Although the works had much in common, The Avignon Quintet did not beat commercially its predecessor. Durrell also produced several travel books describing the places he had visited. Other publications include humorous short stories, plays in verse, and poems. Durrell was married four times, in 1935 with Nancy Meyers (divorced in 1947), and then with Yvette Cohen. His third marriage, in 1961 to a Frenchwoman, Claude, ended with her death in 1967. In 1973 he married Ghislaine de Boysson (divorced in 1979). He had two daughter by each of his first two marriages. His second daughter, Sappho, committed suicide in 1985, leaving behind writings that pointed accusingly to his father - probably without basis. Durrell died of a stroke at his home in Sommeèrs, on November 7, 1990, following a lenghty struggle with emphysema. Durrell's brother Gerald Durrell (see below), zoologist and traveller, gained popularity with his animal stories, including My Family and Other Animals (1956), A Zoo in My Luggage (1960), Birds, Beasts and Relatives (1969), Catch me a Colobus (1972), The Mockery Bird (1981), Marrying Off Mother (1991). For further reading: Lawrence Durrell: A Biography by Ian S. MacNiven (1998); Lawrence Durrell: Coversations, ed. by Earl G. Ingersoll (1998); Through the Dark Labyrinth by Gordon Bowker (1997); Lawrence Durrell's Major Novels by Donald P. Kaczvisnky (1997); Lawrence Durrel: Comprehending the Whole, by Julius Rowan Raper et al (1995); Lawrence Durrell: The Mindscape by Richard Pine (1994); On Miracle Ground, ed. by Michael H. Begnal (1990); Lawrence Durrell by John A. Weigel (1989); Critical Essays on Lawrence Durrell, ed. by A.W. Friedman (1986); Joyce Cary and Lawrence Durrell by S. Vander Closter (1985); Lawrence Durrell and the Alexandria Quartet by A.W. Friedman (1970); The Muse of Science and the Alexandria Quartet (1978); Lawrence Durrell by G.S. Fraser (1970); Lawrence Durrell: A Study by G.S. Fraser (1968, rev. ed. 1973); The World of Lawrence Durrell by H.T. Moore (1962); My Friend Lawrence Durrell by A.