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Durrell, Lawrence

(1912-1990) Indian poet and author (his English/Irish family settled in India about 1850), in England from 1923 to 1935, then in Greece and elsewhere; best known for the Alexandria Quartet (1957-1960). His fourth novel, Cefalû (1947; vt The Dark Labyrinth 1961) is a Near Future tale set Underground in a Cretan Labyrinth, where emanations out of the Minoan Time Abyss afflict the protagonists. His sf novel sequence, Tunc (1968) and Nunquam (1970), assembled as The Revolt of Aphrodite (omni 1974) – the original title is from Petronius Arbiter: "aut tunc, aut nunquam" ("either then or never") – subjects sf material to intensely literary scrutiny. In the first volume, Merlin, a burgeoning multinational corporation, co-opts the protagonist, Felix Charlock, into constructing a super-Computer, which can predict the future and which drives him to madness; in the second volume, Felix is cured in order to create an Android lady – echoing a Durrell obsession – perfectly duplicating a destroyed lover of the boss of Merlin; but the android is also destroyed in a Near-Future world choked with evil and images of corruption. The late Avignon Quincunx [for titles see Checklist] is an immensely complex Gnostic fantasy which exfoliates – in a series of Hermetic and numerological figurations – out of a central quincunx comprised of place, Time, Metaphysics, reincarnated figures, mirrors. [JC]

see also: Mythology.

Lawrence George Durrell

born Jullundur, India: 27 February 1912

died Sommières, France: 7 November 1990

works

series

The Revolt of Aphrodite

• Tunc (London: Faber and Faber, 1968) [The Revolt of Aphrodite: hb/]
• Nunquam (London: Faber and Faber, 1970) [The Revolt of Aphrodite: hb/]
  • The Revolt of Aphrodite (London: Faber and Faber, 1974) [omni of the above two: The Revolt of Aphrodite: hb/]

Avignon Quincunx

• Monsieur; Or, the Prince of Darkness (London: Faber and Faber, 1974) [Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]
• Livia; Or, Buried Alive (London: Faber and Faber, 1978) [Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]
• Constance; Or, Solitary Practices (London: Faber and Faber, 1982) [Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]
• Sebastian; Or, Ruling Passions (London: Faber and Faber, 1983) [Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]
• Quinx; Or, The Ripper's Tale (London: Faber and Faber, 1985) [Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]
  • The Avignon Quintet (London: Faber and Faber, 1992) [omni of the above five: Avignon Quincunx: hb/David Gentleman]

individual titles

• Cefalû (London: Editions Poetry, 1947) [hb/]
  • The Dark Labyrinth (London: Faber and Faber, 1961) [vt of the above: hb/]

translations

• Emmanouēl Roidēs. Hē Papissa Iōanna: mesaiōnikē meletē (Athens, Greece: Typois Iō/Kassandreoōs kai Sas, 1866) [binding unknown/]
  • Emmanouēl Roidēs. Pope Joan: A Romantic Biography (London: Derek Verschoyle, 1954) [free adaptation of the above: hb/uncredited]

about the author

• G S Fraser. Lawrence Durrell (London: Longmans/British Council, 1978) [nonfiction: chap: pb/]

links

• Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Entry from The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (2011-current) edited by John Clute and David Langford.
Accessed 12:46 pm on 10 December 2024.
<https://sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/durrell_lawrence>