Gerald Durrell books in order
British naturalist and writer
- Lived
- 1925–1995
- Country
- United Kingdom
- Books
- 42
Gerald Durrell published 10 novels, 2 novellas, 1 short story collection, 13 non-fiction books, 4 children's books and 12 other books, beginning with The Overloaded Ark (1953). The best-known is My Family and Other Animals (1956).
Updated September 2026
Where to start with Gerald Durrell
Start here
My Family and Other Animals
Gerald Durrell's most-read book.
Standalone novels in order
The Bafut Beagles (1954)
The Drunken Forest (1956)
Rosy Is My Relative (1968)
"Birds, Beasts, and Relatives" (1969)
Fillets of Plaice (1971)
Beasts in My Belfry (1973)
The Talking Parcel (1974)
Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons (1977)
The Mockery Bird (1981)
The Fantastic Flying Journey (1987)
Novellas in order
The Donkey Rustlers (1968)
The Fantastic Dinosaur Adventure (1989)
Short story collections in order
Marrying Off Mother and Other Stories (1992)
Non-fiction in order
The Overloaded Ark (1953)
The Whispering Land (1961)
Menagerie Manor (1964)
Catch Me a Colobus (1972)
The Garden of the Gods (1978)
Fauna and Family (1979)
The Amateur Naturalist (1982)
How to Shoot an Amateur Naturalist (1984)
Gerald & Lee Durrell in Russia (1986)
Children's Nature Encyclopaedia (1987)
The Ark's Anniversary (1990)
The Aye-aye and I (1992)
Best of Gerald Durrell (1998)
Children's books in order
My Family and Other Animals (1956)
A Zoo in My Luggage (1960)
Keeper (1990)
Toby the Tortoise (1991)
Other books in order
Island Zoo (1961)
The New Noah (1962)
Encounters with Animals (1963)
Two in the Bush (1966)
A Bevy of Beasts (1973)
Three Singles to Adventure (1973)
The Picnic and Other Inimitable Stories (1980)
Ark on the Move (1983)
The Stationary Ark (1983)
The Picnic and Suchlike Pandemonium/Audio Cassettes (1985)
My Favourite Animal Stories (1989)
Dominoes (2003)
Film and TV adaptations
- My Family and Other Animals (2005)TV · from My Family and Other Animals
- The DurrellsTV · from My Family and Other Animals
- My Family and Other AnimalsTV · from My Family and Other Animals
- The DurrellsTV · from "Birds, Beasts, and Relatives"
- The DurrellsTV · from The Garden of the Gods
About Gerald Durrell
Gerald Malcolm Durrell was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He was born in Jamshedpur in British India, and moved to England when his father died in 1928. In 1935 the family moved to Corfu, and stayed there for four years, before the outbreak of World War II forced them to return to the UK. In 1946 he received an inheritance from his father's will that he used to fund animal-collecting trips to the British Cameroons and British Guiana. He married Jacquie Rasen in 1951; they had very little money, and she persuaded him to write an account of his first trip to the Cameroons. The result, titled The Overloaded Ark, sold well, and he began writing accounts of his other trips. An expedition to Argentina and Paraguay followed in 1953, and three years later he published My Family and Other Animals, which became a bestseller.
Biography from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photo via Wikimedia Commons.
Gerald Durrell FAQ
- How many books has Gerald Durrell written?
- Gerald Durrell published 10 novels, 2 novellas, 1 short story collection, 13 non-fiction books, 4 children's books and 12 other books that we list, as of September 2026.
- What order should I read Gerald Durrell's books in?
- Publication order is a safe choice; the full list is above. Most readers start with My Family and Other Animals.
- What is Gerald Durrell's last book?
- The Aye-aye and I (1992).
- What is Gerald Durrell's most famous book?
- My Family and Other Animals (1956) is Gerald Durrell's most widely read book.
- Which Gerald Durrell books have been adapted?
- 3 books have been adapted for film or TV, including My Family and Other Animals (TV, 2005), "Birds, Beasts, and Relatives" (as The Durrells, TV) and The Garden of the Gods (as The Durrells, TV).
Authors like Gerald Durrell
Sources: book lists and dates from Wikidata and Open Library, ratings from Open Library readers. Last updated September 2026.