Prospero's Cell: A Guide to the Landscape and Manners of the Island of Corfu
4.5/5
()
About this ebook
Before Lawrence Durrell became a renowned novelist, poet, and travel writer, he spent four youthful years on Corfu, an island jewel with beauty to match the long and fascinating history within its rocky shores. While his brother, Gerald, was collecting animals as a budding naturalist, Lawrence fished, drank, and lived with the natives in the years leading up to World War II, sheltered from the tumult that was engulfing Europe—until finally he could ignore the world no longer. Durrell left for Alexandria, to serve his country as a wartime diplomat, but never forgot the wonders of Corfu.
In this “brilliant” journey through that idyllic time and place, Durrell returns to the land that made him so happy, blending his love of history with memories of his adventures there (The Economist). Like the blue Aegean, Prospero’s Cell is deep and crystal clear, offering a perfect view straight to the heart of a nation.
Lawrence Durrell
Born in Jalandhar, British India, in 1912 to Indian-born British colonials, Lawrence Durrell was a critically hailed and beloved novelist, poet, humorist, and travel writer best known for the Alexandria Quartet novels, which were ranked by the Modern Library as among the greatest works of English literature in the twentieth century. A passionate and dedicated writer from an early age, Durrell’s prolific career also included the groundbreaking Avignon Quintet, whose first novel, Monsieur (1974), won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize, and whose third novel, Constance (1982), was nominated for the Booker Prize. He also penned the celebrated travel memoir Bitter Lemons of Cyprus (1957), which won the Duff Cooper Prize. Durrell corresponded with author Henry Miller for forty-five years, and Miller influenced much of his early work, including a provocative and controversial novel, The Black Book (1938). Durrell died in France in 1990.
Read more from Lawrence Durrell
Judith: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5White Eagles Over Serbia: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sicilian Carousel: Adventures on an Italian Island Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Diplomatic Adventures: Esprit de Corps, Stiff Upper Lip, and Sauve Qui Peut Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Smile in the Mind's Eye: An Adventure into Zen Philosophy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Book: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Bitter Lemons of Cyprus: Life on a Mediterranean Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stiff Upper Lip: Life Among the Diplomats Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blue Thirst: Tales of Life Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Esprit de Corps: Sketches from Diplomatic Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lawrence Durrell's Notes on Travel Volume One: Blue Thirst, Sicilian Carousel, and Bitter Lemons of Cyprus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Best of Antrobus: Tales of Diplomatic Misadventure Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsReflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Labyrinth: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lawrence Durrell Travel Reader Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Spirit of Place: Letters and Essays on Travel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From the Elephant's Back: Collected Essays & Travel Writings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Black Book Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lawrence Durrell's Notes on Travel Volume Two: Prospero's Cell, Reflections on a Marine Venus, and Spirit of Place Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSauve Qui Peut: Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5From the Elephant's Back: Collected Essays & Travel Writings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Related to Prospero's Cell
Related ebooks
Reflections on a Marine Venus: A Companion to the Landscape of Rhodes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bitter Lemons of Cyprus: Life on a Mediterranean Island Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lawrence Durrell's Notes on Travel Volume Two: Prospero's Cell, Reflections on a Marine Venus, and Spirit of Place Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLawrence Durrell's Notes on Travel Volume One: Blue Thirst, Sicilian Carousel, and Bitter Lemons of Cyprus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBlue Thirst: Tales of Life Abroad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Avignon Quintet: Monsieur, Livia, Constance, Sebastian, and Quinx Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Alexandria Quartet: Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, and Clea Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Angels Fear to Tread Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Corfu Trilogy: My Family and Other Animals; Birds, Beasts and Relatives; and The Garden of the Gods Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Antonia and Her Daughters: Secrets, Love, Friendship and Family in Tuscany Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lawrence Durrell Travel Reader Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Esprit de Corps: Sketches from Diplomatic Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5O Pioneers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Spirit of Place: Letters and Essays on Travel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Justine Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Girl in Winter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Labyrinth: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Room With a View Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrand Hotel Europa: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The South: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of Africa Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5White Shadow Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Mrs. Miniver Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Great Fire: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Mrs Eckdorf in O'Neill's Hotel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/530 Days in Sydney: A Wildly Distorted Account Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Radetzky March Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLamy of Santa Fe Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Once Upon a Time World: The Dark and Sparkling Story of the French Riviera Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Special Interest Travel For You
The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World with Kids 2023 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsWalking the Bible: A Journey by Land Through the Five Books of Moses Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Encyclopedia of Haunted Places, Revised Edition: Ghostly Locales From Around the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Escape the Wolf: A SEAL Operative’s Guide to Situational Awareness, Threat Identification, a Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unofficial Disney Parks Drink Recipe Book: From LeFou's Brew to the Jedi Mind Trick, 100+ Magical Disney-Inspired Drinks Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLonely Planet Mexico Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland 2024 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsExploring the Geology of the Carolinas: A Field Guide to Favorite Places from Chimney Rock to Charleston Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The 12-Hour Walk: Invest One Day, Conquer Your Mind, and Unlock Your Best Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Freaky Florida: The Wonderhouse, The Devil's Tree, The Shaman of Philippe Park, and More Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Haunted October: 31 Seriously Scary Ghost Stories Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5She Explores: Stories of Life-Changing Adventures on the Road and in the Wild Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Erebus: One Ship, Two Epic Voyages, and the Greatest Naval Mystery of All Time Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Arthur: The Dog who Crossed the Jungle to Find a Home Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Disney Declassified Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Walt Disney World Hacks: 350+ Park Secrets for Making the Most of Your Walt Disney World Vacation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLiving the RV Life: Your Ultimate Guide to Life on the Road Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGhosts of Salem: Haunts of the Witch City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lonely Planet An Innocent Abroad: Life-Changing Trips from 35 Great Writers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Voyage For Madmen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/550 Great American Places: Essential Historic Sites Across the U.S. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Destination Truth: Memoirs of a Monster Hunter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Prospero's Cell
3 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A marvellous and poetic evocation of Durrell's life with his first wife on the Ionian island of Kerkyra from 1937 until they were forced to leave for Alexandria by the war. The book was first published in 1945 and is a precursor of his best-known semi-autobiographical sequence of novels "The Alexandria Quartet" .The Greece of today is very different from what it was seventy years ago but anyone who has had his heart stolen by Greek landscape and character will recognise instantly those unchanged features which Durrell captured with such insight.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was wonderful!For years, one of my favorite books has been My Family and Other Animals, written by Lawrence’s brother, Gerald, and which tells the story of the family’s sojourn on the island of Corfu just before World War II. In it, we met the pompous Larry...a character we saw through the lens of Gerald’s irreverent and irrepressible humor.I knew little of this book beyond that it was Lawrence’s view of this same period and I suppose I expected a travelogue, more somber in tone as befitting a serious poet and literary figure, but essentially the same story.Instead I found something I can’t quite characterize. It has elements of the travelogue, stories about the places he visited and individuals he met, about the customs and idiosyncrasies of the people, and reflections upon the culture. But, interspersed with these are vignettes, often no more than a paragraph or two, each a gem illuminating a small moment of his stay. No plot, no story, just a word picture formed from short sentences and fragments that came together like an Impressionist painting to build a picture of the colors, moods and emotions so vivid that I found myself transported to his instant in time.The Larry of his brother’s book is nowhere recognizable, nor does his family figure in the story. Instead the main character is Corfu. We find a very gifted author who was deeply in love with the land in which he found himself and whose memories of that place were focused into beautiful and evocative writing by its loss to the War. This goes onto my bookshelf next to Gerald’s book…a pair of volumes that, between them, illuminate a somewhat bygone era, one a memoir of childhood adventure, the other reflections on adult experience.