The Durrells in Corfu is a recent PBS series about a British family who leaves England in the mid-1930s to start a new life on the Greek island of Corfu. The group, a widowed mother and her somewhat eccentric children, includes two aspiring writers. Lawrence Durrell would go on to write the celebrated Alexandria Quartet, four linked novels that were internationally popular in the 1960s. Gerald Durrell became a well-known conservationist and author, as well as founding a nature reserve to support endangered species.
However, the four Durrell children were so annoying in the first season, an opinion seconded in many user reviews on the Internet Movie Data Base, that I almost did not continue with my viewing. But the series is freely based on the youngest brother Gerald’s memoir, My Family and Other Animals, and soon included a supporting cast of creatures ranging from pelicans to adorable otters. They add much charm and humor to the series which does improve as a whole as it also introduces the human natives of the island as the overlapping plots thickens
The series also led me to another book, Gerald and Lee Durrell in Russia, a detailed, profusely illustrated account of the adult Gerald’s amazing expedition to film nature reserves scattered around the vast territories of 1980s Russia. The literary style is conversational, often humorous, and provides a fascinating look at some of Russia's most varied and little known landscapes and the equally unique creatures who are protected there.
Ross C.
Note: The Durrells on Corfu, DVD seasons 1 & 2, are available in the Foster Library collection.
