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'''Margaret ('Margo') Isabel Mabel Durrell''' (1917-) was the younger sister of novelist [[Lawrence Durrell]], and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter [[Gerald Durrell]]. Born in [[British India]], she was brought up in [[India]], [[England]] and [[Corfu]]. [[Gerald Durrell]]'s ''Corfu Trilogy'' — ''[[My Family and Other Animals]]'', ''Birds, Beasts and Relatives'' and ''Garden of the Gods'' — [[lampoon]]s her character variously. |
'''Margaret ('Margo') Isabel Mabel Durrell''' (1917-2007) was the younger sister of novelist [[Lawrence Durrell]], and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter [[Gerald Durrell]]. Born in [[British India]], she was brought up in [[India]], [[England]] and [[Corfu]]. [[Gerald Durrell]]'s ''Corfu Trilogy'' — ''[[My Family and Other Animals]]'', ''Birds, Beasts and Relatives'' and ''Garden of the Gods'' — [[lampoon]]s her character variously. |
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Margo remained on [[Corfu]] following the departure of her mother and two brothers to [[England]] during [[World War II]], sharing a peasant cottage with some local friends. She felt that Corfu was her true home and that she could not bear to leave it. In 1939, she met a British [[Royal Air Force]] pilot, Jack Breeze, stationed on Corfu and married him in 1940. She went with him to [[South Africa]] for the remainder of the war. |
Margo remained on [[Corfu]] following the departure of her mother and two brothers to [[England]] during [[World War II]], sharing a peasant cottage with some local friends. She felt that Corfu was her true home and that she could not bear to leave it. In 1939, she met a British [[Royal Air Force]] pilot, Jack Breeze, stationed on Corfu and married him in 1940. She went with him to [[South Africa]] for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, Margo and her husband moved to [[Bournemouth]]. After divorcing her first husband, she purchased a large house across the street from her mother's house, and after refurbishing it, she opened a [[boarding house]] there. Gerald Durrell's core collection for his zoo (now the [[Jersey Zoo]]) was initially housed on the premises of her boarding house. Margaret eventually remarried, her new husband's name being Malcolm Duncan. |
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Margaret invited her brother Gerald Durrell to live in a bedsitting room in her boarding house after his elopement with and marriage to [[Jacquie Durrell]] in 1952. |
Margaret invited her brother Gerald Durrell to live in a bedsitting room in her boarding house after his elopement with and marriage to [[Jacquie Durrell]] in 1952. |
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Margaret Durrell |
Margaret Durrell was the author of ''Whatever Happened to Margo?'', a reprise on her pet name used in the ''Corfu Trilogy''. Written in [[1951]], it was discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later and published in [[1995]]. <ref>Robin Balke, [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_19961013/ai_n14085970 Paperback reviews], [[The Independent]], [[October 13]], [[1996]]</ref> The book is an addition to the growing body of work on the history of the Durrell family. |
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Margaret died aged 87 on 16th January, 2007. Margaret Duncan (née Durrell) left two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her sister-in-law, Lee Durrell, widow of Gerald and honorary director of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust said of her-‘Margo was truly one of a kind. She sparkled with a special joie de vivre and enriched the lives of everyone around her with an aura of happy serenity and a marvellous sense of fun. With the passing of Margo the world loses a remarkable generation and a creative and inspiring family.’ |
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==Bibliography == |
==Bibliography == |
Revision as of 17:44, 26 August 2008
Margaret ('Margo') Isabel Mabel Durrell (1917-2007) was the younger sister of novelist Lawrence Durrell, and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter Gerald Durrell. Born in British India, she was brought up in India, England and Corfu. Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy — My Family and Other Animals, Birds, Beasts and Relatives and Garden of the Gods — lampoons her character variously.
Margo remained on Corfu following the departure of her mother and two brothers to England during World War II, sharing a peasant cottage with some local friends. She felt that Corfu was her true home and that she could not bear to leave it. In 1939, she met a British Royal Air Force pilot, Jack Breeze, stationed on Corfu and married him in 1940. She went with him to South Africa for the remainder of the war. When the war ended, Margo and her husband moved to Bournemouth. After divorcing her first husband, she purchased a large house across the street from her mother's house, and after refurbishing it, she opened a boarding house there. Gerald Durrell's core collection for his zoo (now the Jersey Zoo) was initially housed on the premises of her boarding house. Margaret eventually remarried, her new husband's name being Malcolm Duncan.
Margaret invited her brother Gerald Durrell to live in a bedsitting room in her boarding house after his elopement with and marriage to Jacquie Durrell in 1952.
Margaret Durrell was the author of Whatever Happened to Margo?, a reprise on her pet name used in the Corfu Trilogy. Written in 1951, it was discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later and published in 1995. [1] The book is an addition to the growing body of work on the history of the Durrell family.
Margaret died aged 87 on 16th January, 2007. Margaret Duncan (née Durrell) left two sons, Gerry and Nicholas, as well as eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Her sister-in-law, Lee Durrell, widow of Gerald and honorary director of Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust said of her-‘Margo was truly one of a kind. She sparkled with a special joie de vivre and enriched the lives of everyone around her with an aura of happy serenity and a marvellous sense of fun. With the passing of Margo the world loses a remarkable generation and a creative and inspiring family.’
Bibliography
- Whatever Happened to Margo? (1996, ISBN 0-233-98917-X)
References
- ^ Robin Balke, Paperback reviews, The Independent, October 13, 1996