<P> My Family and Other Animals (1956) is an autobiographical work by British naturalist Gerald Durrell . It tells of the years that he lived as a child with his siblings and widowed mother on the Greek island of Corfu between 1935 and 1939 . It describes the life of the Durrell family in a humorous manner, and explores the fauna of the island . It is the first and most well - known of Durrell's' Corfu trilogy,' together with Birds, Beasts, and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods (1978). </P> <P> Durrell had already written several successful books about his trips collecting animals in the wild for zoos when he published My Family and Other Animals in 1956 . Its comic exaggeration of the foibles of his family--especially his eldest brother Lawrence Durrell, who became a celebrated novelist and poet--and his heartfelt appreciation of the natural world made it very successful . Durrell was able to found the Jersey Zoological Park (now known as the Durrell Wildlife Park) in the Channel Islands . He also became known as a novel - writer and television personality . His books helped stimulate the development of tourism in Corfu . </P> <P> The book is an autobiographical account of five years in the childhood of naturalist Gerald Durrell, age 10 at the start of the saga, of his family, pets and life during a sojourn on the island of Corfu . The book is divided into three sections, marking the three villas where the family lived on the island . Gerald is the youngest in a family consisting of their widowed mother, the eldest son Larry, the gun - mad Leslie, and diet - obsessed sister Margo together with Roger the dog . They are fiercely protected by their taxi - driver friend Spiro (Spiros "Americano" Halikiopoulos) and mentored by the polymath Dr. Theodore Stephanides who provides Gerald with his education in natural history . Other human characters, chiefly eccentric, include Gerald's private tutors, the artistic and literary visitors Larry invites to stay, and the local people who befriend the family . </P> <P> The book was written in 1955 in Bournemouth, where Durrell was recuperating from a severe attack of jaundice . Whereas Durrell often claimed to find writing a chore, this book was different: his first wife Jacquie recalled "Never have I known Gerry work as he did then; it seemed to pour out of him". Durrell maintained "he had started off like a good cook with three ingredients which, delicious alone, were even better in combination: namely, the spellbinding landscape of a Greek island before tourism succeeded in spoiling it for tourists; his discovery of and friendship with the wild denizens, both animal and Greek, of that island; and the eccentric conduct of all members of his family ." The book was an instant success . </P>

My family and other animals by gerald durrell summary
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