Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

== Early 1950s expeditions and books ==
In 1949 Durrell had met [[Jacquie Wolfenden]],{{#tag:ref|Jacquie Wolfenden changed her surname to Rasen some time after she met Durrell and before she married him, on the advice of her teachers who told her a shorter name would help her in the career she was considering as an opera singer.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 175.</ref>|name=Rasen|group = note}} the nineteen-year-old daughter of the proprietors of a hotel in Manchester where he stayed while doing business with [[Belle Vue Zoological Gardens|Belle Vue Zoo]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 174–176.</ref>  He returned to the hotel in May 1950, since the animals from the trip to British Guiana were housed nearby.  Jacquie was initially unenthusiastic about his presence, despite an enjoyable dinner date they had shared the previous year.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 179–181.</ref>  A visit to the animal collection changed her mind, as she recalled  in her 1967 book, ''Beasts in My Bed'': "Suddenly this seemingly shallow young man became a different person{{nbsp}}... He really cared about them, and they, in a funny way, returned this love and interest with obvious trust{{nbsp}}... I just sat on a box and watched him{{nbsp}}... He had certainly forgotten that I was there, and concentrated his entire attention on the animals.  The whole thing fascinated me."<ref>Botting (1999), p. 181.</ref><ref>Durrell, J. (1967), p. 6.</ref>

Once the animals had all been sold, Durrell went back to Bournemouth, but wrote frequent letters and telegrams to her.  Jacquie's father objected to the relationship, since Durrell appeared to have no money and no prospects.<ref name=":18" />  In addition, Durrell was fond of whisky: alcohol had killed Jacquie's paternal grandfather.<ref name=":18" /><ref>Hughes (1997), p. 117.</ref>  Durrell visited Manchester again to talk to Jacquie's father, and to her surprise the meeting was amicable, with Durrell receiving permission to see more of Jacquie.  Jacquie continued to spend time with Durrell, partly, she later said, to annoy her father, but she soon found herself deeply emotionally involved with Durrell.<ref name=":18">Botting (1999), pp. 181–183.</ref>

The expedition to British Guiana had left Durrell with only about £200 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|200|1950|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).  He had to get a job, but the only jobs he was suited for were in zoos, and his chances of obtaining one were damaged by [[George Cansdale]], the superintendent of London Zoo.  Cansdale deeply disliked Durrell: Jacquie later said it was because Cansdale regarded himself as the main expert on West African animals and was offended at Gerald intruding on what he regarded as his territory.  Durrell had also criticised London Zoo for its policy of showcasing as many animals as possible, rather than prioritising scientific research.  Cansdale sent a letter to British zoos criticising Durrell's animal care and competence. After multiple unsuccessful job applications, Durrell finally took a short-term post at Belle Vue Zoo in late 1950, staying at Jacquie's parents' hotel.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 184–185.</ref> When Jacquie reached 21, in 1950,<ref>Durrell, J. (1967), p. 178.</ref> she was free to marry without her parents' permission.<ref name=":6">Botting (1999), pp. 187–189.</ref>  After months of indecision, she agreed to the marriage, and the two eloped in February 1951, marrying on 26 February in Bournemouth.  Her family never forgave her, and she never saw any of them again.<ref name=":6" />

=== Radio talks and first books ===
The Durrells began their marriage in a tiny flat in the house owned by Durrell's sister Margaret, in Bournemouth.  They had almost no money; Durrell applied for jobs but found nothing in the UK, except a short-term position at a seaside menagerie in [[Margate]].  Jacquie joined him there and began "learning about animal keeping the hard way", as she later described it in her reminiscences, helping to feed and care for the animals.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 191–192.</ref><ref>Durrell, J. (1967), p. 18.</ref>  Jacquie considered Gerald a marvellous storyteller, and tried to persuade him to write down some of his stories to make money, but he resisted.  Lawrence visited in May 1951, and agreed with Jacquie, offering to introduce Gerald to his own publisher, [[Faber & Faber]].  Gerald still demurred, and then came down with a recurrence of malaria: Jacquie later recalled that when the doctor advised a light, high-fluid diet, she had to ask if bread and tea would suffice as that was all they could afford.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 192–194.</ref>  Jacquie continued to pressure him after he recovered.  Finally, after complaining about a radio talk on West Africa, she pointed out that he could do better and should try.  Within a few days Gerald borrowed a typewriter and produced a script for a short talk about his hunt for the hairy frog in the Cameroons.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 194–196.</ref>

Late that year they heard from the BBC that the script had been accepted, and on 9 December 1951 Durrell read the talk live on the [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]].<ref>Botting (1999), p. 197.</ref>  The fee was fifteen [[Guinea (coin)|guineas]] (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|15.75|1951|r=0}}|0}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), and Durrell produced more fifteen-minute talks but had also now decided that it might be worth writing a book.  Louisa gave him an allowance of £3 per week (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|3|1951|r=-1}}|0}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}) to sustain him and Jacquie while he worked.  Durrell decided to write an account of his first trip to the Cameroons, and quickly realised that he did not want to simply relate the events of the trip chronologically; he wanted to make the animals central characters, and to make the book entertaining and humorous rather than simply factual.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 197–199.</ref>  The completed typescript, titled ''[[The Overloaded Ark]]'', was posted to Faber & Faber with a covering letter mentioning that Gerald was Lawrence's brother. Durrell continued to apply for jobs while waiting for a response, but without success.  Faber & Faber responded after six weeks, asking Durrell to visit them in London to discuss the book.  He let them know that he could not afford the train fare, and they wrote again offering £25 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|25|1952|r=-1}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}), and another £25 on publication.  Durrell accepted.<ref name="auto1">Botting (1999), p. 201.</ref>

Lawrence had advised Gerald not to bother with an agent, but Gerald felt an agent would have obtained a higher payment from Faber & Faber, and contacted Spencer Curtis Brown, Lawrence's own agent, in late 1952.{{#tag:ref|Spencer Curtis Brown was the son of the founder of the literary agency [[Curtis Brown]].<ref name="auto1"/>|group = note}}  Curtis Brown read a [[galley proof]] of ''The Overloaded Ark'' and asked Durrell to come to London to meet with them, and again he had to phone them to explain that he could not afford the fare.  They immediately offered to pay his expenses, and sent £120 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|120|1952|r=-2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).<ref name=":7">Botting (1999), pp. 200–201.</ref>  Jacquie later commented that "[this] was the first time that anyone had given us concrete evidence of their faith in Gerry's abilities".<ref name=":7" /><ref>Durrell, J. (1967), p. 25.</ref>  Gerald and Jacquie both visited Curtis Brown, who offered to try to sell the American rights.  Shortly after the Durrells returned to Bournemouth they received a telegram saying the rights had been sold for £500 (equivalent to £{{formatprice|{{inflation|UK|500|1952|r=-3}}}} in {{Inflation/year|UK}}).<ref>Botting (1999), p. 202.</ref>

Durrell soon began work on a book about the expedition to British Guiana, titled ''[[Three Singles to Adventure]]''.  It was completed in only six weeks, and sold to [[Rupert Hart-Davis]], a London publisher.  After a short break Durrell began on a third book, ''[[The Bafut Beagles]]'', about his second trip to the Cameroons.  ''The Overloaded Ark'' was published on 31 July 1953, to favourable reviews in both Britain and the US.  The only exceptions were a couple of reviewers from the animal business in the UK, who considered the book lightweight, and no competition for Cecil Webb's autobiography.  The book's dialogue used pidgin and one or two reviews suggested that this could be seen as offensive.  Some reviews questioned whether zoos, and animal collecting, were ethical.  Durrell himself was strongly critical of how zoos were run at the time, but kept his views out of his early books.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 204–207.</ref>

=== South America ===
The money Durrell was earning from writing enabled him to plan another expedition.  Jacquie chose the destination as she had never left Europe: she picked [[Argentina]], and in subsequent planning this was expanded to included a visit to [[Paraguay]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 209, 212.</ref>  A secretary, Sophie Cook, was hired to help with preparations, all made from the tiny flat in Margaret's house in Bournemouth.  The Durrells left Tilbury by ship in November 1953: they had been promised a pleasant trip out by their travel agents, which they were looking forward to as a substitute for the honeymoon they had not had, but in the event the accommodations were cramped and unpleasant, the boat filthy, and the food appalled them.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 209–210.</ref>
[[File:Myrmecophaga tridactyla 86003248.jpg|alt=A black and white animal with a long nose and shaggy tail|thumb|Giant anteater]]
They arrived in [[Buenos Aires]] on 19 December 1953, and met with Bebita Ferreyra, a friend of Lawrence's whom he had given them an introduction to; they came to rely on Ferreyra's assistance with the innumerable miscellaneous problems they had to resolve in Buenos Aires.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 210–211.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), p. 12.</ref>{{#tag:ref|For example, at one point she found them a place to keep their animals in Buenos Aires for a week on half-an-hour's notice.  On another occasion she persuaded a Buenos Aires taxi driver to ignore a law forbidding taxis to transport animals.<ref>Durrell (1956), pp. 52–53, 229.</ref>|group = note}}  They soon discovered there were no flights available to [[Tierra del Fuego]], which they had planned to visit, and went instead to the [[Pampas]], beginning their collecting with [[burrowing owl]]s, [[Guira cuckoo]]s, and a baby [[southern screamer]].  From the Pampas they headed to [[Puerto Casado]] in Paraguay, on the [[Paraguay River]], and from there went on to the [[Gran Chaco|Chaco]].<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 211–213.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), p. 7.</ref>  They acquired a baby [[giant anteater]], a [[dourocouli]], a [[crab-eating raccoon]], and a [[grey pampas fox]], among many other animals, but in May, as they were making plans for the thousand-mile journey back to Buenos Aires, they discovered there had been a [[1954 Paraguayan coup d'état|coup d'état]] in [[Asunción]], the Paraguayan capital.  They were advised to leave immediately, and had to arrange a light plane to take them back to Buenos Aires, which meant most of the animals had to be left behind.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 213–214.</ref><ref>Durrell (1956), pp. 183–185.</ref>

The Durrells arrived in London in July, and the few animals they had been able to bring with them were quickly placed with zoos, but the money from ''The Overloaded Ark'' had been spent on the expedition with little return.  ''Three Singles to Adventure'' had been published while they were in South America: the reviews were mostly positive, but Cansdale, who had been annoyed by criticism of London Zoo in ''The Overloaded Ark'', wrote a scornful review in ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', describing the book as superficial, hastily written, and uninformative, and Durrell as an incompetent who was lucky to have survived the expedition.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 214–215.</ref><ref>Cansdale (1954), p. 8.</ref>

=== ''The Drunken Forest'' and ''The New Noah'' ===
To bring in more money, Durrell wrote an account of the South American trip, titled ''[[The Drunken Forest]]'', and as soon as that was turned in to the publisher he began a children's book, ''[[The New Noah]]''.  This was a compilation of anecdotes from the various expeditions of the previous ten years.  Durrell disliked writing: Jacquie and Sophie "cajoled and bullied" him, in the words of his biographer, during the writing of ''The Drunken Forest'', and when it looked as though he would never finish ''The New Noah'' they began writing a final chapter for it, prompting Durrell to return to the book and complete it.<ref name=":8">Botting (1999), p. 216.</ref>

''The Bafut Beagles'' was released on 15 October 1954, and it was made Book of the Month by [[World Books]], a book club; this guaranteed substantial sales, and Hart-Davis celebrated with a dinner in Durrell's honour at the [[Savoy Hotel|Savoy hotel]].<ref name=":8" />  In November Durrell gave a sold-out lecture at the Royal Festival Hall, illustrating the talk with ''ex tempore'' cartoon drawings, and showing film of the capture of an anaconda from the Guiana trip.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 217–218.</ref>  Reviews for ''The Bafut Beagles'' were ecstatic, and it became a best-seller and the first printing rapidly sold out.  It was widely considered Durrell's best book to date.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 218–219.</ref>  Some reviewers commented that the book was not suitable for all audiences; there were plenty of references to the animal's lavatory and sexual habits, and to drinking alcohol.  The review in ''[[The Spectator]]'' commented that there were no moral judgements about animal collecting, or about [[colonialism]]: "He attempts no explanations ...{{nbsp}}he passes no moral judgements; he is absorbed wholly in particulars{{nbsp}}... [he has] no recipes for the future of the dark continent".<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 219–220.</ref>

In 1955 Gerald and Jacquie visited Lawrence in [[Cyprus]] for two months, planning to make two films for television; Gerald had considered Cyprus as a possible location for the zoo he wanted to establish one day.  While they were in [[Nicosia]] a terrorist campaign against the British by [[EOKA|Greek separatists]] began, with bombs exploding all over the city.  The plans for a zoo and the films were abandoned, though the Durrells did make a film about a Cypriot village while they were there.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 223–224.</ref>  In June, Gerald and Jacquie returned to the UK and rented a flat in [[Woodside Park, Barnet|Woodside Park]], in north London.  Durrell developed [[jaundice]], and while ill he decided to write a book about his childhood in Corfu.<ref>Botting (1999), pp. 225–226.</ref>

=== ''My Family and Other Animals'' ===
Durrell had given a talk in 1952 called "My Island Tutors", in which he had described four of the tutors he had had on Corfu, but had made no other use of his pre-war memories.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 226.</ref>  He planned the book meticulously: there would be three parts, one for each of the villas, and he decided to constantly switch between the three main themes of the book—the landscape, the inhabitants and animals, and his family's eccentricities—to prevent a reader from becoming bored with any one of the topics.<ref name=":19" /><ref>Hughes (1997), p. 76.</ref>  He planned the order in which every character (human and animal) would be introduced.  When he began to recover from the jaundice, he returned to Bournemouth, and began to write, producing 120,000 words in just six weeks.  Curtis Brown and Rupert Hart-Davis were delighted with the manuscript, and assured him it would be a bestseller.<ref name=":19">Botting (1999), pp. 226–229.</ref>

Durrell was exhausted by the time the book was completed, and went with Jacquie to the [[Isles of Scilly|Scilly Isles]] for two weeks to relax and recover.  His family read the manuscript, and were "more bemused than amused", in the words of Durrell's biographer.<ref name=":9" />  Durrell had taken liberties with chronology, but claimed that every incident in the book was completely true, though Margaret and Louisa thought otherwise.  Louisa commented that "The awful thing about Gerald's book is that I'm beginning to believe it is all true, when it isn't."  Lawrence disagreed, saying that it was a "rather truthful book—the best argument I know for keeping thirteen-year-olds at boarding-schools and not letting them hang about the house listening in to conversations of their elders and betters".<ref name=":9">Botting (1999), pp. 229–230.</ref>  There were, however, some obvious changes that Gerald had made: for example, he had portrayed Lawrence as staying with the rest of the family, instead of living elsewhere with Nancy, who was not even mentioned in the book.<ref>Botting (1999), p. 231.</ref>  ''My Family and Other Animals'' was published in October 1956—the title had been suggested by Curtis Brown's son-in-law—and drew enthusiastic reviews describing it as "bewitching", "joyous", and "uproarious".<ref name=":10">Botting (1999), pp. 229, 241–242.</ref>  It immediately became a bestseller, going into a third printing before it had even been published.<ref name=":10" />{{#tag:ref|Sales before publication come via advance orders.<ref>Herman (2018), p. 467.</ref>|group = note}}