Anglo-Irish novelist, playwright, best known for THE ALEXANDRIA QUARTET (1957-60). Many once believed it would secure Durrell the Nobel Prize for Literature. The experimental novel of mystery, love, and espionage explored memory and knowledge, contrasting in its story the love affair of a young writer with the recollections of the other people. Durrell spent most of his life outside England - in India , Corfu , Egypt , Yugoslavia , Rhodes , Cyprus , and the south of France .

"Hellenic worlds are replaced here by something different, something subtly androgynous, inverted upon itself. The Orient cannot rejoice in the sweet anarchy of the body - for it has outstripped the body. I remember Nessim once saying - I think he was quoting - that Alexandria was the great winepress of love; those who emerged from it were the sick men, the solitaries, the prophets - I mean all who have been deeply wounded in their sex." (from Justine, part one of the Alexandria Quartet )

Lawrence Durrell was born in Darjeeling , India , the son of Lawrence Samuel Durrell, a British civil engineer, and Louisa ( Dixie ) Durrell, who was of pure Protestant Irish descent. Both his parents had been born and brought up in the India of the Raj. "God-fearing, lusty, chapel-going Mutiny stock," Durrell later described his family's Indian roots. At the age of twelve Durrell was taken to England . Durrell had little feeling for England and the English - when his mother had applied for a British passport, she declared: "I am a citizen of India ." He attended numerous schools from 1923 to 1928 without much success, and worked for some time as a jazz pianist in a London nightclub. In the 1930s he went to Paris , where he started his career as a writer and associated with such authors as Henry Miller , who became his mentor. The two kept up an exchange of letters over 45 years.

In 1935 Durrell moved with his mother to the island of Corfu - several of his works were later connected to Mediterranean countries. His brother Gerald Durrell described life there in his book My Family and Other Animals (1956). Between the years 1934 and 1940 he edited a little magazine called Booster (later Delta ). Durrell's first novel of interest, THE BLACK BOOK: AN AGON, heavily influenced by Miller, was published in Paris in 1938. The mildly pornographic fantasia did not appear in Britain until 1973. In the story Lawrence Lucifer struggles to escape the spiritual sterility of dying England , and finds Greece 's warmth and fertility.

During WW II Durrell served as a press attaché to the British embassies in Cairo and Alexandria from 1941 to 1944. After the war he held various diplomatic and teaching jobs. He worked in Rhodos, Belgrad, finally settling in Cyprus in 1953. From 1947 to 1948 he was a director of the British Council Institute in Argentina . Durrell's observation of the diplomatic life at the British legation in Belgrade , where he was from 1949 to 1952, gave him material for WHITE EAGLES OVER SERBIA (1957), which gained considerable success. In the story Colonel Methuen of Special Operations Q Branch is called to the office of his commanding officer and asked: "How far would it be if one walked from Belgrade to Salonika ? Methuen starts his perilous mission which takes him deep into the mountains of Yugoslavia . Durrell's description of the highlands of the country forms an intrinsic part of the novel.

"The woods were carpeted with flowers, sweet-smelling salvia, cranesbill, and a variety of ferns. Here and there, too, bright dots of scarlet showed him where the wild strawberries grew, and in these verdant woods the pines and beeches increased in size until he calculated that he was walking among glades of trees nearly a hundred feet in height. He could not help contrasting all this place and beauty with the grim errand upon which he was bent, and which might lead to him to sudden death." (from White Eagles over Serbia )

In 1953 Durrell left diplomatic service and moved to Cyprus , but from 1954 to 1956 he returned to it, on account of the Cypriot revolution, as director of Public Relations for the British Government. He finally settled in Provence , France , where he lived for the rest of his life. Among his later works are JUSTINE (1957), in which Justine's emotional and sexual wildness fuels a highly-charged atmosphere, BALTHAZAR (1958), MOUNTOLIVE (1959) and CLEA (1960), forming together the Alexandria Quartet , entitled 'The Book of the Dead.' All four parts in the work climax in death. Set in Alexandria during the period just before World War II, the first three novels cover roughly the same period of time and the events, while Clea advances the action in time. Principal characters include the narrator L.G. Darley, his Greek mistress Melissa, the British ambassador Mountolive, the British intelligence agent Pursewarden, Durrell's spokesman for artistic vision, although his ambiguous death occurs already in Justine , the artist Clea, and Justine and her wealthy Coptic husband Nessim. All are bound together in a web of political and sexual intrigue: each novel reveals different aspect of the truth. Darley's point of view from Justine is contradicted by others in Balthazar ; Mountolive gives the facts, and Clea tells of the writer's journey of self discovery. Conventional distinctions - major/minor characters, main plots/subplots - are denied. Numerous characters disappear, then re-emerge in altered form. It has been said that in Alexandria Quartet Durrell reinvented the modern novel. The ancient city itself is the fifth character - city of knowledge, books, and stories.

The books gained critical acclaim, but the movie based upon the story was a flop. Durrell sought to replicate his success with The Avignon Quintet : MONSIEUR; OR, THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1974), LIVIA; OR, BURIED ALIVE (1978), CONSTANCE; OR, SOLITARY PRACTICES (1982); SEBASTIAN; OR, RULING PASSIONS (1983). Although the works had much in common, The Avignon Quintet did not commercially outdo its predecessor. Durrell also produced several travel books describing the places he had visited. Other publications include humorous short stories, plays in verse, and poems.

Durrell was married four times, in 1935 with Nancy Meyers (divorced in 1947), and then with Yvette Cohen. His third marriage, in 1961 to a Frenchwoman, Claude, ended with her death in 1967. In 1973 he married Ghislaine de Boysson (divorced in 1979). He had two daughters by each of his first two marriages. His second daughter, Sappho, committed suicide in 1985, leaving behind writings that pointed accusingly at her father - probably without basis. Durrell died of a stroke at his home in Sommières, on November 7, 1990 , following a lengthy struggle with emphysema. - Durrell's brother Gerald Durrell ( see below) , zoologist and traveller, gained popularity with his animal stories, including My Family and Other Animals (1956), A Zoo in My Luggage (1960), Birds, Beasts and Relatives (1969), Catch me a Colobus (1972), The Mockery Bird (1981), Marrying Off Mother (1991).

For further reading: Lawrence Durrell: A Biography by Ian S. MacNiven (1998); Lawrence Durrell: Coversations , ed. by Earl G. Ingersoll (1998); Through the Dark Labyrinth by Gordon Bowker (1997); Lawrence Durrell's Major Novels by Donald P. Kaczvisnky (1997); Lawrence Durrel: Comprehending the Whole , by Julius Rowan Raper et al (1995); Lawrence Durrell: The Mindscape by Richard Pine (1994); On Miracle Ground , ed. by Michael H. Begnal (1990); Lawrence Durrell by John A. Weigel (1989); Critical Essays on Lawrence Durrell , ed. by A.W. Friedman (1986); Joyce Cary and Lawrence Durrell by S. Vander Closter (1985); Lawrence Durrell and the Alexandria Quartet by A.W. Friedman (1970); The Muse of Science and the Alexandria Quartet (1978) ; Lawrence Durrell by G.S. Fraser (1970); Lawrence Durrell: A Study by G.S. Fraser (1968, rev. ed. 1973); The World of Lawrence Durrell by H.T. Moore (1962); My Friend Lawrence Durrell by A. Perles (1961) - Other writers who have depicted Alexandria: Constantine Cavafy , Naguib Mahfouz , Edward el-Kharrat, E.M. Forster - Muita suomennoksia: Engström, Saarikoski , Ilmari (trans.) Durrell, Lawrence - Miller, Henry - Perlés, Alfred: Kirjeitä, 1968 - Suomennettu myös osia Avignon-kvintetistä ( Monsier ja Livia ) - GERALD DURRELL (1925-1995) British zoologist, traveller, writer, and broadcaster, brother of author Lawrence Durrell . - Gerald Durrell was born in Jamshedpur , India , as the fourth surviving child of Louisa Florence Durrell and Lawrence Samuel Durrell. When he was ten, his widowed mother took her family to live on the Greek island of Corfu . Durrell was educated by private tutors. From 1945 to 46 he worked at Whipsnade Zoo and then went on several animal collecting expeditions to Cameroon , Guyana , and other countries. In the 1950s Durrell published his first animal stories, which became very popular and have been translated into many languages. My Family and Other Animals (1956) told tales about his unconventional family and the islanders on Corfu . In The Drunken Forest (1978) and Three Tickets to Adventure (1954) Durrell described animal-collecting expeditions. With his second wife Lee, a conservationist, Durrell bred rare species for eventual return to the wild. In 1958 Durrell founded the Jersey Zoological Park . He was also founder chairman of Wildlife Preservation Trust International in 1972. Durrell died on January 30, 1995 . - Selected books: THE OVERLOADED ARK, 1953 - Arkillinen eläimiä ; THREE TICKETS TO ADVENTURE, 1954 ; MY FAMILY AND OTHER ANIMALS, 1956 - Eläimet ja muu kotiväkeni ; THE DRUNKEN FOREST, 1978 - Vyötiäisten maassa ; A ZOO ON MY LUGGAGE, 1960 ; THREE SINGLES TO ADVENTURE, 1964 ; ROSY IS MY RELATIVE, 1968 ; BIRDS, BEASTS AND RELATIVES, 1969 - Eläimellistä menoa Korfussa ; CATCH ME A COLOBUS, 1972 ; THE WHISPERING LAND, 1975 ; THE STATIONARY ARK, 1976 ; THE PICNIC AND SUCHLIKE PANDEMONIUM, 1979 ; THE MOCKERY BIRD, 1981; DURRELL IN RUSSIA, 1986 ; MARRYING OFF MOTHER, 1991; HE AYE-AYE AND I, 1992. Suomeksi Durrelilta on käännetty myös Takahe (1971), Kaikki kuninkaan eläimet (1975), Löytöretki luontoon (1983), Ihmeellinen lentoretki (1989). - Selected television works: THE AMATEUR NATURALIST, 1983 ; OURSELVES AND OTHER ANIMALS, 1987

Selected works:

• QUAINT FRAGMENT, 1931
• TEN POEMS, 1932
• BALLADE OF SLOW DECAY, 1932
• BROMO BOMBASTES, 1933
• TRANSITION, 1934
• MASS FOR THE OLD YEAR, 1935
• PIED PIPER OF LOVERS, 1935
• PANIC SPRING, 1937 (as Charles Norden)
• THE BLACK BOOK, 1938 - Musta kirja
• POEMS, 1938
• A PRIVATE COUNTRY, 1943
• PROSPERO'S CELL, 1945
• CITIES, PLAINS AND PEOPLE, 1946
• ZERO, AND ASYLUM IN THE SNOW, 1946
• THE PARTHENON, 1946
• CEFFALÚ, 1947 - Pimeä sokkelo
• ON SEEMING TO PRESUME, 1948
• A LANDMARK GONE, 1949
• DEUS LOCI, 1950
• SAPPHO, 1950
• KEY TO MODERN POETRY, 1952
• THE TREE OF IDLENESS, 1953
• REFLECTIONS ON A MARINE VENUS, 1953
• THE TREE OF IDLENESS, 1955
• PRIVATE DRAFTS, 1955
• SELECTED POEMS, 1956
• ESPRIT DE CORPS, 1957
• BITTER LEMONS, 1957 - Katkerat sitruunat (suom. T.A. Engström)
• WHITE EAGLES OVER SERBIA, 1957 - Serbian valkoiset kotkat
• Alexandria Quartet: JUSTINE, 1957 (suom). BALTHAZAR, 1958 (suom.) MOUNTOLIVE, 1959 (suom.) CLEA, 1960 - (suom. T.A. Engström)
• STIFF UPPER LIP, 1958
• ed.: THE HENRY MILLER READER, 1959
• ed.: THE BEST OF HENRY MILLER, 1960
• GRODDECK, 1960
• COLLECTED POEMS, 1960
• ACTÉ OR THE PRISONER OF TIME, 1961
• THE POETRY OF LAWRENCE DURRELL, 1962
• L.D. AND H. MILLER,1963 (a private correspondence with Henry Miller)
• AN IRISH FAUSTUS, 1963
• A PERSIAN LADY, 1963
• SELECTED POEMS, 1964
• ACTE, 1965
• THE ICONS, 1966
• SAUVE QUI PEUT, 1966
• TUNC, 1968
• NUMQUAM, 1970
• FAUSTUS, 1970
• THE RED LIMBO LINGO, 1971
• ON THE SUCHNESS OF THE OLD BOY, 1972
• VEGA, 1973
• THE PLAIN-MAGIC MAN, 1973
• LIFELINES, 1974
• COLLECTED POEMS, 1974
• THE BEST OF ANTROBUS, 1975
• MONSIEUR, 1975 - suom.
• BLUE THIRST, 1975
• SICILIAN CAROUSEL, 1977
• LIVIA, 1978 - suom.
• THE GREEK ISLANDS, 1978
• COLLECTED POEMS 1931-74 , 1980
• A SMILE IN THE MINDS EYE, 1980
• LITERARY LIFELINES, 1981
• CONSTANCE; OR, SOLITARY PRACTICES, 1982
• SEBASTIAN, 1983
• QUINX, 1983
• ANTROBUS COMPLETE, 1985
• THE DURRELL-MILLER LETTERS 1935-1980, 1988
• LETTERS TO JEAN FANCHETTE 1958-63, 1988
• CAESAR'S VAST GHOST, 1990
• HENRI MICHAUX, 1990