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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers in 1999
Copyright © Douglas Boning 1999
The Author asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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Source ISBN: 9780006387305
Ebook Edition © JANUARY 2014 ISBN: 9780007381227 Version: 2017-06-09
Further reviews for Gerald Durrell:
âDouglas Botting is to be congratulated on Gerald Durrell. He has done a magnificent job in telling the complex story of a complex person, wrinkles and all. Here is your chance to rediscover the man who for over sixty years exasperated and fascinated his friends and fans, giving hope to generations that there was a future for animals, plants and people.â
DAVID BELLAMY, Literary Review
âThe book serves up so much by way of compelling detail that the reader forges happily ahead ⦠[an] affectionate account of a rumbustious figure.â
PENELOPE LIVELY, Daily Telegraph
âDouglas Bottingâs biography of Gerald Durrell is a whacking great book ⦠But then, the environmentalist, naturalist, humorist, bestselling author and adventurer was a whacking great personality. His riotous enjoyment of life and his passion-ate, loving struggle for animal conservation fly off the pages. Itâs an absorbing, hugely appealing story.â
New Scientist
âBottingâs admiration and affection for his subject are infectious.â
Sunday Times
âAn extraordinary story ⦠a biographerâs dream.â
EDWARD MARRIOTT, Evening Standard
âDouglas Botting quotes continually from unpublished material â letters, journals, diaries â which prove to be a treasure-house of agile and acute observation ⦠[He] is a perceptive, vigorous, unabashed chronicler ⦠at his best in dealing with the complexities of Durrellâs own character and the crises in his life ⦠This is the most enjoyable biography I have read for years.â
J.B. PICK, Scotsman
âA compelling read.â
DAVID NICHOLSON-LORD, Financial Times
âBotting gives us a full-on Durrell ⦠a wonderfully detailed account.â
RICHARD D NORTH, Independent
âExhaustive research ⦠poignant reading.â
CAROLINE MOOREHEAD, Spectator
âAbsorbing.â
Tatler
âGerald Durrell was a man of immense character as this enormous biography testifies ⦠and he shines out of these pages. Bottingâs writing style is a delight. He has a wry eye and his own dry wit ⦠He has told a powerful story.â
JULIA LANGDON, The Herald (Glasgow)
âWonderfully affectionate account ⦠wonderfully readable.â
CHRISTINE BARKER, Birmingham Post
âThe best parts are the descriptions of furry animals â both Durrellâs and the authorâs â which appear on page after page ⦠the book is a love story of a sort.â
ROY HATTERS LEY, Mail on Sunday
âJoyful reading ⦠Botting is on sure, captivating ground as he relates Durrellâs escapades ⦠a valuable chronology of Durrellâs experiences.â
ROSEMARY GORING, Scotland on Sunday
âDouglas Botting paints a vivid picture ⦠an excellent reflection of the man behind the magicâ
ISOBEL OSMONT, Jersey Evening News
âThis revealing and compulsive biography will inspire many generations to come.â
JOHN BURTON, World Land Trust Review
âBottingâs biography is vast, vibrant, intense.â
MICK MIDDLES, Manchester Evening News
âIn this superb biography Douglas Botting keeps you turning the pages and even succeeds in conjuring tears at the end. Meticulous research has enabled him to bring us an in-depth picture of the man. It is a measure of its success that I seriously resented having to go to work, or to bed, whilst reading it.â
HILARY PAIPETI, The Corfiot Magazine, Greece