Talk:Gavin Maxwell

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Which otter?

The film of Ring of Bright Water has Maxwell buying a European Otter in London; his nephew's biography refers to him being given a Marsh Otter in Iraq. Which happens in the book? Andy Mabbett 12:04, 2 September 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Article is correct: his first otter came from Iraq. He adopted one while he was out there, but it died while he was still there. He was then given one shortly before he left Iraq, and it is this one (named Midj?) which he brought back to London and then Scotland.

The otter that died in Iraq was Chahala, the otter that returned to London was Mij (short for Mijbil). The pet-shop otter depicted in the movie (and portrayed by a trained otter, also called Mij) has no direct counterpart in any of the books, although it is clearly inspired by the original Mij. Poglad 19:00, 26 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Relationships

His ~~marriages and~~ homosexuality should probably be mentioned. Botting goes into the marriages, but is by virtue of being an "authorised" biographer quiet on the homosexual relationships. Not sure if there's a source on those.

Could you cite any sources on this? Anyone?

Obvious source would be Frere, Richard (1976) Maxwell's Ghost; London: Victor Gollancz Ltd.

[Maxwell:] "I am a homosexual. Does that worry you?"

[Frere:] "This I think I knew -- it is, after all, common gossip."

—Preceding unsigned comment added by Poglad (talk • contribs)

I've now added this citation. Poglad 17:06, 19 August 2007 (UTC)[reply]

There are a lot of stories in Scotland about his supposed homosexuality. I think it is unfair to name names, as these are all gossip, and not necessarily true. Myself, I think he was probably bisexual. --MacRusgail (talk) 17:55, 22 November 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Maxwell had certain notions about homosexuality in Morocco, which he mentions briefly in Lords of the Atlas (1966, pp. 286-287). Frere discusses this in the same pages quoted above by the user Poglad. Quoting Maxwell, Bruce Dunne ( https://www.jstor.org/stable/41857885 ) writes: "Relying upon several French sources, Gavin Maxwell states that, before the arrival of the French, homosexuality 'between man and boy was never considered shameful or abnormal in Morocco,' that homosexual prostitution existed, and that boys accompanied imperial troops for the satisfaction of sexual needs on military campaigns." This should not be taken as an accurate description but rather as reflecting Maxwell's ideas (and his French sources). 00:18, 7 August 2024 (UTC)Ssegalla (talk)

Sicily and Morocco, and Algeria

Maxwell spent a considerable time in Sicily and wrote a couple of books about the island. Should be mentioned.

I thought that too. Apparently he lived at a tonnara (tuna fishery) close to Scopello some time in the '50s, and based Ten Pains of Death on his experience there. Don't know any more than that, but the external link to the biography by his nephew sheds light. I've tried to track the book down without success. Dw290 10:02, 20 October 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This suggestion is correct. In Ten Pains of Death Maxwell describes his life at the Tonnara di Scopello on the Sicilian coast. Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:22, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I have made some improvements to the Morocco section. --Ssegalla (talk) 14:06, 9 August 2024 (UTC) Maxwell began travelling and writing in Morocco in January 1960, not 1966 (he previously had joined his brother there once on vacation). In 1960, he decided to write a book about Thami al-Glawi, a book which eventually became Lords of the Atlas (1966), but except for a single opening anecdote, this book is not an account of Maxwell's travels. Maxwell wrote about the February 29, 1960 Agadir earthquake in the opening chapter of The Rocks Remain (1963), and describes other experiences in Morocco later in that book. In early 1960 he also met the anticolonial activist Margaret Pope, who worked for Radio Maroc but also was aiding the Algerian FLN. Maxwell travelled to Algeria in January 1961, which he also (briefly) refers to in The Rocks Remain. he made several more trips to Morocco and one more trip to Algeria over the next several years. I (Spencer Segalla) have published the details of this in The Journal of North African Studies; I've added the citation under "Further Reading." The primary source materials are cited in that article. I'm not really sure about the editing rules in Wikipedia and I wasn't sure I should rewrite that section myself. Hope this note is okay.Ssegalla (talk) 00:19, 7 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Dates

The article gives various dates as years, despite the actual date being readily available. Lack of details, and lack of citations, can all be addressed to improve the article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Poglad (talk • contribs)

Simpler Lifestyle

I had to smile at the article's mention of Maxwell pursuing "a simpler lifestyle"... it's hard to imagine a more complex lifestyle than the one he had, notwithstanding the way he presented himself in Ring of Bright Water. More a case of chaotic genius and drama, some would say LOL. Poglad (talk) 08:57, 12 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Multiple reissues

What is the point of listing multiple 'reissues' of his books, with lovingly recorded ISBNs that change each week? New critical editions, illustrated editions, translations ... might be of some interest (as would different versions edited by the author, if there were any), but successive paperback reprints do seem somewhat irrelevant: Wikipedia is not a catalogue. Maybe we could slim the bibliog. down a bit. Chiswick Chap (talk) 19:16, 27 June 2014 (UTC)[reply]

New sources

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/gavin-maxwells-bitter-legacy-was-the-otter-man-the-wildlife-champion-he-appeared-to-be-9595629.html

-- Andy Mabbett (Pigsonthewing); Talk to Andy; Andy's edits 22:00, 16 July 2014 (UTC)[reply]

I added, to the "Further Reading" section, this recently published peer reviewed article: hope it is okay:but then I deleted it, because I ended up including in an endnote/inline citation in the Morocco section: --Ssegalla (talk) 14:06, 9 August 2024 (UTC) Segalla, Spencer. (2024). "Gavin Maxwell in Morocco and Algeria with Margaret Pope and Ahmed Alaoui: public relations networks, anti-imperialism, and travel writing in the era of decolonisation." Journal of North African Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629387.2024.2380397 or https://hcommons.org/deposits/item/hc:68281/ Ssegalla (talk) 12:54, 7 August 2024 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Ssegalla (talk • contribs) 23:49, 6 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]