002, described in 2005. Named in honor of Gerald and Lee Durrell "for their contribution to the conservation of global biodiversity." Salanoia durrelli(Darrell's Mungo) is a mongoose-like animal from the family of Madagascar predators. It lives in Madagascar in the coastal zone of Lake Alaotra. The species was found and described in 2010.

She made an invaluable contribution to European culture. Literature, architecture, philosophy, history, other sciences, state system, laws, art and myths of ancient Greece laid the foundation of modern European civilization. Greek gods known all over the world.

Greece today

Holidays in Greece

Real estate in Greece

Russian Greece

The biography of Gerald Durrell (1925-1995) - zoologist, naturalist, writer - was filled with various travels to isolated and remote corners of the globe.

Childhood and youth

Jerry was the fourth and youngest child of an English civil engineer working in India. When his father died and Jerry was three years old, the whole family, headed by their delicate mother Louise Florence Durrell, returned to their homeland. They lived in the resort town of Bournemouth, a hundred kilometers from London. Compared to hot India, it was, of course, uncomfortable here: even in summer it rained and was cold. At the insistence of his eldest brother Lawrence (Larry), in 1935 the whole family moved to Greece to the island of Corfu, which is now called Kerkyra.

On a Greek island

Life on it, like heaven, will fly by in an instant. Gerald Durrell's biography will be filled with friendly communication with Greek peasants, Dr. Theodore Stefanidis (1896-1983), extraordinary French teachers and daily walks with his beloved and faithful dog Roger. This is what ten-year-old Jerry looked like.

By the age of ten, Jerry had still not mastered English. While keeping a diary, he managed to make at least two mistakes in every word. The only thing he was never wrong about was writing the names of animals and insects. This was discovered by Larry, who by this time had become a professional writer and wrote three novels in Corfu. They were published in the same years. The Durrell house was cheerful and noisy. Picnics and parties were held there at the slightest occasion, and often without it at all. Darrell will describe this wonderful life in the book “My Family and Animals.” And the BBC channel will make a charming multi-part film that will convey the atmosphere of the book and their lives.

The photo above is a still from this film.

The war and the first years after it

The biography of Gerald Durrell, like everyone else, will be broken by the Second World War. I had to leave the wonderful island. Here is a still from the film that perfectly shows what the Durrell family looked like back then.

At the age of 14, immediately after returning to Britain, the teenager went to work in a shop. Of course, the zoological one, which was called “Aquarium”. When the war ended, Jerry began working at the zoo. He did not have a higher education, and therefore the position was the most modest. But he learned how to handle a wide variety of animals and began compiling lists of rare endangered animal species. He was the first to sound the alarm about them, although for now just for himself.

First expeditions

Having received an inheritance in 1947, the young man leaves for Africa. Gerald Durrell's biography is enriched by experiences and meetings in Cameroon and Guyana. But he is a bad financier. All the money is spent, and he finds himself penniless. On the advice of his older brother, he sits down at a typewriter. This does not please him, since he is not good with grammar and syntax. But the first story, “The Hunt for the Hairy Frog,” which Gerald gave to BBC radio, was a success. He was even invited to the studio. Further more. Darrell continues to write because only through literary works can he earn money for a new journey.

Gerald Durrell: biography, personal life

Gerald Durrell's life takes on a new experience. In 1951 he married Jackie (Jacqueline) Wolfenden. Since the candidate husband has no money, the bride’s father categorically objects to this marriage. The girl has to run away from home and marry her beloved against the will of her parents. They will live for free in a boarding house run by Jerry's sister Margaret. Their marriage would last until 1979. During these years, many books will be written and many expeditions organized. Darrell will dedicate the book “Under the Forest Canopy” to his faithful friend. However, everyday difficulties, Gerald's passion only for work, as well as alcohol, will lead them to divorce after 28 years of marriage.

In 1977, Gerald Durrell, whose biography has always been unpredictable, meets a young woman at Carolina University who enthusiastically studies the behavior of lemurs. She was 28 years old at the time, Darrell was 52. He was stunned - a beautiful woman was interested in zoology. Darrell was at first simply interested in Lee. And then I got carried away and asked to marry him. Lee McGeorge Wilson also did not immediately have any special feelings for the middle-aged zoologist. But after he left for India, they began to correspond, interest grew into friendship and love. Now they've teamed up, Lee and Gerald Durrell's biography. The photo shows the beginning of their life together.

The wife accompanied her restless husband on the last three expeditions. In 1982 - to the island of Mauritius, in 1986 - to Russia and in 1990 - to Madagascar. So they remained a loving couple until Darrell’s last days.

Life and work

But let's continue about the restless zoologist and writer. Gerald Durrell, whose short biography shows this, never stayed in one place for long. In 1954, he was already in Paraguay, but due to the coup in the country, the collected collection of animals could not be transported to the zoo. In 1955, Darrell came to his brother Lawrence in Corfu, and there the most popular book about childhood was born, which was published in millions of copies around the world. It has already been said that a film was made based on it in England. Here's another shot from it, showing the traveling zoo. In 1959, Darrell created a zoo on the island of Jersey, where rare animals have been protected since 1963.

He sought to have them breed in captivity and then be sent back to their natural habitats. If not for Darrell’s activities, many rare species would have disappeared forever. In 1985, Darrell came to the USSR and filmed a serial film. In total, during his life, the zoologist made thirty-five films and wrote more than thirty books.

In 1995, three weeks after he turned 70, Gerald Durrell died. Lee's wife continued his work, worked at the zoo, and wrote books about animals.

Gerald Durrell: biography for children

This will be a story about the activities of a passionate person who uttered his first word in India, since he was born there, and it was not “mother”, but “zoo”. From the age of two, everything was clear to him - he would become a naturalist-zoologist.

And by the age of ten, when he spent four years in Greece, he wandered through the olive groves and vineyards of the island of Corfu and watched, for example, turtles breed, or carefully watched the life of geckos, collected scorpions in matchboxes, to the horror of his older brother, he I already knew exactly my path in life. From every walk around the island he brought home some kind of animal. So, he could throw harmless but huge snakes into the bath, which everyone in the house mistook for terrible snakes. One mother completely understood his passion for animals. His older brothers and sister were still afraid of his animals, insects and birds. In his native Britain, a fun and entertaining film was made about his childhood in Corfu, based on Durrell's book My Family and the Beasts.

He did not receive a systematic education and even wrote with errors, but nevertheless Darrell studied all his life. He was a passionate and gifted person. He created a zoo in which he bred rare animals. He made almost forty films about them in the wild and in national reserves around the world, and wrote more than thirty books about his travels around the world. Darrell came to our country and made a film consisting of 13 episodes and wrote the book “Darrell in Russia.” He founded the Wildlife Conservation Foundation. All his activities were filled with love for people and animals who must be protected and protected.

Gerald Durrell (Two Wives, Two Lives)

Gerald Durrell- famous English writer, zoologist, naturalist. He loved nature, but women no less. And the wildlife defender spent a long time winning his future wives.

Someone wise said that our destiny is the people who surround us. And often our recognition, fame, success are only a consequence of a word they accidentally said. Could the young, ambitious trapper Gerald Durrell have imagined that he would become a famous writer? Yes, he sincerely hated all this writing!..

According to family legend, a fateful role in the life of 26-year-old Gerald was played by his older brother Larry, who once came to visit. By that time, three expeditions to the tropics had almost bankrupted Gerald, who, by the way, had recently gotten married. The young family lived in the resort town of Bournemouth, in a small apartment that somehow contained a bed, a small table, a chest of drawers and one chair. There was nothing to live on; the newlyweds could barely make ends meet. To read the latest newspapers, we went to the reading room of the Bournemouth Library.

Well, go ahead and write a book about your damn travels! - Lawrence Durrell, by that time already an accomplished writer, advised his brother.

Gerald wrote. Soon the family already had something to live on - the circulation of his publications exceeded the circulation of Larry's books.

Sweet Jackie

In relation to women, Gerald Durrell was more of an ardent Southerner than a reserved, prim Briton. His childhood was spent in India, where his father worked as an engineer on the construction of a railway. And after the death of his father, after living briefly in London, the family moved to the Greek island of Corfu. Therefore, Gerald’s sincere respect for women was quite naturally combined with, let’s say, lack of complexes and ease in relationships.

But numerous novels did not prevent Darrell from being happily married to Jacqueline Wolfenden (Jackie, who became the heroine of his books) for many years. For a long time he was unable to melt the heart of a serious 19-year-old girl: she categorically refused to meet. But one day he invited her to dinner at a restaurant, and Jackie unexpectedly agreed. “To my surprise, I could not help but admit that the evening was a great success. We felt very good together,” she later wrote. Of course, Darrell had something to talk about: travels to Africa, cheerful childhood years in Corfu... Jackie also started talking: she had never had such an attentive and sensitive interlocutor.

Darrell never ceased to be surprised by his own attitude towards Jackie. Usually he was attracted to blondes - the ones who were larger and more expressive. However, Jackie was their complete opposite: petite, with large brown eyes, pert lips, dark brown hair. She behaved rather like a man - too independent, self-confident, practical and decisive.

When the lovers announced their decision to get married, Jackie's father refused to bless them. He liked Gerald as a witty conversationalist, but did not impress him as a son-in-law. As a result, Gerald and Jackie decided to marry without their father's consent. In the spring of 1951, the future spouses staged a formal elopement, with hasty preparations and a farewell note.

Marriage broke up

The newlyweds settled in the house of Gerald's sister Margaret and lived very modestly for a long time. Then Darrell wrote his first story, then his first book, and things took off. Jackie was always there: on expeditions, while working on books, during the most difficult period of Darrell’s life, when he risked everything and decided to start his own zoo. She abandoned her own career and became the wife of a famous man, “that same” Jackie from his books...

But the years passed. It seemed like just yesterday they loved each other so sincerely and touchingly. However, contradictions and mutual irritation gradually accumulated. And even his addiction to the bottle... their marriage broke up.

...The writer met Lee McGeorge in 1977 at Duke University in South Carolina. The girl admitted that she was studying the social behavior of lemurs and the sound communication of Madagascar animals and birds. “If she had said,” Darrell recalled, “that her father was an Indian chief and her mother a Martian, I wouldn’t have been so surprised. Animal communication has always interested me the most. I stared at her. Yes, she was amazingly beautiful, but a beautiful woman who studies animal behavior was almost like a goddess to me!”

Lee, of course, was flattered that the famous writer and zoologist, whose books she read, became interested in her. Having decided to get married, both “high contracting parties” had no illusions from the very beginning. Lee “married the zoo,” although, of course, she also liked Darrell himself. But when Gerald went on an expedition to India, a correspondence began between the lovers.

Friendship and love

Seriously and frankly, Darrell told Lee about his feelings: that at first he perceived her as one of his next girlfriends, then he was sincerely carried away and finally fell in love. I wrote about my failure with Jackie. And he added: “I hope that living and working together will make your feelings for me deeper. Maybe it won’t be love in the sense of the word that women’s magazines put into it, but true and lasting friendship. This is true love in my understanding."

Perhaps it was these letters that played a decisive role. Without them, the Durrells could well have become an ordinary couple, living together solely for rational reasons. However, after such explanations, both Lee and Jerry became truly close people to each other. It didn't happen overnight, but by the early eighties the Durrells were a sincere and loving couple. Until the last days of Gerald’s life they remained so...

Since childhood, many people have loved Gerald Durrell's books dedicated to his childhood and youth, like “My Family and Other Animals” or “Halibut Fillet.” The Durrells appear as a peculiar, but very friendly and loving family, wisely led by the best mother in the world. In fact, of course, Gerald described his childhood more biasedly than accurately. The troubled Darrell family was far from ideal, and the mother's ways of raising children could produce either geniuses or criminals. In general, it turned out to be both.

Louise Durrell, exemplary mother and wife

First of all, he insisted that Louise should not think about matters at all, neither domestic nor financial. He dealt with the latter, and the Indian servants had to deal with the former - Louise had to maintain the dignity of a white mistress.

Louise was crazy about her children. She fussed over them all the time. Moreover, Larry and Leslie, her eldest sons, were often sick. Louise's first daughter died very young, and Mom Darrell always treated children with slight anxiety.

The children repaid their mother with the same deep affection, except, alas, for the first-born, Larry. When he was eleven years old, his parents sent him to study in England. The country of his ancestors turned out to be completely foreign to Larry, he suffered from the climate, the people, and the unusual organization of life, and for a long time he could not forgive his mother for this “exile.”

Pudding Country

All children in turn suffered from runny noses, bronchitis, laryngitis and otitis media. Miss Durrell herself was severely depressed. Her stereotypically Irish drinking habit worsened. We must, however, understand that the alcoholism of Darrell’s mother, which is now recalled by almost everyone who writes about the Durrells’ childhood, has nothing in common with the way a drunken mother is usually shown in books and movies. She remained a wonderful mother, making sure that the children had everything they needed, cooking and always finding time and a word of comfort and advice.

More strange than alcoholism is Mrs. Durrell's constant encounters with ghosts. From the ghost of her husband to complete strangers. Moreover, Louise did not show any symptoms of a mental disorder, and was not even necessarily drunk at that moment.

For Jerry, a much bigger problem than the unusual climate and his mother’s love of drinking was the English school. Severe discipline, official spirit, cramming instead of fascinating stories turned out to be so incompatible with little Gerald Durrell that he acquired a persistent hostility to any school in general, and the teachers, as one, held him for a poorly educated, narrow-minded and lazy child. Tell them that they see before them a future honorary academician of many universities around the world and a popular writer, not a single one could believe it.

The move to Corfu, which Larry once started, was a real salvation for both the whole family and personally for Gerald Durrell. Otherwise, he, perhaps, could have become a gloomy, withdrawn and unpleasant type to communicate with. Humanity would have lost a lot without Gerald Corfu as a child.

The Durrells in Greece: a time that became a legend

It is a pity that Nancy was not included in Darrell’s books - she herself had the most enthusiastic memories of this family. At first glance, complete anarchy reigned in the Durrell house. They shouted at each other and each other. In every room, including the living room, things were scattered haphazardly. The house was full of animals that Jerry brought into the house. Jerry himself, as nice as Christopher Robin, knew how to sleep in any noise, he was so used to the racket. The Nancy Durrells seemed very free and very friendly. Yes, it was so; the degree of their freedom would have confused many of our contemporaries.

Margot was sunbathing to the delight of the whole island in an open swimsuit - the effect was comparable to the appearance of a topless girl on a city beach near Moscow. Leslie wandered where he wanted and how he wanted, met criminals, drank and shot endlessly.

However, some people count and, which her books are supposedly full of.