Durrell, Lawrence. (1912 - 1990).
L i f e
- born in India, resided in England, the Mediterranean, and Egypt
< influenced by D. H. Lawrence: shared his antipathy to British reserve
< Henry Miller: the two led a long correspondence
W o r k
The Black Book: an Agon (1938):
< influenced by H. Miller's liberating ideas
- privately printed in Paris, banned in Britain for its overt eroticism
"Alexandria Quartet":
> Justine (1957)
> Balthazar (1958)
> Mountolive (1958)
> Clea (1960)
- a series of interconnected fictions describing unfulfilling love affairs
- presents dusty, sweaty, multi-layered Alexandria as a phantasmagoric Eliotic place where ancient splendours melt into modern inconveniences
- formally experimental: rather than moving from one point to another, the narrative stands above time "turning slowly on its own axis to comprehend the whole pattern"
"Avignon Quintet": Monsieur (1974), Livia (1978), Constance (1982), Sebastian (1983), and Quincx (1985):
- attempts to break down preconceptions of time
- assaults inherited prejudices in favour of fictional realism
Quote
"There are only three things to be done with a woman. You can love her, suffer for her, or turn her into literature."
From Justine (1959).
Basics
(Photo: R. Rubrecht. 1986. Source: Wikipedia).
-
Author
Lawrence George Durrell. (1912 - 1990). British expatriate. -
Work
Novelist. Poet. Author of the "Alexandria Quartet" (1957 - 60). -
Genres
Modern fiction and poetry.
Literature
Abrams, Meyer Howard, ed. The Norton Anthology of English Literature. New York: W. W. Norton, 1993.
Barnard, Robert. Stručné dějiny anglické literatury. Praha: Brána, 1997.
Baugh, Albert C. ed. A Literary History of England. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1967.
Coote, Stephen. The Penguin Short History of English Literature. London: Penguin, 1993.
Sampson, George. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1946.
Sanders, Andrew. The Short Oxford History of English Literature. New York: Clarendon Press, 1994.