First published 2009
Anthony "Ace" Bourke and John Rendall walk into the pet department of Harrods in 1969 and make an impulsive purchase that changes their lives forever. They buy Christian, a boisterous lion cub, and bring him home to their flat above a furniture shop on King's Road. The charismatic young lion becomes a London celebrity, riding in the back of a Bentley and dining at local restaurants. But Christian grows rapidly, and soon even the walled church garden where he exercises feels too small. Ace and John face an impossible choice: send their beloved companion to spend his life in a zoo, or find another way. A chance encounter with actors Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers opens an unexpected path. Christian is flown to Kenya to live with George Adamson, the legendary conservationist known as "the father of lions." When the two friends return to Africa a year later, they wonder if Christian will remember them. The reunion that follows captures the unbreakable bond between humans and animals.
Genres: animals, friendship, 20th-century, adventure, biography-memoir, 21st-century, conservation, africa
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family
Setting: Africa, Kenya, King's Road, London
Period: 1969
226 pages · Hardcover · Broadway