By Gerald Durrell






 The Durrell family arrive in Corfu and don’t make a very graceful entrance
 They stay at the Pension Suisse while Mr Beeler takes them to see 10 different villas
 Mother doesn’t like any of the villas because none of them have a bathroom
 The next morning, they decide to hire a car to go villa-hunting again
 The Greek cab drivers overwhelm them
 Spiro comes to the rescue (p. 24)

 Spiro:
 P.24: ‘Turning, we saw an ancient Dodge parked by the curb, and behind the wheel sat a short, barrel-bodied individual, with hamlike hands and a great, leathery, scowling face surmounted by a jauntily tilted peak-cap…
 P.25: “Yous wants someones who can talk your own language…thems bastards…if yous will excuses the words…would swindles their own mothers.”
 Spiro drives them to a strawberry-pink villa which does have a bathroom.

 Spiro takes over their family affairs
 P.28: ‘It was better, he explained, for him to do things, as everyone knew him, and he would make sure we were not swindled.’
 P.29: ‘That he knew everyone on the island, and that they all knew him, we soon discovered was no idle boast. Wherever his car stopped, half a dozen voices would shout out his name…
 ‘They respected his honesty and his belligerence, and above all they adored his typically Greek scorn and fearlessness when dealing with any form of governmental red tape.’

 P.31: ‘Once Spiro had taken charge he stuck to us like a burr. Within a few hours he had changed from a taxi driver to our champion, and within a week he was our guide, philosopher and friend.’
 ‘Like a great, brown, ugly angel he watched over us as tenderly as though we were lightly weak-minded children. Mother he frankly adored…’
 Then the family start unpacking and settling into the villa:
 Larry unpacks his books and starts writing his masterpiece.
 Leslie unpacks his revolvers ‘and startled us all with an apparently endless series of explosions…’ (p.33)
 Mother spends time in the kitchen and the garden
 Gerald and Roger explore the garden, examining insect life and closely watches an earwig’s nest. He also starts to meet some of the peasants.

 Gerald and Roger continue to explore the countryside and meet different local people:
 ‘The immensely fat and cheery Agathi, who lived in a tiny tumbledown cottage high up the hill.’ (p.41)
 Agathi teaches Gerald ‘the most beautiful and haunting of the peasant songs.’
 Yani, the old shepherd. ‘a tall slouching man with a great hooked nose like an eagle’s, and incredible moustache.’
 Yani tells Gerald about the cypress tree myth and that he should never fall asleep under a cypress tree.

 Then he meets the Rose-Beetle Man.
 P.44: ‘He had a fairy-tale air about him that was impossible to resist, and I used to look forward eagerly to my infrequent meetings with him.’
 ‘He had a sharp, foxlike face with large, slanting eyes of such a dark brown that they appeared black. They had a weird, vacant look about them, and a sort of bloom such as one finds on a plum…’
 ‘He was short and slight, with a thinness about his wrists and neck that argued a lack of food.’
 ‘His dress was fantastic’

 P.45 – continued description of The Rose-Beetle Man
 He cannot speak and so him and Gerald communicate with hand signs.
 Gerald bargains and buys a tortoise from the man. They name the tortoise ‘Achilles’
 P.48: ‘The new arrival was duly christened Achilles, and turned out to be a most intelligent and lovable beast, possessed with a peculiar sense of humour.’
 Achilles develops a passion for strawberries and human company
 Later Achilles dies (p.50)
 Gerald then buys another pet from the Rose-Beetle Man – a young pigeon
 Larry suggests they call it ‘Quasimodo’
 Means ‘new-born babe’
 A fictional character in the novel ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’. Quasimodo was born with a hunchback and feared as a sort of monster.

 Quasimodo walks everywhere and insisted on sleeping in the house.
 One day Quasimodo lays an egg, much to the surprise of the family as they thought she was a male bird.
 Larry discovers that he is a musical bird.
 The Rose-Beetle Man visits often with new pets for Gerald’s collection
 One visit, Gerald and his mother buy all his rose-beetles and set them all free.
 P.52 – Gerald sees the Rose-Beetle Man for the last time

ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS BY YOURSELF TO TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE:
1. In the beginning of Part I: Chapter 4, what does Gerry's Mother decide for him?
(a) It is time for him to join the Merchant Navy.
(b) It is time for him to study literature.
(c) It is time for him to take dancing lessons.
(d) It is time for him to have some sort of education.

2. When Larry goes to light a cigarette, what flies out of the box?
(a) A grasshopper.
(b) A mantis.
(c) A bumble-bee.
(d) A fire-fly.
3. Who does the family decide will teach Gerry?
(a) Spiro.
(b) Larry.
(c)Yani.
(d) George.
4. What does George teach Gerry about natural history?
(a) The mating cycle of the earwig.
(b) How to observe and write notes in a diary.
(c) How to not frighten the big tortoise.
(d) How to apply mathematics to natural history.

5. How does George go about teaching Gerry mathematics?
(a) With rhythmic rhymes.
(b) With flash cards.
(c) By repetition of examples.
(d) Through natural history examples.
6. What does George do while waiting for Gerry to solve a math problem?
(a) Hums the tune to Jeopardy.
(b) Practices dancing and fencing moves.
(c) Sits silently and waits patiently.
(d) Taps his pencil on the table.
7. What does George find helpful in teaching Gerry?
(a) Never leaving the house for an exploration of nature.
(b) Relating everything to caterpillars.
(c) Placing a sprig of zoology into every subject.
(d) Relating everything to birds.

8 . What do the olive groves echo with?
(a) Lizards.
(b) Cicadas.
(c) Flutes.
(d) Goldfinches.
9. What do Gerry and George use as water-pistols in the bay?
(a) Shells.
(b) Water-pistols.
(c) Sea slugs.
(d) Sponges.
10. How do Gerry and George win points in their game in the bay?
(a) By squirting the sea-slug the farthest.
(b) By discovering the most sea fauna.
(c) By finding the most sea-slugs.
(d) By applying mathematic applications to the sea fauna.

 Mother decides Gerald needs to get some education
 They decide to hire George – Larry’s friend – to be Gerald’s tutor
 P.56: ‘It was George, moreover, who was really responsible for our presence in
Corfu, for he had written such eulogistic letters about the place that Larry had become convinced we could live nowhere else.’
 Description of George: ‘George was a very tall and extremely thin man who moved with the odd disjointed grace of a puppet…He had a deep, melancholy voice, a dry and sarcastic sense of humour.’
 Gerald has no school books, so George brings a selection from his own library and teaches Gerald about various subjects, from Geography to French to Maths. (They are not very successful where maths is concerned)

 While Gerald tries to solve math problems, George practices fencing stances or complicated dancing steps (p.58).
 George manages to make geography more interesting for Gerry by giving ‘a more zoological tinge to the lesson.’ (p.59)
 ‘Our attempts at history were not, at first, conspicuously successful, until
George discovered that by seasoning a series of unpalatable facts with a sprig of zoology and a sprinkle of completely irrelevant detail, he could get me interested.’ (p.60)
 ‘So George, hampered by inadequate books and a reluctant pupil, would strive to make his teaching interesting, so that the lessons did not drag.’ (p.60)
 Later, George decides that outdoor lessons would catch Gerry’s attention (p.62)

 After swimming in the bay to cool off, Gerald and Roger are hungry and set off to find some food
 Most people are having their siesta (afternoon nap) and Gerald can’t decide who he should disturb and who would be willing to give him food
 He decides to go to Yani and devises a plan to wake him up
 Yani shares his food and wine with Gerry, and tells him a story about a scorpion drowned in a bottle of olive oil.
 On his way home, Gerald discovers some curious silk tunnels and wonders what creature made them.
 He goes to tell George about them and there he meets Doctor Theodore Stephanides
(p.73)

 “I arrived at George’s villa out of breath, bursting with suppressed excitement, gave a perfunctory knock at the door, and dashed in. only then did I realize he had company.
Seated in a chair near him was a figure which, at first glance, I decided must be George’s brother…He was, however, in contrast to George, immaculately dressed…” (p.73)
 Gerald asks George about the curious nests he found, and George asks Theodore to help
Gerald out.
 ‘Gerry, this is Doctor Theodore Stephanides,’ said George. ‘He is an expert on practically everything you care to mention. And what you don’t mention, he does. He, like you, is an eccentric nature-lover. Theodore, this is Gerry Durrell.’ (p.73-74)
 Theodore is a shy man but very polite and friendly to Gerald. He tells Gerald his discovery must be trapdoor spiders, and offers to go with Gerald to see them.
 ‘As we walked along I studied him covertly. He had a straight, well-shaped nose; a humorous mouth lurking in the ash-blond beard; straight, rather bushy eyebrows under which his eyes, keen but with a twinkle in them and laughter-wrinkles at the corners, surveyed the world…’ (p.75)

 Gerald and Theodore then part ways
 Gerald says, ‘I was at once confused and amazed by Theodore. First, since he was obviously a scientist of considerable repute (and I could have told this by his beard), he was to me a person of great importance. In fact he was the only person I had met until now who seemed to share my enthusiasm for zoology. Secondly, I was extremely flattered to find that he treated me and talked to me exactly as though I were his own age…But Theodore not only talked to me as though I were grown up, but also as though I were as knowledgeable as he.’ (p.77)
 Gerald doesn’t think he will see Theodore again, but he was mistaken .

 Theodore sends Gerald a parcel with a note:
‘My dear Gerry,
I wondered, after our conversation the other day, if it might not assist your investigations of the local natural history to have some form of magnifying instrument, I am therefore sending you this pocket microscope, in the hope that it will be of some use to you. It is, of course, not of very high magnification, but you will find it sufficient for field work.
With best wishes,
Yours sincerely,
Theo. Stephanides
P.S. If you have nothing better to do on a Thursday, perhaps you would care to come to tea, and I could then show you some of my microscope slides.

 Tea on a Thursday afternoon with Theodore becomes a weekly affair
 Gerry and Theodore spend their time studying microscope slides and reading through volumes of natural history books.
 P.81: ‘To me his knowledge seemed inexhaustible. He was a rich vein of information, and I mined him assiduously [diligently, perseverance]. No matter what the subject, Theodore could contribute something interesting to it.’
 The spring affects each Durrell family member in different ways. Larry purchases a guitar and a large barrel of strong red wine, and sings melancholy songs, giving himself and Mother acute depression.
 Mother, when left alone by Larry, spends her days in the garden, pouring through cookbooks, and creating wonderful dishes in the kitchen.

 Larry becomes overweight because of Mother’s delicious dishes. Margo suggests various diets that Larry could try out, but he refuses and says the family will ‘have to resign yourselves to the fact that I shall be taken from you at an early age, suffering from fatty degeneration of the heart.’ (p.84)
 Margo becomes obsessed with her personal appearance.
 Spiro discovers that Margo is seeing a young Turk while she goes sea bathing. ‘[Spiro] watched over Margo’s welfare with the earnest concern of a St. Bernard, and there was precious little she could do without Spiro’s knowing about it.’ (p.85)
 Spiro tells Mother about Margo’s ‘man’. Mother does not seem too concerned but Spiro says he would never trust a Turk with any girls.
 Mother invites the Turk to tea, and they discover that he is very boastful and overly proud of his achievements.
 ‘I have no fear,’ said the Turk modestly. ‘I am a superb swimmer, so I have no fear.. When I ride the horse, I have no fear, for I ride superbly. I can sail the boat magnificently in the typhoon without fear.’ p.87)

 The next evening, the Turk asks Margo to go with him to the cinema and Mother insists on accompanying them. They have an awful evening and complain continuously when they get home.
 ‘I’m afraid you’ll just have to choose your boy friends more carefully in future,
Margo. I can’t go through that sort of thing again.’ (p.89)
 Larry buys a double-barrelled shotgun and he and Gerry go turtle-dove hunting.
 Yani sees them and shouts out, ‘Chariete, kyrioi…be happy.’…’The island was drenched with dew, radiant with early morning sun, full of stirring life. Be happy.
How could one be anything else in such a season?’ (p. 91).

 Larry invites all his friends to come stay at the villa. ‘The fact that the villa was only bug enough to house the family apparently had not occurred to him.’ (p.92)
 He only tells Mother this when the guests are almost due to arrive.
 Mother tells Larry to book rooms at the Pension Suisse, which Larry does not agree with and suggests instead that the family could sleep out on the veranda.
 Mother disagrees and says they cannot sleep around like gypsies. Mother and
Larry continue to argue back and forth on what to do.
 Ultimately, Larry suggests the family move to a larger villa to accommodate his friends, which Mother firmly says is out of the question.

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Hebrews 13:2

 The Durell family move to a new villa…Mother clearly lost the argument against
Larry. Spiro helped them find the new villa.
 Their new villa is daffodil-yellow in colour. ‘It stood on a hill overlooking the sea, surrounded by unkempt olive groves and silent orchards of lemon and orange trees. The whole place had an atmosphere of ancient melancholy about it…’ (p.99)
 At the edge of their estate is a cottage in which lives an elderly gardener and his wife. ‘an elderly, rather decrepit pair who seemed to have decayed with the estate.’ (p.100)
 Mother asks the gardener’s wife, Lugaretzia, to help her.
 ‘She was extremely sensitive, as Mother soon discovered, and the slightest criticism of her work…would make her brown eyes swim with tears in an embarrassing display of grief.’ (p.100)

 Lugaretzia’s hobby is being a hypochondriac = a person who is abnormally anxious about their health.
 The furniture of the villa was ‘a fantastic collection of Victorian relics,’ and Mother decides they can’t have such old furniture for their guests. Next morning, Spiro drives Mother, Margo and Gerry into town to buy new furniture
 They get caught up in the festival of Saint Spiridion. ‘Saint Spiridion was the patron saint of the island.
His mummified body was enshrined in a silver coffin in the church, and once a year he was carried in procession round the town. He was very powerful and could grant requests, cure illness and do a number of wonderful things for you…the islanders worshipped him and every second male on the island was called Spiro in his honour.’ (p.102-103)
 They get pushed up the steps and into the church and ‘it became evident that, whether we wanted to or not, we were going to kiss Saint Spiridion’s feet.’(p.104)
 Mother tries to warn Margo to kiss the air and not the actual feet, but too late.
 Mother says, ‘A most insanitary procedure…more likely to spread disease than cure it. I dread to think what we would have caught if we’d really kissed his feet.’ (p.105)
 Margo had kissed his feet in hope of curing her acne.

 The next day, Margo is ill with the influenza…Spiro is sent to fetch a doctor –
Doctor Androuchelli.
 While Margo is sick, the rest of them settle into the villa. Gerry explores the garden and since George has left the island, he has his time to himself again.
 Gerry watches two swallow couples and details how they build nests. (p.107-109)
 Theodore comes for tea every Thursday. Him and Gerry explore the garden together and find new specimens for Theodore’s colelection.
 Theodore tells Gerry about his experience in the First World War (p.111)

 There is a series of small hills behind the villa that Gerry finds fascinating. He realises that the hills belong to the tortoises and soon notices a tortoise unearthing himself and suddenly the hills become covered with tortoises.
 Gerry is fascinated with the mating rituals of the tortoises.
 He comes to know one tortoise very well and names her ‘Madame Cyclops’ because she has one eye. Gerry manages to ‘steal’ one of her eggs without her noticing and adds it to his natural-history collection (p.119)
 Throughout the spring, the villa ‘was filled with an apparently endless stream of
Larry’s friends. No sooner had we seen one lot off, and sighed with relief, than another steamer would arrive…’ (p.119)

 ‘the house and garden would be dotted with poets, authors, artists, and playwrights arguing, painting, drinking, typing and composing.’
 Larry’s friends are extremely eccentric
 Zatopec: an Armenian poet who doesn’t stop talking and hardly goes to sleep
 Three artists: Jonquil, Durant and Michael.
 Michael suffers an asthma attack while there.
 Melanie, Countess de Torro arrives (p.123). She says she’s recovering from a disease ‘erysipelas’ and
Mother finds her disgusting. Mother tells Larry that Melanie will have to go. Larry suggests asking
Theodore for his opinion.
 Before long, Zatopec returns to their villa having boarded the wrong boat to go to Bosnia because he was too drunk.
 Theodore arrives and examines the Countess, and informs Mother that she is not as revolting as
Mother thought. Mother then becomes more hospitable towards her.
 That night the dinner is colourful and extraordinary, with many different conversations going.
(p.125)
 Theodore tells them about a play he once saw for the Greek king about the Battle of Thermoplae
(p.127)

 Larry says that Theodore’s story can’t be true, but Theodore says, Here in
Corfu…anything can happen.’ (p.127)