Corfu Trilogy – serie

Gerald Durrell’s beloved account of his childhood in Corfu, now in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time ‘When My Family and Other Animals was published it was as if someone had flung back the curtains, thrown up the windows and let in a stream of bright light’ - Kathryn Hughes, Guardian‘Gerald Durrell was magic’ - Sir David Attenborough 'Living in Corfu was rather like living in one of the more flamboyant and slapstick comic operas’It is 1935 and the Durrells have escaped the leaden summer skies of Bournemouth to arrive ‘like a troupe of medieval tumblers’ on the sun-drenched island of Corfu for a new life. Gerald Durrell’s beloved portrayal of his chaotic family – beatific Mother, Roger the dog, diet-obsessed Margo, book-loving Lawrence and gun-wielding Leslie – as well as his own adventures with a burgeoning menagerie of beasts, birds and insects (including an owl called Ulysses), is a timeless account of an idyllic childhood and an uproarious portrait of the English abroad.

Volume Two of Gerald Durrell’s beloved account of his childhood in Corfu, now in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time'A lot of frolic, fun and charming ribaldry, as well as the warm feeling of having been transported to a lovely spot where worry is unknown and anything is believable' - The New York Times‘Another tiger-golden day lay ahead of us. It was as though England had never really existed’The Durrell clan’s escapades on their Greek island home resume with the second volume of the Corfu Trilogy. Budding zoologist Gerald continues to explore the natural wonders around him, enjoying a night fishing trip, receiving a donkey as a birthday present and accidentally bringing a bear home for tea. Here too are more stories of the eccentric creatures he calls his family, including Margo’s ill-advised foray into spiritualism and what becomes known as ‘Mother’s Great Romance’. Ending as the Second World War is declared, Birds, Beasts and Relatives is an enchanting return to a magical place.

Gerald Durrell’s beloved account of his childhood in Corfu, now in Penguin Modern Classics for the first time'Durrell has an uncanny knack of discovering human as well as animal eccentricities' - Sunday Telegraph ‘My collection of animals swelled to a point where even Mother occasionally grew alarmed’The island of Corfu, where the Durrell family live in agreeable chaos, is paradise for aspiring naturalist Gerald. His battalion of creatures has grown to include eleven puppies, a toad named Dierdre and an unwelcome infestation of scorpions. Yet the human visitors to their sun-drenched villa are even more curious, whether it is an innocent pair of American painters ripe for practical jokes, or a supercilious Count who barely survives an outing on Gerald’s home-made boat, the Bootle-bumtrinket. The third volume in the Corfu Trilogy brings this glorious tale of halcyon days to a close.

The follow up to My Family and Other Animals and the second book in The Corfu Trilogy, the beloved books that inspired ITV's television series The Durrells.In this second collection of tales concerning the Durrell family on the island of Corfu, young Gerry continues to be captivated by the fascinating flora and fauna of their adopted home - much to the bemusement and upset of his long suffering siblings and mother.Whether it's lamp fishing by night or roving the countryside with his mentor Theodore, Gerry encounters intoxicated hedgehogs, tarantulas, dung beetles, water spiders and other animals, some of which become the family's very unwanted pets.'A wild and amusing chronicle' Daily Express'This book, an evocation of a budding naturalist's life as a boy on Corfu, will delight many readers, even those who can't stand spiders...' Evening Standard'Delightful, charming, funny' The Times

The third book in The Corfu Trilogy (after My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts and Relatives), the beloved books that inspired ITV's television series The Durrells.Just before the Second World War the Durrell family decamped to the glorious, sun-soaked island of Corfu where the youngest of the four children, ten-year-old Gerald, discovered his passion for animals: toads and tortoises, bats and butterflies, scorpions and octopuses. Through glorious silver-green olive groves and across brilliant-white beaches Gerry pursued his obsession . . . causing hilarity and mayhem in his ever-tolerant family.'A wild and amusing chronicle' Daily Express'This book, an evocation of a budding naturalist's life as a boy on Corfu, will delight many readers, even those who can't stand spiders...' Evening Standard'Delightful, charming, funny' The Times