A Lion Called Christian

A Lion Called Christian

The inspirational story of three friends and a remarkable reunion.

In 2008, YouTube.com featured an extraordinary two minute clip that became an overnight phenomenon. It showed the remarkable, highly moving reunion of two men and their pet lion, Christian, after they had left him in Africa with Born Free's George Adamson to be reintroduced to his rightful home in the wild. This clip has now been viewed by over 44 million people.

This is the story of how John and Ace first saw Christian as a cub for sale in Harrods, how they lived together as flatmates in London, how a chance meeting with Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of Born Free, gave them a chance to return Christian to the wild and eventually, the journey that led them to Kenya and to Christian's final home.

The moving clip on YouTube showed what happened when the two men returned to Kenya, a year on, wondering whether Christian would remember them...

A Lion Called Christian tells the backstory, of how John Rendall and Anthony Bourke, visitors to London from Australia in 1969, bought a boisterous lion cub in Harrods for 250 guineas. For a while, the three of them lived together as flatmates in a furniture shop in the King's Road, Chelsea, where Christian quickly became a local celebrity.But the lion cub was growing up, fast, and even the walled church garden in which he exercised wouldn't be big enough for him for much longer.How could John and Ace avoid having to incarcerate him in a zoo for the rest of his life?

It was thanks to Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers, stars of Born Free, who dropped into the shop, that Christian was subsequently flown to Kenya and placed under the expert care of Adamson. After settling Christian in, Ace and John did not return to Kenya to see Christian for a full year. Thanks to the internet age, their very special and touching reunion is again being enjoyed by millions.

A Lion Called Christian is the full story behind the amazing clip. Originally published in 1971, it has now been fully revised and updated by the authors, with stunning photographs of Christian from cuddly cub in Chelsea to magnificent lion in Africa. It is a unique and extraordinary story of its time, and is destined to become one of the great classics of animal literature.

Christian the Lion, the children's edition, will be published simultaneously by Red Fox. $17.95.

A Lion Called Christian
Random House Australia
Author: Anthony Bourke and John Rendall
Price: $35.00


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