There’s a Crocodile in the House

Malcolm Marks was born in rural Kent in 1953, went to Sutton Valence School and graduated from Queen Mary College, the University of London with a BSc in Plant Sciences (1975) and a PhD in Physiological Ecology (1979). His first job was as an Ecology lecturer at the University of Calabar where he spent four years 'learning the ropes' before moving into international development and consultancy.He undertook long term positions in Senegal (twice), The Gambia, Botswana, Bangladesh and Laos and short term consultancies in about twenty other nations while working for almost all the major development agencies.Malcolm lives in France, is an affirmed Francophile and is married to Veronique (the heroine of his books). They have two children (Melanie and David) and two grandchildren.

Fresh from adventures in Nigeria, Malcolm and Véronique return to live in Europe but the slow pace of life sees them hanker for a return to Africa. This eventually occurs but not before moving from France to England.Four years after departing Nigeria, while a teacher at a private school in the Midlands, Malcolm is offered a mission to the proud nation of Chad where he stays in the town of N'gouri in the Sahara Desert. Aside the suffocating heat, he encounters crab-sized scorpions and snakes in the wells, and witnesses the defeat of the Libyan army. A hilarious meeting in the desert is the catalyst for a move to Senegal with the engaging family starting a new life in the Land of Teranga.'There's a Crocodile in the House' continues their adventures that include a close encounter with a puff adder, rabid dogs, dancing swordfish, friendly refugees, a mischievous minister and, not to forget, that Crocodile! During these four years, our Ecologist receives knocks and hard lessons about work and life as he continues his journey through 'The Itinerant Ecologist Series'.