Louisa Florence Durrell (née Dixie; 16 January 1886 – 24 January 1964), was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...

woman born in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

during the

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was him ...

. She was the mother of Lawrence and

Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...

. She was featured in Gerald Durrell's autobiographical Corfu trilogy, which tells about the Durrells' years in

Corfu Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

from 1935 to 1939 in a somewhat fictionalized way.

Biography

Louisa Florence Dixie was born in 1886 to an

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

family in

Roorkee Roorkee (Rūṛkī) is a city and a municipal corporation in the Haridwar district of the state of Uttarakhand, India. It is from Haridwar city, the district headquarter. It is spread over a flat terrain under Sivalik Hills of Himalayas. The ...

, where her family were colonials in the years of the British Raj. Her father, George Dixie, was the head clerk and accountant of the Ganges Canal Foundry. In India, she met and married Lawrence Samuel Durrell, an English engineer also born in India. Together, they travelled all over India for Lawrence's engineering work. They had three sons and two daughters, one of whom died in infancy. Their second child, Margery Ruth, was born in November 1915 and died from

diphtheria Diphtheria is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Corynebacterium diphtheriae''. Most infections are asymptomatic or have a mild clinical course, but in some outbreaks more than 10% of those diagnosed with the disease may die. Signs and s ...

in April 1916. The surviving children were Lawrence (Larry), Leslie,

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

(Margo), and Gerald (Gerry). Louisa was described as an anxious mother, shunning social contact just to be with her children during their formative years. Louisa was actively interested in

spiritualism Spiritualism is the metaphysical school of thought opposing physicalism and also is the category of all spiritual beliefs/views (in monism and dualism) from ancient to modern. In the long nineteenth century, Spiritualism (when not lowercase ...

and

cookery Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric stoves, to baking in variou ...

. She was unusual for mingling with

ns, more than many colonials, to learn of local spirits and cuisine. She did not conform to the views of her time regarding the segregation of social groups. Her husband died of a brain tumour in 1928 in

Dalhousie, India Dalhousie ( hi, script=Latn, ḍalhauzī, ) is a hill station, near town of Chamba in Chamba district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is situated on five hills and has an elevation of above sea level. Etymology Dalhousie Town was ...

, when she was 42, and Louisa decided to move her family to England. She left India with her family under dire circumstances. They settled in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

in 1932. She bought a house in the area and named it Dixie Lodge. She moved again in 1935 with her eldest son, Lawrence, and his new wife, Nancy, to the island of

, taking her other children with her. Her youngest son, Gerald, wrote memoirs about this formative period of his childhood on Corfu, where flora and fauna abounded. He portrayed his mother as the family's well-meaning but slightly eccentric matriarch in what is known as the Corfu trilogy: '' My Family and Other Animals'' (1956), '' Birds, Beasts and Relatives'' (1969), and ''

The Garden of the Gods ''The Garden of the Gods'' (American title: ''Fauna and Family'') (1978) by British naturalist and author Gerald Durrell (1925–1995) is the third book in his autobiographical Corfu trilogy, following '' My Family and Other Animals'' and '' ...

'' (1978). In June 1939, before the outbreak of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, Louisa returned to England. After the war, she lived for periods with her daughter Margaret, who had a boarding house in

, as well as with Gerald at his home at the

Jersey Zoo Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trus ...

, founded with the proceeds from his books. Louisa died in Bournemouth in 1964 at the age of 78.

Representation in other media

Gerald Durrell's trilogy has been adapted several times for British TV and radio series. Louisa was portrayed by Hannah Gordon in the 1987 BBC TV series '' My Family and Other Animals'', by

Imelda Staunton Imelda Mary Philomena Bernadette Staunton (born 9 January 1956) is an English actress and singer. After training at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Staunton began her career in repertory theatre in 1976 and appeared in various theatre prod ...

in the 2005 BBC adaptation, by

Celia Imrie Celia Diana Savile Imrie (born 15 July 1952) is an English actress and author. She was described in 2003 as one of the most successful British actresses of recent decades. She is best known for her film roles, including the '' Bridget Jones'' f ...

in the 2010 two-part BBC Radio drama, and by

Keeley Hawes Claire Julia Hawes (born 10 February 1976), known professionally as Keeley Hawes, is an English actress. After beginning her career in a number of literary adaptations, including ''Our Mutual Friend'' (1998) and ''Tipping the Velvet'' (2002), Haw ...

in the 2016–2019 ITV drama ''

The Durrells ''The Durrells'' (known in North America as ''The Durrells in Corfu'') is a British comedy-drama television series loosely based on Gerald Durrell's three autobiographical books about his family's four years (1935–1939) on the Greek island of ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Durrell, Louisa Florence 1886 births 1964 deaths Gerald Durrell People from Haridwar British people in colonial India