The Durrells of Corfu

Years ago, when I was studying for my English O'Level, we studied My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell, and it was hilarious. It was that book which made me aware of Lawrence Durrell and his writing, so that when I saw Monsieur, the first book of the Avignon Quintet out in bookstores I snapped it up, and as you know, that set off my life long love affair with Lawrence Durrell.Anyway, this book takes you behind the scenes of the time the family spent on Corfu. It starts with an overall view of the family and what happened before Corfu, and at the end follows up what happened to them afterwards. I already knew a lot of what's in this book, but that's because I've done lots of reading around Larry, but there were some interesting facts that were illuminating. For example, money wasn't the main reason the family moved to Corfu, it was concern over Mother's drinking - she often took to gin when she was depressed and lonely. As Larry and his wife Nancy had already decided to go to Corfu, it seems they felt it important to keep an eye on her!For those who haven't read much background on the family, you'll find it interesting, and also a little disturbing to find out just how much is fictionalised in a supposed non-fiction account of the family on Corfu. Recommended!

There was a little original material, and some of it was interesting, but about half of it is just excerpts from My Family & Other Animals. If you're buying this book the chances are around 100% that you've already read My Family, and are interested in the real story behind its fictionalized anecdotes. It's ok, but no more than that. I did appreciate the inclusion of the handwritten story by Gerald from when he was a kid. That bit was great.

This book describes the lives of all the individuals of an amazing family. It traces their life in India and their return to England, the land of their forefathers. As they matured, the family left England for the serenity of Corfu, where their lives were influenced by a variety of interesting characters who called this island home. After several years the war began and the family fled Corfu before it was invaded by the Axis powers and the family split up and finally got back together after the war ended. The epilogue of the book describes the lives and successes of the individual members of the family and their failures and successes for the rest of their lives. This wasn't just an average family but a very special one which you must read the book to see just why.

Having watched the PBS series, I wanted to know more about the Durrells and I found this an enjoyable read. It is nice to escape to a place where there isn't constant political insanity. No murders, just an entertaining book with lots of insight into the family. I think I would have loved Corfu in that era leading up to WW II.

I did enjoy this "background" information on the Durrell family. This PBS tv series "The Durrells in Corfu" got me interested in this family. The books by Gerald Durrell are very delightful. This author of this book, however notes discrepancies of certain events, people and timelines from Gerald's story. But then again, Gerald was writing what he remembered as a child. His view or Michael Haag's view isn't too different. Also good to see in this book are pictures of the actual family members and friends (but could do away with the nude ones!). Recommend the book to fans of Durrell family to get another perspective of their lives.

I bought this as I am hooked on the most recent BBC mini-series (it has a BBC tv movie and older mini-series as well), but the reality of the Durrells is quite bland and insipid and sometimes completely different from the tv series. They really weren't as interesting as the series depicts, so unless you don't mind having your bubble burst, keep re-watching and pass this book by.

I thought the book was great to give more information and wonderful stories about the family. If you’re looking for a novel that’s written perfectly then this probably isn’t for you. But if you’re just wanting some more information more stories a little more background into how the family really lived then you’ll like it.

I grew up reading the saga of the Durrells on Corfu, and used to pretend that I was there. It was such an enchanted book. Gerald made everything seem wonderful and funny and happy. This book was perfect for me to read as a grownup and find out more about their real lives there. I learned so much in such a slim volume. It was very well written and gave a balanced overview and the views of the family members. I was the most touched by Mrs. Durrell, the mother of the brood. She was so slight and delicate, being completely Anglo Indian, even her grandparents were born in India. She married a wonderful man and they were very happy and adventurous, traveling around India together, having children pretty constantly, when he died suddenly of a brain tumor. I was horrified to read that people convinced her to move to England to raise her children. It was so awful. She had never lived there! It was like moving to the moon for her and her children were deposited in boarding schools except for Gerald. She became a lifelong alcoholic after that. It was so unnecessary! Probably the worst advice anyone ever took.

Having read nearly all of Gerald Durrell's books on the family's move to Corfu and how he became a conservationist, I was really interested in reading the account of the how it all started. Quite a sad story to begin with and I didn't know that the family was based in India at the beginning. The book was a complete contrast to the series that was shown on television recently, I know programme makers need to entertain viewers but it seems as if most of the story was made up for tv. I won't give any details away for fear of spoiling the book for anyone who hasn't yet read it, but would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the family.

For a family that led such a privileged, exciting life in India over many years i’s not surprising they come across as dislikable in 2019.There is no doubt that Mrs Durrell had a hard time following the death of her husband but when I hear which schools the children were sent to in the UK , the houses they lived in she could not have been left destitute. The children seem to have taken little benefit from those schools. Louisa Durrell was not left an impoverished widow.Talent some of them had in abundance; Lawrence, Gerald but they had lots of opportunity to develop.Their situation would be a good advert for home schooling. Exposure to a second language, culture and interesting individuals from another culture.Given the timeline when they moved to Corfu and how the spectre of war must have hung heavy on that much invaded island one could be forgiven for thinking they moved from the UK to Paris to Corfu via easyJet or must have been very wealthy.Both Louisa and her husband were Indian colonials so I suppose that explains their high-handed attitude and their their expectations of life.Guess I am still in love with the gentle, funny depiction of life portrayed in the tv series and I can’t expect that to relate how life really would have been.The two outstanding characters are Spiro and Theo, the natural historian. They come across as real. So do the animals.Boring Bournemouth or Corfu is a no-brainier.Louisa Durrell was trying to do the best for her tribe of very different children and deserves a lot of credit for pulling them out of appalling British boarding schools and letting them see what real life might have been about.I was bored apart from the odd chapter that dealt with Corfiotes. I don’t care what colour the villa was. I still have no real sense of why they chose Corfu and no idea what they contributed to the local/wider society.I stuck it out.I love travelogues and finding out about different cultures but I gained no sense of that.

I read this on holiday in Corfu - I have already read Gerald Durrell's books about the short period the family spent on Corfu so was keen to learn more about the real family. I knew some of the history and that some of the depictions & stories in 'My Family & Other Animals' had been altered and this well-written book tells the real story behind 'My Family & Other Animals'. The family starts off in India where both parents were born, their father being a successful engineer who sadly died young. They were well-to-do and the children were sent to pretty prestigious boarding schools in England. Even after her husband's death Louisa was not left in penury, contrary to the suggestions in the TV series & MFOA with its heavy dollops of imagination & sunshine. She went to England to live in a house that her husband had already bought for them, before eventually settling in Bournemouth where, consumed by grief, it seems she took to the bottle & eventually had some kind of breakdown. At one point Louisa planned to return with her youngest child, Gerry, to India, going so far as to book passage. Larry had by then discovered Corfu and fearful for his mother's health and fragile mental condition suggested that she move to Corfu to join him & his wife.In Corfu the local expat community had a somewhat dim view of this rather bohemian family who did not fit on to any of the recognised social groups and who were far too 'in' with the local population. There are a couple of glorious quotes, dripping with colonial snobbery, which basically says the Durrells didn't understand the social conventions & what was appropriate - I rather suspect they just didn't care about the views of a bunch of paralysingly dull ex-colonial snobs living out their twilight years in the Med!There time in Corfu was short - just a few years. When the prospect of war reared its head they all left with Louisa, Gerry & Leslie returning to England, Margo taking one of the last flying boats out of Corfu just after Christmas 1939. Larry and is wife fled to Athens and remained in Greece until the Germans invaded in 1941 but neither ever returned to Corfu. We then learn of the family's post-Corfu lives including details about the less well-known siblings, Margo & Leslie.In a counterpoint to usual parenting of the time, Louisa seems to have been very laissez-faire - tolerating her younger son's animal collections, her middle son's wildness and her elder child's bohemian lifestyle. Gerry, looking back, recalled that "...my mother allowed us to be" and he was never lectured nor scolded. Perhaps that explains why Gerry & Larry were successful in their chosen careers where a sense of enquiry & adventure, a certain daring & a free spirit, gave them an edge, even if there may have been darker under-currents.

It's about time someone wrote the history of the Durrell family. Larry, the author whose books are far too highbrow for me (except Bitter Lemons of Cyprus); Leslie, the gun-mad one who gets barely a mention; Margo, spotty and love-lorn who decamps to Bournemouth; and Gerry, he of the Jersey Zoo. And Mother of course, who cooked like a dream, drank like a fish and held them all together. An interesting book. Recommended.

I so loved the series of The Durells on Corfu that I wanted to read about their story from the beginning....how they arrived in Corfu. The book starts in India where all the children were born and through it all - and the backbone of it all - is the amazing Louisa Darrell. I haven't finished the story but I can hardly put it down and it is not often I say that about a book. It's is an excellent read.