Saturday, 31 January 2015

Corfu: In Search of Gerald Durrell's Corfu (from the archives)



From The Telegraph

"From the Archives: The Durrell brothers immortalised Corfu but also brought mass tourism to their hideaway island. In this feature from 1999, Paul Mansfield went in search of a literary paradise lost".

See also: Gerald Durrell's Sunday Times magazine article on Corfu, January 1988






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5 comments:

  1. nickie.greenwood@gmail.com1 February 2015 at 17:12

    It was thanks to "My Family and other Animals" that, like Gerrald Durrel's mum, my "crazy" mother decided to take her 4 children to Corfu in 1963, driving down alone with many adventures on the way. I was 14 years old, fell in love with the island and danced one evening with a young man of 16 who, little did I know then, was going to become my husband some years later. Spiros' ancestor was English and commander of Othoni during the British protectorate 1814-1864, hence the name.

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  2. Jim1 February 2015 at 19:46

    What a wonderful story, thank you for sharing it. Do you know Theresa Nicholas' book "Suntouched" which is about Corfu from the beginning of the 1960s? And Maria Strani-Potts' novel "The Cat of Portovecchio, Corfu Tales" about Corfu in the 1950s? Jim

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  3. nickie.greenwood@gmail.com1 February 2015 at 21:20

    I haven't read either but making a google search I found your own description of "Suntouched" on your May 2011 posting and it certainly entices me to read it. I had seen a posting on The Cat of Portovecchio on Real Corfu's link back in September and had intended ordering it on Amazon then, so thanks for reminding me. Is Maria Strani-Potts your wife? I am definitely going to order both books. Also thanks to your recommendation on Corfu Blues, I downloaded "The Nifi" and look forward to reading now that I just finished "The Balkan Trilogy" by Olivia Manning. Is my comment visible to your other readers? Apologies if it is, I do not want to monopolize your page but appreciate the interaction. Nickie

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  4. Jim2 February 2015 at 08:18

    Maria is a Corfiot - and my wife, I should have mentioned that, but as writers we are very independent. No problem about making public comments. Olivia Manning's 'Balkan Trilogy' is an exceptional achievement and a great read. My copy of the complete trilogy has fallen to pieces. The third volume "Friends and Heroes" has some profound observations about Greece (and the views of foreigners) in the 1940s.

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  5. Jim26 February 2015 at 16:56

    Thanks for your comment on this posting:
    http://corfublues.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/greece-no-ones-done-koungi-souliot-war.html

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