   gavin maxwell frsl, fial, fzs (sc.), frgsthe rocks remain. [and..?] (15 july 19147 september 1969) was a scottish naturalist and author, best known for his work with otters. he wrote the book ring of bright water (1960) about how he brought an otter back from iraq and raised it in scotland. ring of bright water sold more than a million copies and was made into a film starring bill travers and virginia mckenna in 1969. the title ring of bright water was taken from a poem by kathleen raine, who said in her autobiography that maxwell had been the love of her life. ==biography==  maxwell was the youngest son of lieutenant-colonel aymer maxwell and lady mary percy, fifth daughter of the seventh duke of northumberland. his paternal grandfather, sir herbert maxwell, was an archaeologist, politician and natural historian. maxwell was raised in the small village of elrig, near port william, in wigtownshire, south-western scotland. maxwell's relatives still reside in the area and the family's ancient estate and grounds are in nearby monreith. maxwell's education took place at a succession of preparatory and public schools, including st cyprian's school, where he found encouragement for his interest in natural history, and stowe school. in the rocks remain, he relates how family pressure led him to take a degree in estate management at hertford college, oxford, where he spent his time pursuing sporting and leisure activities instead of studying. he cheated his way through the intermediate exams but passed the final examinations honestly, having crammed the entire three-year course in six weeks. [[image:soayba
1914_births 1969_deaths 20th-century_Scottish_writers Alumni_of_Hertford_College,_Oxford Bisexual_men Bisexual_writers Deaths_from_cancer Fellows_of_the_Royal_Geographical_Society Fellows_of_the_Royal_Society_of_Literature LGBT_writers_from_Scotland People_educated_at_Stowe_School People_from_Dumfries_and_Galloway People_with_bipolar_disorder Scottish_naturalists Scottish_nature_writers Scottish_soldiers Special_Operations_Executive_personnel