Gerald Durrell writes: 'I was born in Jamshedpur, India, in 1925. When my father died in 1928 my family returned to England. In 1933 we went to live on the Continent, where I was educated by a variety of tutors of various nationalities. We eventually settled on the island of Corfu, in Greece, where we lived until 1939. During the war I was engaged on agricultural research and the study of animal ecology. In 1945 I joined the staff of Whipsnade Park as a student keeper. On leaving Whipsnade I financed, organized, and led my first expedition to the tropics as a private collector.' The story of this expedition is told in The Overloaded Ark (Penguin 1228). 'After this I organized two more expeditions, one to the Cameroons in 1948-9, and the second to British Guiana, South America, in 1950. I have also been engaged in writing, broadcasting, and lecturing.'
Gerald Durrell has written many other books including The Bafut Beagles and My Family and Other Animals (also published as Penguins). His latest is A Zoo in my Luggage, published in 1960.
