Lawrence Durrell

Lawrence Durrell

Lawrence Durrell (Lawrence George Durrell) was born on February 27th, 1912. Lawrence passed away November 7th, 1990 at 78 years old. Lawrence Durrell was born in Jalandhar, India.

Lawrence Durrell was a British writer known for his novels, poetry, plays, and travel books. He was the older brother of naturalist and author Gerald Durrell.

His most famous work is The Alexandria Quartet, published between 1957 and 1960. Beginning in 1974, he wrote another series titled The Avignon Quintet which used similar storytelling techniques. The first book in this series, Monsieur, or the Prince of Darkness, won the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1974. Another book in the series, Constance, or Solitary Practices, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1982.

During the twentieth century, Durrell became a bestselling author and one of England’s most celebrated literary figures. To support his writing, he worked for many years in the British Foreign Service. His experiences living abroad during and after World War II, especially his time in Alexandria, Egypt, inspired much of his work.

Published in 1959, Mountolive is the third book in the Alexandria Quartet. In the preface to Balthazar (1958), the second book in the series, Lawrence Durrell explains that Mountolive is written as a straightforward naturalistic novel where the narrator of Justine and Balthazar appears as a character rather than a storyteller.

The narrator of the first two novels, Darley, appears briefly, while the primary focus is on David Mountolive, a British diplomat who had previously been a secondary figure. This shift moves attention away from Justine, Melissa, Clea, and Darley while still involving the Hosnani family.

Unlike the more experimental style of Justine and especially Balthazar, Mountolive follows a more traditional story structure. The writing remains vivid and avoids predictability due to Durrell’s strong narrative voice.

The novel reads like a literary political thriller similar to Graham Greene’s The Quiet American (1955), but it has a more reflective and inward focus. At its core, Mountolive examines the isolation of a diplomat, a man who lacks true friends and whose relationships suffer because of his political way of thinking.

The novel begins with Mountolive in an affair with Leila, the mother of Nessim and Narouz. Circumstances soon separate them, but he continues to think about her, caught up in the political tension and international conflict.

In Justine, Darley tries to free himself from people and places through writing. Mountolive, however, is not a writer, and the book contains no reflections on literature or meditations on storytelling. By the end, Mountolive appears as an ordinary, hollow figure who comes to realize how time can strip human beings of their dreams and vitality.

Lawrence Durrell: Awards & Accolades

Durrell's book, Constance, or Solitary Practices was nominated for the Booker Prize, Best Fiction Book, in 1982.

Lawrence Durrell: Lists & Other Mentions

• Justine:
  1. Modern Library: 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century: Board's List Selection in 1998.
  2. The Telegraph: 50 Best Cult Books Selection in 2016.
  3. Waterstones: Books of the Century Selection in 1997.
  4. Ninety-Nine Novels: The Best in English since 1939 Selection in 1984.

Related Authors

Fans of Lawrence Durrell also enjoy these authors:

1. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
2. Richard Osman, author of the Thursday Murder Club Series.
3. J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter Series.
4. David Baldacci, author of the Amos Decker Series.
5. Elizabeth George, author of the Inspector Lynley Series.

Lawrence Durrell: F.A.Q