Editing Gerald Durrell (section)

=== 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>