The Garden of the Gods

Published in 1978 the third book in the trilogy continues the story of the Durrells on the Greek isle of Corfu.

Gerald Durrell, one of the pioneers of conservation, still has a legacy that is very much alive. (Go to: https://www.durrell.org/wildlife/)

The stories in this book are those which could not be included in the previous two, My Family and Other Animals and Birds, Beasts and Relatives.

The contents of the third book start with a chapter entitled Dogs, Dormice and Disorder and end with The Merriment of Friendship.

Like the previous books, this one intersperses descriptions of animal life with the antics of Gerald’s family, including Britain’s celebrated literary figure, Lawrence Durrell. As Gerald’s eldest sibling Larry, as he is called, comes across as something of a cartoon figure.

That being said you are probably going to rock in your chair with laughter. The portrayal of Lawrence as Larry did not hurt the eminent writer. On the contrary, he spent many an hour sampling the delicious vintages of Greece with his younger brother when the latter attained adulthood, rather than suing him for libel.

While Lawrence Durrell will probably always be remembered as a literary figure, Gerald wrote books that were consumed by the public. And for good reason. They were entertaining and opened up the world of animals. We make up 0.01% of life on the planet. In a world where food vlogs and social media are focused on humans, perhaps it’s time to be sensitive to those who share our planet but who are not like us.

They have a right to be here, too.