United States
£ GBP
In The Evolution of Gerald Durrell: Biography of an Author and Wildlife Conservationist, Mary Sanders Pollock revisits the life and work of Gerald Durrell, one of the most significant environmentalist figures of the 20th century. This new biography tracks Durrell's evolution from a free-range childhood on Corfu through his time in Africa, South America, and the islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Durrell's early work is described in his numerous travel narratives, but his conservation activities culminated in "the stationary ark", a conservation zoo on the Isle of Jersey which still plays an important role in global wildlife conservation efforts. This biography situates Durrell's writing, collecting, and conservation practices within the frameworks of animal studies, conservation biology, and postcolonial history. Familiarizing readers with the broad range of his cultural impact, from The Corfu Trilogy to his BBC television specials, Pollock shows how Durrell's approach offers models for how life on earth is to thrive and survive: scientists must make greater efforts to touch hearts and minds, and cultural workers must communicate more about science and the perilous existence of other species.
Acknowledgments
Foreword by Lee Durrell
Introduction
Chapter 1. Corfu
Chapter 2. The Wide World
Chapter 3. Africa
Chapter 4. South America: The Human Factor
Chapter 5. Islomania
Chapter 6. Madagascar and the Mascarenes
Chapter 7. The Zoo
Afterword: How to be Whole
Bibliography
Index
Mary Sanders Pollock is the author of Storytelling Apes: Primatology Narratives Past and Future (2015) and Elizabeth Barrett and Robert Browning: A Creative Partnership (2003) and editor of two critical anthologies. She is a Professor of English Emerita at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, USA, where she has taught British literature, literary theory, and environmental studies; and she is a past director of the Gender Studies program at that institution.
"Mary Sanders Pollock's new biography of Gerald Durrell's life-long fascination with animals is a gem. Vividly written and entertaining, the book addresses the colourful life of the passionate conservationist and the numerous animal personalities he shares his life with since childhood in Corfu."
– Jopi Nyman, Professor of English, University of Eastern Finland, Finland
