Margaret Durrell

Margaret "Margo" Isabel Mabel Durrell (1920–2007) was the younger sister of novelist Lawrence Durrell, and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter Gerald Durrell, whose Corfu Trilogy of novels — My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and The Garden of the Gods — lampoons her character.

Born in British India, she was brought up in India, England and Corfu. In 1935, Margo accompanied her mother, Gerald and Leslie to Corfu, following her eldest brother, Lawrence, who had moved there with his first wife, Nancy Myers. By 1939, when her mother returned to England with Gerald and Leslie following the outbreak of World War II, Margo decided her real home was on Corfu and returned, sharing a peasant cottage with some local friends. Later the same year she met a British Royal Air Force pilot, Jack Breeze, who was stationed on the island. He convinced her of the dangers of staying on Corfu and the couple travelled together to South Africa, marrying in 1940. Margo lived with Breeze in South Africa for the remainder of the war. When it ended, they moved to Bournemouth. Margo and Jack Breeze had two children, Gerry and Nicholas.

After divorcing her husband, Margo purchased a large property across the street from her mother's house in Bournemouth and turned it into a boarding house. Gerald Durrell's core collection for his zoo (now the Durrell Wildlife Park) was initially housed in the back garden and garage on the premises. Later, Margo had a short-lived marriage with a musician named Malcolm "Mac" Duncan.

Still enamoured with Greece, Margo applied for a job on a Greek cruise ship travelling to the Caribbean that she saw advertised in a newspaper.^[1] Her one published book, Whatever Happened to Margo?, was a humorous autobiographical account of her experiences as a Bournemouth landlady in the late 1940s, and included details about the lives of her family, particularly Leslie, Gerald and Louisa Durrell, outside of Corfu. Apparently written in the 1960s, it was discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later and published in 1995.^[2]

Margaret died aged 87 on 16 January 2007.^[3]

Bibliography

Whatever Happened to Margo? (1996, ISBN 0-233-98917-X)

References

↑ Margaret Durrell Remembers, in Lawrence Durrell and the Greek World, edited by Anna Lilios
↑ Robin Balke, Paperback reviews, The Independent, 13 October 1996
↑ thisisjersey.com obituary

Gerald Durrell

Institutions associated with	Durrell Wildlife Park Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust EcoHealth Alliance Wildlife Preservation Canada Mauritian Wildlife Foundation Madagascar Fauna Group Programme for Belize World Land Trust World Conference on Breeding Endangered Species in Captivity as an Aid to their Survival

Species associations	Aye-aye Gorilla Mauritius kestrel Pink pigeon Pygmy hog Rockfowl St. Lucia parrot Volcano rabbit

Books written	The Overloaded Ark Three Singles to Adventure The Bafut Beagles The New Noah The Drunken Forest My Family and Other Animals Encounters with Animals A Zoo in My Luggage The Whispering Land Island Zoo A Look at Zoos Menagerie Manor Two in the Bush The Donkey Rustlers Rosy is My Relative Birds, Beasts, and Relatives Fillets of Plaice Catch Me a Colobus Beasts in My Belfry The Talking Parcel The Stationary Ark Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons The Garden of the Gods The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium The Mockery Bird Ark on the Move The Amateur Naturalist How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist Durrell in Russia The Fantastic Flying Journey The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure The Ark's Anniversary Keeper Toby the Tortoise Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories The Aye-Aye and I Puppy Tales The Best of Gerald Durrell

Illustrators	Ralph Thompson Edward Mortelmans Peter Barrett Graham Percy Keith West Cliff Wright

Famous TV series	Two in the Bush Catch Me a Colobus The Garden of the Gods The Stationary Ark Ark on the Move The Amateur Naturalist Ourselves and Other Animals Durrell in Russia

Durrell family	Lawrence Samuel Durrell (father) Louisa Dixie Durrell (mother) Lawrence Durrell Margaret Durrell Jacquie Durrell Lee McGeorge Durrell

Notable others	Theodore Stephanides Douglas Botting Achirimbi II

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