Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories

Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Arcade Publishing
Total Pages: 220
Release: 1992
Genre: Short stories
ISBN: 9781559701808

Collection of eight short stories by the author observing absurdity that abounds in the world.

The Corfu Trilogy

The Corfu Trilogy
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2016-11-29
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1504043324

National Bestseller: The complete trilogy that inspired Masterpiece production The Durrells in Corfu in one volume. The tales of a naturalist and his family, who left England for the Greek island of Corfu—where they interacted with fascinating locals of both human and animal varieties—these memoirs have become beloved bestsellers and inspired the delightful series that aired on PBS television. Included in this three-book collection are: My Family and Other Animals: Ten-year-old Gerald Durrell arrives on sun-drenched Corfu with this family and pursues his interest in natural history, making friends with the island’s fauna—from toads and tortoises to scorpions and geckos—while reveling in the joyous chaos of growing up in an unconventional household. Birds, Beasts and Relatives: Written after a boyhood spent studying zoology, this memoir is part nature guide, part coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir. The Garden of the Gods: In the conclusion of the trilogy, Durrell shares more tales of wild animals and his even wilder family, including his mother, Louisa, and his siblings Lawrence, Leslie, and Margo, in the years before World War II. “[Durrell’s] books have an unfailing charm. . . . It is a tribute to his skill that one never tires of his accounts” (Chicago Tribune). This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Birds, Beasts and Relatives

Birds, Beasts and Relatives
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 251
Release: 2016-10-11
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1504041666

The follow-up to My Family and Other Animals and the inspiration for The Durrells in Corfu: A naturalist’s memoir of his family’s time on a Greek island. In the years before World War II, Gerald Durrell’s family left the gloomy shores of England for the sun-drenched island of Corfu. Against this picturesque backdrop, Durrell fondly recalls his family’s disorderly household and outrageous antics, including their interactions with locals of both human and animal varieties. After a boyhood spent studying zoology and acquiring the island’s exotic insects, reptiles, birds, mammals, and sea creatures as pets, Durrell’s budding naturalism would later bloom into a passion for conservation that would last a lifetime. Filled with clever observations, amusing anecdotes, and childlike wonder, Birds, Beasts and Relatives is half nature guide, half coming-of-age tale, and all charmingly funny memoir. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Menagerie Manor

Menagerie Manor
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 119
Release: 2016-12-20
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1504042603

The beloved naturist and author of My Family and Other Animals shares the pleasures and pitfalls of opening a zoo on the English Channel Island of Jersey. Spurred by his passion for animals and a lifelong dream, in the spring of 1959 Gerald Durrell opened the Jersey Zoo—now known as the Durrell Wildlife Park—on the grounds of an old manor house. The menagerie provided a safe habitat for rare and endangered species and exposed its human visitors to the wonders of nature. Dealing with escapee animals and overdrawn bank accounts, Durrell soon discovered that owning and operating a fledgling zoo was no easy task. But despite the setbacks, these charming, often hilarious stories make clear that, for Durrell, ensuring the park’s success and helping the creatures he loved so dearly was worth any obstacle. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Gerald Durrell including rare photos from the author’s estate.

Whatever Happened to Margo?

Whatever Happened to Margo?
Author: Margaret Durrell
Publisher: Sphere
Total Pages: 325
Release: 1996
Genre: Great Britain
ISBN: 9780751516739

In 1947, with two young children to support, Margaret Durrell took the advice of her maiden aunt and started a boarding house in Bournemouth. But any hopes of a conventional clientele were dashed as the establishment was colonized by a host of eccentrics, comprising, among others, a painter of nudes, a battered wife, a chauvinist bricklayer, and a Maltese transsexual.

The Mockery Bird

The Mockery Bird
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 280
Release: 1982
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The Mockery Bird takes place on a tropical island called Zenkali. The island seems to be populated by the most eccentric people who came there from all around the world, along with the two indigenous tribes, the Fangoua and the Ginka. The Ginkas used to worship a dolphin god, while the Fangouas worshipped a strange avian, the Mockery Bird, which was hunted to extinction by the former French colonizers. Zenkali is ruled by King Tamalawala III, usually referred to as "Kingy" by his people. Peter Foxglove arrives to Zenkali to be the assistant of Hannibal Oliphant, Kingy's Political Advisor. Zenkali, once a British colony, is about to get self-government. They are also planning to construct a military base, an airport and a power station, and this will mean the flooding of a large, unexplored valley, owned by the villainous businessman, Looja. Peter, along with the beautiful Audrey Damien, visits the valley before it is totally destroyed, and makes a fantastic discovery: a small population of Mockery Birds still live in the valley. Peter's discovery attracts the attention of the world press, environmentalists, politicians and businessmen from all around the world, and this leads to a couple of adventures. Finally, Professor Droom, a biologist, discovers that the main and only agricultural product of Zenkali, the Amela tree is ecologically linked to the Mockery Birds (explained below), so the flooding of the valley will make the island's economy collapse. Consequently, the construction of the airport is cancelled.

My Family and Other Animals

My Family and Other Animals
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Penguin Books Limited
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2011-04-07
Genre: Corfu Island (Greece)
ISBN: 9780241951460

'What we all need,' said Larry, 'is sunshine . . . a country where we can grow.' 'Yes, dear, that would be nice,' agreed Mother, not really listening. 'I had a letter from George this morning - he says Corfu's wonderful. Why don't we pack up and go to Greece?' 'Very well, dear, if you like,' said Mother unguardedly. Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family - acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long-suffering mother and Roger the dog - take off for the island of Corfu. But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna - among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies. Recounted with immense humour and charm My Family and Other Animals is a wonderful account of a rare, magical childhood. 'Durrell has an uncanny knack of discovering human as well as animal eccentricities' Sunday Telegraph

The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium

The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Policy Press
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2016-04-21
Genre: Zoologists
ISBN: 9781509827138

If you loved My Family and Other Animals and can't get enough of the Durrells after the Corfu series, The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium is the book for you. It constitutes a series of anecdotal snippets and short stories including 'The Picnic', a laugh-out-loud account of an ill-fated Durrell family excursion, which should have been a relaxing, jolly affair. But with the Durrells things are seldom straightforward and on this occasion all that could go wrong did go wrong - except Gerald Durrell's sense of humour in recounting the tale. Other hilarious and surreal Roald Dahlesque stories ensue, including the critically acclaimed Gothic horror story 'The Entrance'.

The Battle for Castle Cockatrice

The Battle for Castle Cockatrice
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1999-06-04
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 9780064407809

What do you get when you cross a bunch of odious toads and ornery fire-breathing birds with one parrot, a distressed dragon, a group of weasels, a troop of mermaids, a herd of unicorns, a band of gryphons, and three children? When Penelope, Simon, and Peter go to the beach, they get a surprise they'll never forget. A package washes ashore and begins to speak! The children open it up to reveal a talking parrot and spider who were kidnapped and sent away. Their home is Mythologia, where sunrise takes place all day long and magical creatures like Mooncalves and Will-o'-the-Wisps lived peacefully--until the evil Cockatrices decided to take over. And now the new rulers are threatening to turn it into a land of cruelty and fear. It's only a matter of time before the Cockatrices become all powerful. So with the help of a counterspy toad, Penelope, Simon, and Peter decide to do everything they can to help overthrow the wicked birds. But will they be able to survive a trip to Mythologia's scariest places and defeat the evil Cockatrices? For Penelope, Simon, and Peter, a day at the beach is the beginning of an unforgettable adventure. A big brown package washes ashore and begins to speak! Imprisoned inside are Parrot and his companion Ducibelle, a spider, exiles from the land of Mythologia, where magical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and mermaids live together happilyuntil the villainous cockatrices (half serpent, half rooster) take over and enslave the entire population. Can the children help defeat the evil cockatrices and restore peace to Mythologia?A charming, whimsical tour-de-force, The Battle for Castle Cockatrice is a classic story that fantasy readers will welcome back into print.A marvelously created fantasy. The Horn Book

The Overloaded Ark

The Overloaded Ark
Author: Gerald Durrell
Publisher: Gardners Books
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2001-04-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780571209330

In his first and funniest book, Gerald Durrell describes an expedition to the Cameroons before independence.