The Garden of the Gods
978-0-00-635859-6
The Garden of the Gods (American title: Fauna and Family) is a 1978 autobiographical book by British naturalist and author Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is the third book in his autobiographical Corfu trilogy, following My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts, and Relatives.[1]
Summary
This book is a humorous description of events that took place on the Greek island of Corfu between the years 1935 and 1939. The youngest in his family, Gerald was ten years of age when his widowed mother, Louisa Florence Durrell, moved the remaining family: son Leslie Durrell, and daughter, Margaret Durrell (referred to in the book as "Margo"), from Bournemouth to join her eldest son Lawrence Durrell and his wife Nancy on the island.
The author describes his many exploits catching, and making pets of, the local fauna, and the subsequent effects on his family. They are featured as major characters, although he does not discuss Lawrence's wife Nancy. Other characters from the previous books also appear here, such as Spiro (their Greek friend and chauffeur), Theodore Stephanides (family friend, doctor, poet and naturalist), and Mr Kralefsky (Gerald's one-time tutor in Corfu). He describes the new and colourful characters of Lumis Bean, Harry Bunny, Prince Jeejeebuoy, and Count Rossignol.
The Garden of the Gods was first published in 1978 by William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, and simultaneously in the United States as Fauna and Family by Simon and Schuster (ISBN 0-671-24729-8).
References
- ^ Flood, Alison (16 May 2016). "The Durrells get new biography that 'they would enjoy'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
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- The Overloaded Ark
- Three Singles to Adventure
- The Bafut Beagles
- The New Noah
- The Drunken Forest
- My Family and Other Animals
- A Zoo in My Luggage
- The Whispering Land
- Menagerie Manor
- The Donkey Rustlers
- Birds, Beasts, and Relatives
- The Talking Parcel
- The Garden of the Gods
- The Mockery Bird
- The Fantastic Flying Journey
- The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure
- Catch Me a Colobus
- The Stationary Ark
- Ark on the Move
- My Family and Other Animals (TV series, 1987)
- My Family and Other Animals (TV film, 2005)
- The Durrells (TV series, 2016-2019)
- Lawrence Samuel Durrell (father)
- Louisa Durrell (mother)
- Lawrence Durrell (brother)
- Margaret Durrell (sister)
- Jacquie Durrell (1st wife)
- Lee McGeorge Durrell (2nd wife)
- Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust
- EcoHealth Alliance
- Durrell Wildlife Park
- Les Augrès Manor
- Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
- Madagascar Fauna and Flora Group
- Wildlife Preservation Canada
- World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival