Gerald Durrell Books

Suitable for adults and children alike, this title includes three classic tales of childhood on an island paradise - My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods.

For fans of the PBS Masterpiece Theater series, The Durrells in Corfu--here's what happened next! When Gerald Durrell was eight, his family, lead by his intrepid, imperturbable mother, went abroad and settled in Corfu. The story of the family life's there is told in Fauna and Family. Then the Durrells returned to England in 1939 and the family's story continues in Fillets of Plaice. Finally, in 1945, the young zoologist finally came to work at his first actual zoo in Beasts in My Belfry). It was Whipsnade Zoo--then a new concept in open-range animal exhibits--where Durrell joined in as a student keeper with Albert the lion, Babs the polar bear, and a baby Père David's deer among his first charges. In this entertaining history, he recaptures all the passion that permeated those early years, while conveying his insight into and affection for both four- and two-footed creatures. The book is full of larger-than-life animal characters: the bear who sang operatic arias with one paw clasped to his breast, his bosom friend Billy the goat, playful zebras, and a host of equally endearing and memorable critters. This is Durrell at his best.

Each volume contains all the winning and commended entries from the annual British Gas Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition--from the best international photographers.

Rosy, the elephant bequeathed to young Adrian Rookwhistle by a reprobate relative, turned out to be a handful: not alone because of her size but also because of her fondness for strong drink. To Adrian she represented the chance to get away froma City shop and a suburban lodging by exploiting her theatrical talent and experience. To Rosy their progress towards the gayer South Coast resorts offered undreamed-of opportunities for drink and destruction. So the Monkspepper Hunt is driven to delirium and Lady Fenneltree's stately home reduced to a shambles. In due course the always efficient local constabulary caught up with the pair, whose ensuing trial was a like a triumph of the law and of the author's comic genius. The verdict was--but the story has to be read to be believed, if then. Even though the author does maintain that it is entirely credible, indeed that this, his first novel, is 'an almost true story'.

The Argentine pampas and the Chaco territory of Paraguay provide the setting for The Drunken Forest. With Durrell for interpreter, an orange armadillo, or a horned toad, or a crab-eating raccoon, or a baby giant anteater suddenly discovers the ability not merely to set you laughing but actually to endear itself to you. Contents Explanation Saludos 1. Oven-birds and burrowing owls 2. Eggbert and the Terrible Twins Interlude 3. Fields of flying flowers 4. The orange armadillos 5. Bevy of bichos 6. Fawns, frogs, and fer-de-lance 7. Terrible toads and a bushel of birds 8. The four-eyed bird and the anaconda 9. Sarah Huggersack 10. Rattlesnakes and revolution Interlude 11. The Rhea Hunt Adios! Acknowledgements

Gerald Durrell was a zoo maniac from the age of two when he starting collecting everything alive, from minnows to woodlice. In this book he writes about setting up the Wildlife Preservation Trust in Jersey - a a place of entertainment, research and eduction.

First published 1977. An account of Durrell's conservation work on the island of Mauritius

A collection of the very best of Gerald Durrell's writings, selected by his wife Lee Durrell. For The Best of Gerald Durrell she has chosen evocative, quirky, engaging and humorous pieces to give a wonderful picture of how his extraordinary life unfolded. Starting with his early naturalist days and the rapid development of his passion for animals, this anthology includes writings of his collecting trips to such places as Cameroon, Argentina and Madagascar, his growing concern about the nature of zoos, the emergence of his conservation plans, and the realization of his lifelong dream, a zoo of his own, and how it became a model for the future.

This picture book combines an adventure story with an introduction to the world of animals. It recounts the story of Great-Uncle Lancelot, who, together with his great-niece and great-nephews, embarks on a journey in an ecological flying machine to meet some of the world's most interesting animals.

Celebrating the centenary of Gerald Durrell's birth, this posthumous work highlights his legacy as a beloved conservationist and naturalist. Featuring a new foreword by HRH Princess Anne, the book offers insights into Durrell's passion for wildlife and conservation, reflecting his enduring influence on environmental awareness.

Den excentriske familie Durrells liv i landlige græske omgivelser på øen Korfu i tiden før 2. verdenskrig skildret af den 10-årige Gerald

Humoristisk fortælling om forfatterens familie på Korfu

If you loved My Family and Other Animals and can't get enough of the Durrells after the Corfu series, this 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'.

My Family and Other Animals is the bewitching account of a rare and magical childhood on the island of Corfu by treasured British conservationist Gerald Durrell. 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 'A bewitching book' Sunday Times

The true and hilarious story of how Gerald Durrell and his wife set up their own zoo. Journeying to the Cameroons, he and his wife, helped by the renowned Fon of Bafut, managed to collect 'plenty beef.' Their difficulties began when they found themselves back at home, with Cholmondely the chimpanzee, Bug-Eye the bush-baby, and other founder members... and nowhere to put them

A bloom of monkeys... A big and rather beautiful tree grew a couple of hundred yards from the verandah just below us. There was a crash and a scuffle amongst the leaves. And then, suddenly, it seemed as thought the whole tree had burst into bloom, a bloom of monkeys. They were Red-and-Black Colobus, and they were the most breathtaking sight...

Durrell's hilarious and warm My Family and Other Animals (1957) began a trio of reminiscences of his life growing up with a slightly dotty family the overbearing and omniscient Larry; the affectionate and loving siblings, Margot and Leslie; and, of course, the overburdened and patient Mother on the island of Corfu in the 1930s, when a pound could buy a villa and life was conducted as a series of riotously high (and sometimes low) adventures. But what shines through these five vignettes is the author's engagement with and immense affection for animals in all their forms. From fish to fowl, from lizards to little water fleas (daphnia), Durrell's eye is acute and his prose is tart. You can read this book for the humor alone (for he did perceive his family as some rare and rarefied species), but between the lines you can discern the makings of a world-class naturalist and a cultivated and engaging writer.

Gerald Durrell, director and owner of Jersey Zoo, was internationally famous for his amusing books about collecting wild animals, in particular My Family and Other Animals. But The Overloaded Ark, his first, remains his funniest book. It describes an expedition to the remote territory of the Cameroons in West Africa, before independence. 'A delightful book . . . You can feel his bush-shirt sticking to his back . . . Bagging a monitor, smoking out a Pangolin (scaly anteater), celebrating the capture of the rare Angwantibo (small lemur), bird liming for Giant Kingfishers on the warm, milky waters of Lake Soden: he communicates every detail of his experiences with just the right degree of zest.' New Statesman

The author and his wife are the proud owners of a small zoo on the island of Jersey. But there's one thing that's better than a small zoo - a bigger one. So the author heads off to South America to collect more animals. This title offers an account of his journey into the South American wilds.

Young English zoologist Gerard Durrell returns to the Cameroons in West Central Africa in 1949 for another humorous and fascinating animal collecting expedition. Meet a frog with a coat of hair (which turns out not to be hair at all), full grown monkeys that fit inside a teacup, mice with wings, and many more of the species endemic to the Cameroons, not to mention the local ruler, the Fon of Bafut.

In this collection of stories by naturalist and animal lover Gerald Durrell, we are introduced to an eccentric cast of characters, including a perfume-wearing truffle pig and his jealous owner; an ageing set of alcoholic southern belles; a young, handsome sea captain who meets a tragic fate; a whisky-drinking hangman in Paraguay who is haunted by his victims, and a foul-mouthed talking parrot. Told with Durrell's characteristic charm and wit, these stories - some of which may or may not be autobiographical - are humorous, touching, and always highly entertaining.

Rudyard Kipling here turns his hand to the canine world. Each delightful story centres around a particular dog - whether 'Toby Dog', - 'The Black Aberdeen', or 'A Sea Dog' - and reveals the creature's relation to his human counterpart. The works demonstrate once again Kipling's remarkable skill at delighting adults and children alike.

Two in the Bush follows intrepid conservationist, wildlife lover and award-winning novelist Gerald Durrell as he embarks on an extended animal collecting trip in Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand. A powerful conservation piece, Durrell and his first wife Jacquie track down a whole host of endangered species, providing an insight into these rare creatures while stressing the need to protect both them and their habitat.

This book relates how the author and his wife put up with the unco-operative animals and even less malleable TV producers, and the fun they had filming his television series.

Provides a heartwarming story about a puppy's adventure.

An anthology of animal stories, assembled by Gerald Durrell. The authors include David Attenborough, Rudyard Kipling, D.H. Lawrence, Herman Melville, James Thurber and T.H. White.

Two children vacationing on a Greek isle in the Ionian sea devise a plan where by stolen donkeys save the land of a friend from having the mortgage foreclosed.

Part of a series of eight anthologies which contain a variety of stories from international writers of each genre. In this book of animal stories contributors include D.H. Lawrence, Oscar Wilde, Gerald Durrell, Paul Gallico and Alan Coren.

It's 1935, and an eccentric English family - four children, their widowed mother, and Roger the dog - arrives on the sun-soaked shores of Corfu to start a new life. Janys Chambers' acclaimed stage adaptation brings to life all the inhabitants of Durrell's cherished island - whether they walk and talk, fly and squawk, crawl or swim or slither.

Детство – прекрасная пора! А насколько прекрасней провести его на чудесном острове Корфу, среди любимых домашних, а порой и не очень домашних друзей! Английский писатель и биолог Джеральд Даррелл с неизменным чувством юмора рассказывает о своем детстве.

Three children travel back through time in their great uncle's time machine, intending to rescue baby dinosaurs from evil villains.

Hier kommt Rosy ... Adrian Rockwhistle langweilt sich fürchterlich. Wenn er von seinem unspektakulären Angestellten-Job nach Hause kommt, wartet dort nur seine exzentrische Vermieterin auf ihn. Das ändert sich schlagartig, als überraschend die Erbschaft eines verstorbenen Onkels vor seiner Tür abgeladen wird: Rosy, eine liebenswerte Elefantendame mit unstillbarem Durst nach allem Hochprozentigen. Adrian ist sprachlos. Unmöglich, dass er Rosy behält! Nein, das graue Ungetüm muss weg. Während Rosy jede Flasche leert, die ihr unter den Rüssel kommt, hat Adrian einen Geistesblitz: Er könnte sie an einen Zirkus verschenken, weit weg an der Küste. Also bricht er mit Rosy im Schlepptau auf. Gemeinsam schlagen sie eine Schneise der Verwüstung durch das sonst so friedliche Südengland. Erst als die Elefantendame in Gefahr gerät, merkt Adrian, dass sie ihm weit mehr ans Herz gewachsen ist, als er für möglich gehalten hätte … „Ein großer Spaß!“ New York Times

A kutyák, akikkel megosztható a létezés, különös és csodálatos lények, s nem lehet teljes az élet kutya nélkül, ám ez csak akkor igaz, ha nem kezdjük isteníteni őket. Megvan a magukhoz való eszük és bölcsességük. Találkoztam jó kutyákkal, és rossz kutyákkal, butákkal és intelligensekkel, de soha nem voltam kutya nélkül. Ahogyan a görögök mondják, egy ház nem otthon addig, míg fecske nem fészkel az eresz alá, ugyanúgy azt tartom, hogy egy ház attól lesz otthon, ha van benne kutya. Úgy vélem, ez a könyv ékesen bizonyítja, milyen hihetetlenül sokoldalú és elbűvölő állatok a kutyák. Olvassák és élvezzék e néhány történetet, a legkiválóbbakat azok közül, amelyeket kutyákról valaha is írták. /Gerald Durrell/

Alla fine degli anni Ottanta, Gerald Durrell intraprende una spedizione in Madagascar per catturare alcuni aye-aye, un lemure unico della zona, per garantirne la riproduzione. Durrell considera inaccettabile l'estinzione di una creatura così straordinaria, paragonandola a bruciare un Rembrandt. Giunto sull'isola, che gli appare come un'omelette mal rivoltata, inizia la sua ricerca. Dopo una visita al mercato locale, dove polli simili a piumini sono appesi sotto ombrelloni bianchi, riesce a salvare il primo esemplare, destinato a essere cucinato da una massaia indigena. Con il suo caratteristico umorismo, Durrell trasforma l'indagine scientifica in un'avventura avvincente, anche nello studio del linguaggio dei lemuri, che include suoni come "pop", miagolii e ringhi. Gli animali sono i veri protagonisti, osservati con ironia e ammirazione: oche egiziane in completo di tweed, pappagalli sfavillanti e felini che sembrano la versione malgascia della Pantera Rosa. Anche gli umani sono descritti con uno sguardo divertito, impegnati in un compulsivo shopping natalizio tra bancarelle di scimmie e maialini colorati. Il libro è stato pubblicato per la prima volta nel 1992.

Eine heitere Familiengeschichte unter griechischer Sonne.

Это история про забавного щенка по имени Малыш. На этот раз он отправляется в зоопарк и знакомится с самыми разными животными.

Встречайте забавного щенка по имени Малыш! В этот раз его ждёт соленое море, смешные водоросли, неожиданные знакомства и настоящие морские приключения.Также в серии: «Малыш идет в зоопарк», «Малыш едет на пикник», «Малыш спасает всех».

Presents a collection of stories about dogs that James Herriot came to know through his practice as a veterinary surgeon

Do slnečného Grécka prídu na letné prázdniny Šimon a Peter k sesternici Penelope. Raz nájdu na morskom pobreží prečudesný balík, ktorý sa im prihovorí ľudskou rečou. Žijú v ňom papagáj a pavúčica. Títo dvaja spoločníci sa nedobrovoľne ocitli za hranicami rozprávkovej krajiny, odkiaľ ich vyhnali baziliškovia. Násilím sa zmocnili v Mytológii vlády a troch Veľkých kníh spravodlivého vládcu, známeho čarodejníka Habakuka Hanibala Junketberryho. Všetko toto vyrozpráva deťom múdry papagáj, ktorého nadnesený jazyk a vyjadrovacie spôsoby vyvolávajú neraz čitateľov úsmev. A keďže niečo pre záchranu Mytológie treba urobiť, poprosí deti o pomoc. Deti nadšene súhlasia. Či sa im podarí premôcť baziliškov a zachrániť všetky rozprávkové bytosti, o tom sa, milí mladí čitatelia, dočítate v tejto knihe.

Prosté vyprávění anglického přírodovědce a beletristy o tom, jak založil na anglickém ostrově New Jersey vlastní zoologickou zahradu. Ve vyprávění o vlastní zoologické zahradě, navazujícím na knihu Zoo v kufru, líčí autor své zkušenosti i veselé příhody s nejrůznějšími zvířaty, přičemž uplatňuje osobitý humor a dokumentuje velké profesionální znalosti.

Prázdniny v Řecku právě začínají! Penelopka, Petr a Šimon si hrají na pláži, ale náhle se k nim po vlnách přiblíží velký balík, z něhož se ozývají záhadné hlasy... To vzdělaný papoušek Papouš a jeho zpívající pavoučice Dulcibela připluli hledat pomoc pro zemi Mytologii, kterou ovládli krutí baziliškové. Děti se s nimi vydávají na fantastickou pouť za laskavým čarodějem H. H., ješitnými jednorožci, bezcharakterními ropušáky a snobskými mořskými pannami. Podaří se jim získat zpátky ukradené mluvící knihy a svrhnout bazilišky? Půvabný pohádkový příběh pro děti z pera autora oblíbených příběhů o zvířatech (O mé rodině a jiné zvířeně, Chytněte mi guerézu, Ptáci, zvířata a moji příbuzní).

Souborné knižní vydání rozhlasových přednášek, které vznikly na základě autorových poznatků expedic do nejrůznějších končin světa.

Kniha vypráví o šestiměsíčním putování, které v roce 1957 autor a jeho žena podnikli do Viktoriina zálivu v západní Africe do nitra někdejšího Britského Kamerunu, aby nachytali zvířata pro vlastní zoologickou zahradu.

Humorně laděné vyprávění o expedici na Madagaskar. Toto jedinečné zvíře autor získal pro svůj Trust za záchranu života, sloužící k ochraně a rozmnožování živočišných druhů, jimž hrozí v důsledku neuvážené činnosti člověka bezprostřední vyhynutí. Barvité líčení exotického prostředí ostrova a komické zážitky se zvířátky, personálem i domorodci jsou prokládány seriózními vědeckými informacemi o ohrožených zvířatech i o postupující devastaci jejich přirozeného prostředí. mezi nimi především o mládě Aye-­aye.

Osm povídek o rodině, zvířatech a autorových veselých zážitcích s přáteli.

Další dvě ze šesti humorných povídek od cestovatele, zoologa, ale především výborného vypravěče Geralda Durrella, kterému byl dokonce za jeho odbornou literární činnost udělen Řád Britského impéria. Tento výbor navazuje na dvojjazyčné vydání povídek Piknik a Panenská plavba. V povídkách Plody nejdražšího vzdělání a Poprask kolem Havelocka Durrell opět s ironií a nadhledem vypráví o chvílích strávených se sestrou Margo, bratry Lesliem a Larrym a nejen s nimi.