My Family and Other Animals Characters

Melanie is a countess that Larry invites to visit at the daffodil-yellow villa. Gerry and Larry find her fascinating and delightful, but Mother mishears Melanie when she mentions an affliction she recently recovered from and comes to believe that Melanie has an unladylike venereal disease.

Quasimodo is a dove that Gerry purchases from the Rose-Beetle Man. Because he's raised from a tiny baby by the Durrell family, he never learns to fly or truly act like a bird. He loves human companionship and music, especially waltzes and military marches.

Madame Cyclops is a very large tortoise with only one eye. Though Gerry never tries to capture and domesticate her, she does become relatively tame and learns that Gerry is a wonderful source of food. Gerry witnesses her laying eggs and takes one for his collection.

Mrs. Kralefsky is Kralefsky's elderly mother. She lives in Kralefsky's mansion and spends much of her time in bed, listening to the flowers talk. Gerry is entranced by her hair, which is extremely long and still auburn, even in her old age.

The resident doctor on Corfu; he has a delightful bedside manner and makes strange noises when attending to patients. He also has six children, which Spiro teases him mercilessly about.

Zatopec is one of Larry's friends that Larry invites to stay at the daffodil-yellow villa. He's a heavy drinker and pesters all the local girls and women, including Lugaretzia.

Great-Aunt Hermione only appears in the novel through her letters to Mother, which are met by Gerry, Margo, Larry, and Leslie with derision and disgust. Larry insists that Hermione is a hypochondriac and awful to be around.

Cicely is a huge praying mantis that Gerry captures when he realizes she's full of eggs. He hopes that he'll be able to observe her egg-laying habits, but this hope is dashed when she escapes, gets into a fight with Geronimo the gecko, and dies.

Ulysses is a Scops owl that Gerry collects when he's a baby. Though he's initially aggressive, especially towards Roger, he eventually decides that Roger is an acceptable form of transportation. He lives in Gerry's study in the daffodil-yellow villa.

A hotel guide who shows the Durrells villas. He's distraught when Mother asks for one with a bathroom.

Sophia is the maid's youngest daughter at the snow-white villa. Mother engages her to carry Dodo's puppy around on a pillow.

The snakes are two nonpoisonous water snakes that Gerry captures in the ocean with the help of Roger, Widdle, and Puke.

Old Plop is a very large and very old terrapin. Gerry finally manages to capture him after months of attempts and installs him in a pond with the snakes.

Agathi is an old woman who teaches Gerry Greek folk songs and corrects his Greek pronunciation when the Durrells first move to Corfu.

Aphrodite is Yani's wife.