Fillets of Plaice - Softcover

Durrell, Gerald

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0006130941 ISBN 13: 9780006130949

Publisher: HarperCollins Distribution Services, 1973

Synopsis

Published in 1973 by Fontana Books (William Collins), this 189 page paperback, ISBN 0006130941, brings together several of his reminiscences: In Corfu, Mother is given a calamitous birthday party which starts with the hi-jacking of the ice box and ends with the entire gathering marooned on a remote and deserted beach. Mamfe, the night the punka fell on the District Commissioner, unleashing the deadliest snake in Africa on the dinner table. Bournemouth, and the ravishing Ursula, the Mrs Malaprop of the South Coast, bombards her gracious surroundings with outsize social gaffes. Contents: 1. The Birth of a Title; 2. The Birthday Party; 3. A Transport of Terrapins; 4. A Question of Promotion; 5. A Question of Degrees; 6. Ursula

About this title

From the Inside Flap

Durrell's hilarious and warm My Family and Other Animals began a trio of reminiscences of his life growing up with a slightly dotty family the overbearing and omniscient Larry; the affectionate and loving siblings, Margot and Leslie; and, of course, the overburdened and patient Mother on the island of Corfu in the 1930s, when a pound could buy a villa and life was conducted as a series of riotously high (and sometimes low) adventures. But what shines through these five vignettes is the author's engagement with and immense affection for animals in all their forms. From fish to fowl, from lizards to little water fleas (daphnia), Durrell's eye is acute and his prose is tart. You can read this book for the humor alone (for he did perceive his family as some rare and rarefied species), but between the lines you can discern the makings of a world-class naturalist and a cultivated and engaging writer.

Edition details

• Publisher: HarperCollins Distribution Services
• Publication date: 1973
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0006130941
• ISBN 13: 9780006130949
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192