Larry: A New Biography of Lawrence Durrell, 1912–1945

by Michael Haag

When the Durrells expert Michael Haag died in 2020, it was feared that his definitive biography of Larry would never emerge. But, happily, it turned out that he had left complete chapters covering Durrell's life up to the time he left for South America in 1947. These chapters include the most engaging and interesting years of Larry's life - his childhood in India and Burma, his Bohemian life in London and Paris, his madcap idea of moving his family to Corfu (immortalised in his brother Gerry's My Family and Other Animals).

But for Durrell enthusiasts, the key part of this new biography are the chapters set in Alexandria, which Michael had unrivalled knowledge about, having met many of the key figures, and walked every street. His account of those years bring to life the backdrop and real-life stories that Durrell interwove to create his acknowledged masterpiece, The Alexandria Quartet.

496 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 3, 2025

About the author

Michael Haag, who lived in London, was a writer, historian and biographer. He wrote widely on the Egyptian, Classical and Medieval worlds; and on the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Reviews

[Peter Tillman]

Nice review at The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/books/202...
Excerpt:
"By the time of his own death in 2020, Haag had completed this biography of Durrell up to the year 1945, and the decision was made to publish posthumously. The result reads like an abbreviated account of Durrell’s life rather than an amputation: despite not becoming a significant literary figure until 1957, most of Durrell’s formative experiences had taken place by the time he left the city at the end of the war. ...

This biography inevitably comes into its own once Larry touches down in Alexandria in 1942 as the newly appointed press attache to the British embassy. Haag’s descriptions of the city’s melting-pot culture and its steamy eroticism are wonderfully done. It was here that Larry met Eve Cohen, the model for Justine in the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet, who became his second wife."

Durrell is one of my favorite writers. This book offers some fresh insight into his life and times. High priority TBR.

[Jacob Brogan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book feels, unfortunately, like what it is: The posthumous assemblage of a deeply informed writer who never had the chance to shape a final product. An early draft at best, a scattered notebook at worst, it quite literally loses the plot for tens of pages at a time. Often hard to follow unless you know the whole story (of Lawrence Durrell but also: British infrastructure development in India, Bloomsbury, the Mediterranean theater in WWII, Zionism on the early 1940s, etc).

Helpful as a counterpoint to the other recent bad biography of the Durrell brothers. Mostly useful only as a reference. Lots of good photos.