Myself and Other Animals

Nature’s most rapt inspector, ally and celebrant … I could read about Durrell’s wildlife encounters all day … a wise, genial and world-encompassing book – John Walsh * Sunday Times *Fills important gaps in the biographical narrative … Truly, there is magic here – Kathryn Hughes * Guardian *A moving tribute to Gerald’s endeavours and achievements as a conservationist – Richard Bradford * Spectator *Funny and readable and hugely charming … Durrell really can write like a dream … This book is a charming tribute to him: a reminder of his beliefs, and of his ability to make you laugh while making you think – Moira Redmond * i *Sparkling descriptions of animal behaviour are the beating heart of Durrell’s accounts of trips to Cameroon, Guyana, New Zealand, Mauritius, Madagascar and elsewhere … Durrell’s concern for species extinction thrums throughout Myself and Other Animals – Ella Creamer * Guardian *Celebrates his extraordinary life in technicolour – Matt Nixson * Daily Express *Reading Myself & Other Animals makes you feel like an archaeologist uncovering an ancient mosaic. As you leaf through a section, you reveal the colourful sparkle of a new fragment. It isn’t a complete picture, but by the end, you can see enough to feel you know Gerald Durrell just that bit better … earns its place in the pantheon of Durrell’s books – Chris Simms * New Scientist *Replete with characters of feathers, fur and fin, it offers an intimate picture of the naturalist and his travels * National Geographic *A generous and magnificent achievement – an autobiography, of sorts, composed of excerpts both well-known and rare, each carrying Durrell’s distinctive, engaging and entertaining voice. A century on from the beloved conservationist’s birth, when so many forms of life remain at risk of extinction, it also stands as an important call to action before it’s too late – Julian Hoffman, author of Lifelines and Irreplaceable

Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. He returned to England in 1928 before settling on the island of Corfu with his family. In 1945 he joined the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper, and in 1947 he led his first animal-collecting expedition to the Cameroons. He later undertook numerous further expeditions, visiting Paraguay, Argentina, Sierra Leone, Mexico, Mauritius, Assam and Madagascar. His first television programme, Two in the Bush, which documented his travels to New Zealand, Australia and Malaya was made in 1962; he went on to make seventy programmes about his trips around the world. In 1959 he founded the Jersey Zoological Park, and in 1964 he founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust. He was awarded the OBE in 1982. Encouraged to write about his life’s work by his brother, Durrell published his first book, The Overloaded Ark, in 1953. It soon became a bestseller and he went on to write thirty-six other titles, including My Family and Other Animals, The Bafut Beagles, Encounters with Animals, The Drunken Forest, A Zoo in My Luggage, The Whispering Land, Menagerie Manor, The Amateur Naturalist and The Aye-Aye and I. Gerald Durrell died in 1995.