a book
Gavin Maxwell: A Life
Douglas Botting · 2017 · 608 pages
"Gavin Maxwell was a romantic, self-destructive, aristocratic adventurer who worked as secret agent, shark fisherman, racing driver, poet and travel writer. His books on Iraq, Sicily and Morocco were acclaimed, but his fame as a writer rests on his bestselling story of the otters he lived with in a remote cottage on the west coast of Scotland, Ring of Bright Water. Maxwell's private life was every bit as turbulent. His homosexuality was masked by the love of a number of women, for whom he was a serially unsatisfactory partner. This biography is a magnificent evocation of the man, his time and the places and animals that formed such an important part of it. Never was the simple life of a nature-loving conservationist pursued by so complicated a character."--
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Tilda Swinton
“For good measure, and because of its brilliance, I include Douglas Botting’s biography of Maxwell, as the Germans say, “in partnerlook.” An immersive portrait of a fascinating and haunting man, traveler, naturalist, shark fisherman, art historian, bon viveur, classical romantic adventurer and tragic hero of his own high drama. A great life story, written by a friend, of a life lived with legendary vigor, idealistic courage and a heartbreaking undertow.”↗