Jacquie Durrell
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Jacqueline ('Jacquie') Sonia Durrell (née Wolfenden) (b. 1929, Manchester, UK) was the first wife of Gerald Durrell. She helped Gerald Durrell on his animal collecting expeditions, and on the Jersey Zoological Park - which he founded. She is the author of two autobiographical accounts of her life with Durrell:
- Beasts in My Bed, (footnotes by Gerald Durrell) (Collins, 1967)
- Intimate Relations, (Collins, 1976)
Jacquie's parents separated in 1931 when she was two years old. Since that time, she lived with her grandparents and a variety of aunts and uncles. From the age of 17, Jacquie began training to be an opera contralto singer, and had changed her name to Jacqueline Sonia Rasen for career purposes. Jacquie was 19 when she met Gerald Durrell, who was staying in her father's hotel in Manchester after an animal-collecting expedition, for the first time. The two began dating, although initially Jacquie claimed that she was very reluctant to become Durrell's girlfriend. Jacquie's father did not approve of her relationship with Durrell, and was completely antipathetic towards the idea of the couple getting married. His objections centred on the fact that Durrell had no money and apparently no career prospects at the time. Jacquie could not marry without her parents' permission until she was 21, so after her 21st birthday, she and Durrell eloped and married in Bournemouth on February 26, 1951. Gerald Durrell's mother, sister Margaret Durrell and brother Leslie Durrell helped to organise and attended the wedding and subsequent party. In marrying Durrell, Jacquie gave up her potential career as an operatic singer, as well as her relationship with her father - after her elopement, she never spoke to any of her relatives again. After their marriage, lack of money prevented Jacquie and Gerald from renting a place of their own, and so they lived in a cramped bedsitting room in the Bournemouth guest house owned and run by Durrell's sister Margaret Durrell, who offered them the place rent-free. Despite her initial trepidation, Jacquie was completely accepted by and liked all members of the Durrell family.
She went on a number of animal expeditions with Gerald Durrell featuring in a number of his books, including:
- Argentina (1954, 1958) (The Drunken Forest, The Whispering Land)
- Cameroon (1957) (A Zoo in My Luggage - an account of her meeting with the Fon of Bafut Achirimbi II is described here)
- Australia-New Zealand-Malaysia (1961) (Two in the Bush)
- Mexico (1966) (Catch Me a Colobus)
She typically features in Gerald Durrell's autobiographical books as a supportive spouse, who is not squeamish with or perturbed by animals.
Jacquie Durrell also helped run Jersey Zoo and helped found and run the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust (now the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust), though she never held any official post. She was also the central figure in organizing one of the expeditions to Argentina. Her role is depicted in Gerald Durrell's Menagerie Manor. She was popular with the Jersey Zoo staff and affectionately known as "Mrs. D". Despite her support for her husband's work, she was occasionally overwhelmed by Durrell's total devotion to it, and felt that the zoo took over their lives and left them with no free space to develop their own relationship.
Jacquie, together with Lawrence Durrell, encouraged Gerald Durrell to write books about his animal-collecting expeditions, in order to make money to fund both their everyday lives and new expeditions.
Both of Jacquie Durrell's books are written in the same humorous, light-hearted tone as her husband's own accounts. They have a dry wit and humour, and Beasts in My Bed also features (often deliberately contradictory) footnotes by Gerald Durrell. Her books have been translated into several languages, including Russian and Dutch.
Jacquie Durrell also featured in the following TV series presented by Gerald Durrell:
- To Bafut With Beagles, TV series, BBC (1958)
- Look (Argentinian Expedition), Single episode in TV series, BBC (1961)
- Two In The Bush, TV series, BBC (1963)
She separated from and divorced Gerald Durrell in 1979 citing his increasing work pressure, and associated alcoholism.
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