Whatever Happened to Margo?

by Margaret Durrell, Gerald Durrell (Preface)

Book by Durrell, Margaret

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Memoir, Autobiography, Humor, British Literature, Audiobook

336 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1995

About the author

Margaret "Margo" Isabel Mabel Durrell (1920 - 2007) was the younger sister of novelist Lawrence Durrell, and elder sister of naturalist, author and TV presenter Gerald Durrell, whose Corfu Trilogy of novels — My Family and Other Animals: Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and The Garden of the Gods — lampoons her character.

Born in British India, she was brought up in India, England and Corfu. In 1935, Margo accompanied her mother, Gerald and Leslie to Corfu, following her eldest brother, Lawrence, who had moved there with his first wife, Nancy Myers. By 1939, when her mother returned to England with Gerald and Leslie following the outbreak of World War II, Margo decided her real home was on Corfu and returned, sharing a peasant cottage with some local friends. Later the same year she met a British Royal Air Force pilot, Jack Breeze, who was stationed on the island. He convinced her of the dangers of staying on Corfu and the couple travelled together to South Africa, marrying in 1940. Margo lived with Breeze in South Africa for the remainder of the war. When it ended, they moved to Bournemouth. Margo and Jack Breeze had two children, Gerry and Nicholas.

After divorcing her husband, Margo purchased a large property across the street from her mother's house in Bournemouth and turned it into a boarding house. Gerald Durrell's core collection for his zoo (now the Durrell Wildlife Park) was initially housed in the back garden and garage on the premises. Later, Margo had a short-lived marriage with a musician named Malcolm "Mac" Duncan.

Still enamoured with Greece, Margo applied for a job on a Greek cruise ship travelling to the Caribbean that she saw advertised in a newspaper. Her one published book, "Whatever Happened to Margo?", was a humorous autobiographical account of her experiences as a Bournemouth landlady in the late 1940s, and included details about the lives of her family, particularly Leslie, Gerald and Louisa Durrell, outside of Corfu. Apparently written in the 1960s, it was discovered in the attic by a granddaughter nearly 40 years later and published in 1995.

Margaret died aged 87 on 16 January 2007.

[source: Wikipedia]

Reviews

[Petra X · Rating 1 out of 5]

Whatever happened to Margo? Gerald became a naturalist and was a gifted author writing with humour about his and his family's experiences, Lawrence became a novelist, writing the brilliant The Alexandria Quartet, Leslie did all sorts of things, huntin', fishin', paintin' and farming in Kenya, ending up as a concierge of a Marble Arch hotel. An interesting life, it sounds like, but he never wrote about it. Margo had boyfriends, got married, had children, got divorced and bought a house across the road from her mother. She turned it into a boarding house for not very interesting paying guests. And then she wrote about it. Badly.

Her writing is full of descriptions and adjectives, similes, fancy passages that aren't quite lyrical, nor humorous, and not at all interesting rounded out by detailed conversations she couldn't possibly have remembered in that much detail. Still, she had to fill the pages.

I was looking for a passage that was so badly written, it would illustrate just how bad this book was from both content and writing, but I couldn't find one, it's all like that. But this is the paragraph where I thought there really isn't any reward to suffering and it was time to move on. It is the second paragraph of chapter 9 (I really did try).

"(For Edward’s suggestions of a farewell party as a tribute to Gordon had brought cries of approval and put the womenfolk into a pantomime of preening as new dresses became the talk of the day.)

I was doing just this, posed before the only long mirror in my part of the house and examining myself for indolent bulges. Swathed in a hectic combination of candy stripes — a petticoat of patriotic colours, the skirt a mass of tucks and lace — pirouetted as my fancy took me to see the effect it would create under a dress, while giving a running commentary on my progress to Andy. He was squatting earthily in the middle of the drawing-room floor, busy disembowelling the wireless set while listening to me with divided attention, for Nelson was also calling to be noticed. He was established, king-like, in the bay window in Mother’s usual position, even to the curtain, discreetly pulled in places to allow light and observation but not the unwanted attention of a passer-by. He was instructing the children in a game of crap. I was unprepared for the knock, the door opening and — posed in the attitude of a Giles cartoon — the visitors."

Did you get through that? Did you want to know what came next?

The book has no redeeming qualities apart from the curiosity of a reader knowing of Gerald and Lawrence and wanting to know what happened to Margo.

[Margitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not the best memoir I have ever read, but I was curious about the Durrell family and seek out more to read, after finishing Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy . A much enjoyable read it was.

Gerald's sister, Margaret, wrote this memoir after so many readers wanted to know what happened to her since the family returned to Britain from Corfu. I was curious too.

So, she did not have the talent of her two brothers, Lawrence and Gerald, but I enjoyed reading about her life as a guest-house owner. Coming to grips with a life as a working women who had to earn her own living, and not wait on wealthy relatives to kick the bucket, sort of, brought some new insights into herself and the people around her.

It was like reading letters from a dear friend, and that was totally okay.

[Exina · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars

I've always loved Gerald Durrell's books, that's why I gave this book a chance. It is about a period of Margo's life when she was keeping a boarding house. Well, Margo is not a writer, and it shows.

It was okay, but far from an engaging read.

[Marika_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Kocham rodzinę Durrellów poznaną w książkach autofikcyjnych Geralda Durrella. Trylogia z Korfu to idealna pozycja na wakacje, a w ciągu reszty roku na smutki. O mamo, ile razy parskałam na nich śmiechem. Bardzo warto obejrzeć też serial na postawie tej historii zrealizowany przez BBC.
„Co się stało z Margo?” to dalsze losy Margo, siostry Gerry’ego, którą poznajemy w trylogii. Tym razem jednak autorką jest sama Margaret Durrell i nie jesteśmy już na wyspie, a z powrotem w Wielkiej Brytanii, gdzie Margo zaczyna prowadzić pensjonat.
Sednem tej historii są jej perypetie z plejadą dziwnyczych lokatorów oraz sąsiadką, która delikatnie mówiąc nie jest przyjaźnie nastawiona do nowych mieszkańców swojej ulicy. Nie brakuje również członków Durrellowskiej rodzinki oraz kolejnych zwierząt przyprowadzanych oczywiście przez Gerry’ego. Ach i ciotka Patienc, która zawsze zjawia się w najgorszym możliwym momencie mając okazję powytykać Margo błędy.
I przyznaje, że brakuje jej sporo do twórczości brata, trochę nudziłam się w drugiej połowie książki, ale pierwsza część wciągnęła mnie ogromnie i bardzo dobrze oddała klimat ksiazek Geralda, a przynajmniej dla mnie było to bardzo sentymentalne doświadczenie. I jak zwykle było zabawnie!
Jeśli nie znacie historii Durrellów to raczej nie sięgajcie w pierwszej kolejnosci po Margaret, ale obowiazkowo lećcie po Trylogie z Korfu. A dla wiernych fanów rodzinki oczywiscie polecam :)

[Sally Edsall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this peculiarly unengaging. Despite the witty stories of my Family and Other Animals written by Gerald Durrell, and the fine writing of brother Lawrence,one shouldn't assume that all members of the family are going to be equally as gifted autobiographers.

There is a lot of material in this autobiog to weave a funny and entertaining tale - lots of "odd" residents in the guest house run by Margo, but it all falls rather flat `- with a bit of a dull thud.

I ended up not really caring about any of the characters, and that is not how a biog should leave you feeling - love 'em or loathe 'em, you should CARE!

[Emily Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite enjoyable to begin with but I lost interest about halfway through and I confess I did not finish it. It was too repetitive and self aware for my liking, but considering she did not have a lot of practice at writing, it was a commendable memoir. It was nice to see another Durrell's perspective on the chaotic life of the Durrell family, particularly Gerald.

[Olga Lukinskaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Не везёт мне в этом году с книгами. Обожаю семью Даррелов, и книга сестры вроде с юмором и ПРИЯТНАЯ, но скучно и всё тут.

[Jaffareadstoo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've always loved My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell and have watched the current TV adaptation of his Corfu trilogy with great delight. Margot Durrell is one of my favourite characters so to have a book written by her has been an absolute joy.

We meet Margot again in Whatever Happened to Margot? in 1947 following her divorce from a British RAF pilot. On her return to England from Corfu and with limited financial resources she is persuaded by her aunt Patience to open a guest house in genteel Bournemouth. This idea is met with slight scepticism but as always, Margot with considerable aplomb embarks on this enterprise with great gusto.

Margot’s guest house is soon filled with an assortment of lodgers, some are genuinely odd and others are so funny that they make you laugh out loud with glee. Their adventures are as varied as their characters and it soon becomes obvious that the new occupants of this large Edwardian house, in a quiet leafy street, will certainly shake up the neighbourhood. And as the guest house gets underway and begins to influence the area so Margot's standing in the community starts to take a knock, especially when people accuse her of running a brothel.

The other Durrells who flit into and out of the story add a real sense of continuity and it was lovely to meet up again with Mrs Durrell, always with her interminable knitting in tow, and of course, I looked forward to a visit from Margot's younger brother, Gerald, who landed at the guest house accompanied by a crate of monkeys and large python.

In Whatever happened to Margot?, Margaret Durrell has recounted her adventures as a landlady with a fine eye for the ridiculous and a real sense of time and place. And anyone who has ever read any of the Durrell novels will recognise that marvellous self-deprecating wit which is always so evident. Margot's self exuberance continues this trend, and she writes with a natural flair for observation and more than a hint of the downright eccentric.

If you are a fan of the TV series, then Whatever happened to Margot? is a great continuation of the story of Margot's fascinating and eventful life.

[Richard · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a big fan of Lawrence and Gerald Durrell's work this came as a huge disappointment and at surprisingly great cost - the book is long out of print and difficult to find for good reason. Charming though she is as part of the mercurial Durrell clan her feeble efforts to run a boarding house populated by eccentrics in "Pudding Island" (Lawrence's term for soggy England) never justifies the cost of entry.

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Margaret Durrell's memoir was originally published in 1995, and I suspect that it's because of the very popular and successful TV show The Durrells that this has now been re-published and re-jacketed.
There's been a huge surge in interest in the Durrell family over the past few years, and anyone who read Gerald Durrell's My Family and Other Animals will know that Margo has been expertly portrayed on our television screens.

I was unaware that Margaret had written a memoir, so was really interested to see what she'd got up to after the family left Corfu. Margo married a British RAF man, and had two children. However they later divorced and Margo and her sons returned to Bournemouth in 1947. Struggling financially, she's encouraged by her Aunt Patience to open a boarding house.

In true Margo fashion, she sets about to do just that, and her recollections of her assortment of guests are at times, quite hilarious. Margo seems to attract the oddest of people, but as her own family are not the most normal of folk, she takes it all in her stride. It's great to be reacquainted with her mother; Louisa, and her three brothers, Lawrence, Leslie and Gerry. None of them have really changed, and of course Gerry is accompanied by a collection of animals ... well, why wouldn't he be?

With a forward written by Gerald Durrell, this is an entertaining memoir that made me smile a lot. There were times when I found the writing to be a little flowery and maybe could be termed as old-fashioned. However, just imagine Margo herself speaking, and it's really a perfect fit!

[Mom · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a fan of the BBC production of The Durrells of Corfu, this book is a must read. Margo, the daughter from the series, writes a memoir about her English “guest house” which she opened after returning to her homeland after her divorce with her two boys. Setting out to open a residence for the refined but interesting in order to please her Aunt Patience, she’s instead populates it with quirky, interesting and often funny boarders. There’s an artist and chef of exotic dishes and his wife who serves as a nude model, two musicians who practice during the day and work at night, two attractive women who are nurses and also work at night causing the neighbors to start rumors, a perrennially unemployed man and his cosmetologist wife, a bricklayer who is a bit of a chauvinist and his new bride who quickly become pregnant and their subsequent always crying child, a retired nurse/seamstress who cares for everyone’s minor medical needs and several more transient residents who add to the hilarity. A great, feel good read.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book published in the 1990s but written in the 1960s, has not aged well. Margo used language that would be decidedly not PC today. She also did not have her brothers’ gift for language nor Gerald’s keen eye for humor. She writes about her experience as a boarding room lady and it is somewhat interesting but certainly not fascinating. She seems to have preferred her brother Leslie over Gerald which is interesting since there was a family break with Leslie eventually. Also, one of her sons is named after Gerald. There was no mention of brother Lawrence that I recall. Mother gets mentioned frequently and you can recognize common elements in both her’s and her brother, Gerald’s description of her.

This is recommended for the staunch Durrell fan only.

[Lisa of Hopewell · Rating 3 out of 5]

My Interest
I found this book when I went down the Durrell rabbit hole after watching The Durrells of Corfu on Prime a few years after it aired on t.v. I read My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell, too. Margaret, “Margo” was the only Durrell daughter. Two of her brothers, Lawrence and Gerald, became famous writers. This book is her memoir of her life immediately after the war.

I finished this book a few months ago, but forgot to review it.

The Story
After the Durrell’s years in Corfu portrayed in Gerald’s book My Family and Other Animals, and in the various t.v. versions of the same, Margot married, had two boys and ended up, for a time, running a boarding house in the coastal town of Bournemouth. The Durrells had fled the same town for Greece several years before. Now, with both WWII and her marriage over, Margo acquired a large house in a reasonable neighborhood and opened a boarding house. In days gone by these were like apartment buildings only the landlady also supplied the meals. People had to share the bathrooms and what today are termed “communal spaces.”

Margo’s house became populated with a set of “real characters” as they would have said back then. Married couples–one couple with a baby, a single mother and her son who always made me think of Pugsley Adams, an artist, a musician and assorted other. All regular people just looking for housing in post-war Britain.

Things were enlivened when brother Gerald arrives with a bunch of moneys he needs to board somewhere for a little while. The monkeys proved to be as big, or bigger, a problem for Margo than some of her more eccentric borders.

My Thoughts
Overall this book was pretty ho-hum. Brother Gerald had a better ability as a storyteller. [I haven’t read any of Lawrence’s books]. A boarding house, monkeys, neighbors, Margo’s mother and elderly relatives. It should have been more interesting–and more fun than it was, but is still a worthy read for Durrell fans.

Blogger Heavenali was a little kinder and drew a much better portrait of this book as a while. Why not click the link and read her review, too? Even though she wrote it years ago, a nice comment is always appreciated by any blogger.

My Verdict
3.0
Whatever Happened to Margo? by Margaret Durrell

For once I read the actual paperback copy.

[Sharon Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://www.jerasjamboree.co.uk/2018/0...

Whatever Happened to Margo? is an entertaining read due partly to the residents of No. 51 (and the neighbours) but also because of Margaret Durrell’s writing style.

From the very first lodger, Edward Feather, you just know this is going to be an eccentric household (despite Aunt Patience’s list of Do’s and Don’ts that Margo has no chance of sticking to). Having read this biography, one thing I can say for definite is how closely the TV series follows real life with those quirky Durrell personalities.

This isn’t a book about Bournemouth itself (I was hoping for more snippets of the town) but the antics of the lodgers and the neighbours at the boarding house on St Albans Avenue. I would recommend you read the article mentioned in my introduction from Dorset Life. There are a couple of photos bringing No. 51 to life.

Recommended if you’re a fan of the Durrells and have an interest in their lives.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite a sweet story of another era, when large houses could be snapped in Bournemouth for a song and turned to amateurish guest houses by a young divorcee, but spoiled by bad editing. Information and even jokes and phrases are repeated within pages of one another and there are way too many adjectives and adverbs. I’m sure her friends found her hilarious, but this reader found her humour a bit forced.

[Molly Jean · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, this was a disappointment.

I have spent a good chunk of my pandemic summer being entertained by the antics and adventures of the Durrell family during their 5 years on Corfu prior to WWII. "The Corfu Trilogy" was filled with marvelous descriptions of both the animal life of Corfu and the five Anglo-Indian Durrell family members as they adapt to a very non-British way of life on an island in the Ionian Sea. "The Durrells of Corfu" elaborated on and, in some cases, corrected some of the deliberate mis-conceptions about the family that Gerald Durrell included in his books. All four books were very enjoyable. So I figured that the final book about the Durrell family that I had on my pandemic "to read" list would be equally enjoyable. I hoped "Whatever Happened to Margo", written by the lone Durrell sister, would be equally fun and perhaps even fascinating.

I found, to my dismay, that it wasn't. Some of it was my fault. I hoped the book would cover the period between when her mother and younger brother left Corfu in 1939 and the end of the war. From what I have been able to glean from other sources, Margo had an interesting war, spent largely in Africa. But that was not the story she chose to tell.

Instead, the book opens up in 1947, in Bournemouth, England. Margo, in her late 20s, is divorced with two young sons to support. So she buys that quintessential English trope, a seaside boarding house. Which she fills with characters she apparently thinks are amusing.

I never could get going on the book. Maybe because I was raised in a boarding house...as a child I didn't understand how miserable it was for my mother to be forced, by life's circumstances, to live in a situation like that. There was absolutely nothing amusing about it.

That aside, the book is not well written. The boarders who are supposed to be so amusing are tiresome and dull stereotypes. Plus the book doesn't do well in 2020 with references to people being fat or sluttish. Gays are pansies. A shy young woman is told on page 99 "if rape is inevitable, lie down and enjoy it". That's when I decided to put the book down for good.

Stick with the books by Gerald or his older brother Lawrence. But do give Margo a miss.

[LobsterQuadrille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being a huge fan of Gerald Durrell's books, I had thought this humorous memoir by his sister Margo was a safe bet as an entertaining light read. The exaggerated version of Margo in Gerald's books is terrifically fun, and she is still likable here but her adventures and observations are nowhere near as interesting.

The sentences here are reminiscent of Gerald's style and sense of humor, so some of his fans may still enjoy the writing. But it feels like there is too much information and description crammed into each sentence, so it doesn't flow well at all. As a side note, there were way too many "B" names, and I kept mixing up Mrs. Brady and Mrs. Briggs. The boarders and neighbors were mildly amusing at best(Nelson at least had some life in him), and vaguely annoying at worst(the two glamorous and indistinguishable nurses leading a constant stream of men around by the nose). They just seem like unfinished versions of the eccentric side characters in Gerald Durrell's books. Perhaps Margo unconsciously tailored her own writing to be more reminiscent of her younger brother's or the publisher thought this would make it more marketable, but either way the voice in her writing didn't feel unique or authentic.

Margo herself and her mother are the strongest points of the book, and there is lots of potential for this to be a funny and memorable book. Even though the writing and characters were nothing special, the final nail in the coffin was that I was simply bored by it. I had planned to see it through to the end, but found myself constantly checking to see how far away the end of each chapter was, which is rarely a good sign. I don't consider Whatever Happened to Margo to be a crime against literature, just a mediocre and forgettable memoir that leans too heavily on the style of the author's brother. Though perhaps for anything Durrell-related, forgettability is the worst thing that can happen.

[Dvora Treisman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Like many, I was curious about whatever did happen to Margo. Many of us have read Gerald's books, seen the British TV series, and are very fond of that family.
I've seen others say that Margo isn't a writer like Gerald or Lawrence. If the writing had been just ho-hum, I would have finished the book and given it three stars. But as it was, there was an astronomical excess of words that made it really difficult for me to get through it, to figure out what the hell she was saying, who was who... It was a lot of work, and it went no where.

[Jon Shanks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, now I know not so much what happened to Margo as what she got up to during a short period many, many years since she was with Gerald and the rest of the Durrell family in the Corfu years. In the intervening time, she moved back to England, got married, had 2 children and got divorced. However, this has all happened before this book even starts. Instead, we get a comedy-drama about her setting up a boarding house which attracts a variety of colourful characters and therein lies our story. More of a snapshot of what happened to Margo with guest appearances by her mother Gerald and Leslie (Lawrence presumably too busy in his literary circles). Not as accomplished a literary work as her siblings, but a fun little read nonetheless.

[Sara Aye Moung · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this . Well written funny and sometimes poignant- strong sense of time and place.

[Sinead Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as engaging as her brother's books but an interesting view of the "grown up" Durrells ... and a little glimpse of where Margo went next

[Elizabeth Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was by no means as well written as the books by Gerald or Lawrence, but it was quite as zany and very Durrell in content.
I found the writing sometimes difficult to follow, but the characters who come to stay at Margo's boarding house were typical of the eccentrics the Durrell family seemed to attract. My enjoyment of that aspect kept me reading.
Nice to see Gerald from his sister's perspective and note that he was quite as batty as his siblings, which, reading his version, you are led to doubt!
I would lime to know what happened afterwards but I don't think Margo wrote another book.

[Carlo · Rating 2 out of 5]

tardé 8 meses en leerlo y sigo sin saber de qué va.

[Anand Ganapathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely hilarious .. .Margo is as funny as her younger brother Gerald as a raconteur

[Osmosisch · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's pretty entertaining in its way, but doesn't say much, and spends too much time doing so. Incohesive but fun at times.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let's start by acknowledging one thing : this book would never have been published if it hadn't been written by Margo, only sister in the Durrell clan. The popular Corfu trilogy by brother Gerald Durrell has made people curious to know what else happened to the clan. Hence the title, which speaks directly to that curiosity, which I also fell prey to.

So Margo, back in England, divorced and with 2 boys, decides to earn a living by taking in "paying guests" = becoming a landlady. This leads to complications, not just because her eccentric relatives are likely to come down and disrupt the household at any moment, but also because the boarders are a mixed lot : artists and musicians are thrown in with a violent bricklayer, beautiful nurses with many admirers, and a paranoid old lady.

This could lead to quite a comical set-up, and Margo does try to squeeze humor from the calamitous events that befall her household, but without really succeeding. First of all, the writing is overblown to the point of barely making sense. Jumping around from description of facts to psychological interpretations... poorly written! The other reason is that so much of what she's tryin to mine for comic effect is actually terribly sad. Wives beaten by their husbands, a girl nearly dying of an illegal abortion, an old woman with a mental health condition... it all contrasts starkly with the picture of insouciant post-war bohemia that Margo tries to paint.

So, despite the attractive cover and the fact that it does continue the Durrell saga a bit, I can't say that I enjoyed the book.

[Louise Culmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

THe book opens in 1947, when Margo Durrell is divorced and she and her two small sons are living in Bournemouth with Margo's ever patient mother. Margo is persuaded by her formidable Aunt Patience to open a guest house, and soon finds herself with a colourful collection of boarders, nurses, artists, musicians, shop assistants, and the precocious schoolboy Nelson and his mother. Margo soon finds herself involved in the complicated lives of her lodgers, and there is also her brother Gerald, who is apt to turn up with collections of exotic animals that she is persuaded to house. Not to mention that she is falling in love with one of her lodgers.
This is a very enjoyable memoir. The Durrell family all seem to have had a knack for getting involved with colourful eccentrics, and Margo was no exception. I only wish she had written more about her life, I would love to know more about what happened to her during the war for instance, and the job she had later working on a cruise liner. OR just more about her crazy lodgers.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Loving Gerald Durrell's books the way I do, I was looking forward to this memoir by his sister about her time running a boarding house in Bournemouth in the 1940s. It started off promisingly, but then just seemed to ramble on in a curiously flat way with a bunch of eccentric, strangely unengaging characters. At page 100 I stopped reading. I am disappointed. 😔

[Simon Mcleish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Plenty of eccentric characters in this reminiscence of running a boarding house in 1950s Bournemouth, but the comedy tends to fall a bit flat. Of interest mainly to fans of Gerald Durrell, rounding out his far funnier autobiographical tales.