Joy Adamson Books

Designed to appeal to the book lover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound pocket-sized gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure. In 1961, Joy Adamson first introduced to the world the story of her life alongside Elsa the lioness, whom she had rescued as an orphaned cub, and raised at her home in Kenya. But as Elsa had been born free, Joy made the heartbreaking decision that she must be returned to the wild when she was old enough to fend for herself. Since the first publication of Born Free generations of readers have been enchanted, inspired and moved by its uplifting charm and the remarkable interaction between Joy and Elsa. Rediscover the original story, in the words of the woman who reared Elsa and walked with the lions, in this new edition, with an introduction by John Rendall.

After raising Elsa, the orphaned lion cub, to maturity and training her to return to the wild, as described in Born Free, and helping the lioness train her own three cubs, which she describes in Living Free, Joy Adamson here completes the story of Elsa. She tells of the lioness's death in George Adamson's tent, and hoe they captured the three cubs, whose lives were endangered, and released them into th Serengeti Park to start a new life as creatures of the wild. Forever Free is the story of a tense fight against time and a riveting conclusion to the story of the world's best known family of lions.

A gripping new thriller with a killer twist! Two bodies. Thirty years. And a secret that connects them both... 1990 A woman's body is found brutally murdered in the woods, and next to it, a shallow grave hiding a terrified young girl. 2021 When Mia and Rich move to an eco-village in Spain, they're looking for a new start. Val Verde is everything they wished for - at least to begin with. But when someone is murdered in an olive grove, Mia realises the village isn't the safe haven she was hoping for... There's a killer in the village - and they'll stop at nothing until they get revenge...

Fifty years ago Joy Adamson first introduced to the world the story of her life alongside Elsa the lioness, whom she had rescued as an orphaned cub, and raised at her home in Kenya. But as Elsa had been born free, Joy made the heartbreaking decision that she must be returned to the wild when she was old enough to fend for herself. Since the first publication of "Born Free" and its sequels "Living Free" and "Forever Free," generations of readers have been enchanted, inspired and moved by these books' uplifting charm and the remarkable interaction between Joy and Elsa. Millions have also come to know and love "Born Free" through the immortal film starring Virginia McKenna and Bill Travers. But here is the chance to rediscover the original story in this 50th anniversary edition, in the words of the woman who reared Elsa and walked with the lions.

The fiftieth anniversary edition of the bestselling international story about Elsa the lioness and her caretaker.

Five strangers. One horrific memory. What did they see?

Joy Adamson, world-famous for her books about Elsa the lioness, has a new and enthralling story to tell. Its heroine is Pippa, an elegant, affectionate but enigmatic cheetah - the spotted sphinx. "Mrs. Adamson is confirmed as one of the most remarkable women of her times... I believe The Spotted Sphinx to be her best book." - Derek Tangye, Sunday Telegraph "She has done it again! There is so much vital warmth in her narrative... Its pictorial record is superb." - Times Literary Supplement

Joy a George Adamsonovci sa ujali troch levíčat a vychovali ich. Neskôr dve poslali do zoologickej záhrady a Elzu, tretie – najmenšie si ponechali. Žila s ľuďmi, ale tak, aby sa mohla vrátiť do divočiny, k životu na slobode. A Elza si naozaj našla druha a priviedla na svet mladé. No aj potom delilasvoju lásku medzi svoje deti a Adamsonovcov, svojich opatrovníkov. Kniha, ktorú Joy Adamsonová napísala o Elze a jej levíčatách, nie je len dojímavých rozprávaním o priateľstve dravca a človeka, ale aj zaujímavou štúdiou o levoch, o ich vzťahu k iným zvieratám a o živote v divočine vôbec. Stala sa podkladom pre úspešný film, preložili ju do mnohých rečí a teší sa obľube čitateľov na celom svete.

V septembri roku 1964 požiadal Joy Adamsonovú istý známy, aby sa ujala osemmesačnej gepardej samičky, žijúcej u rodiny, ktorá sa sťahovala do Anglicka a chcela, aby ich miláčik ostal v Keni. Vedeli o jej láske k zvieratám a o vzťahu k Elze, a tak dúfali, že sa o cenné zviera postará. Sľúbila im, že urobí všetko, čo bude v jej silách, aby nesklamala ich nádeje. A práve vtedy jej prišlo na um naučiť mladú gepardicu žiť na slobode tam, kde sa narodila. Pomyslela si, že zmena opatrovníka môže byť vhodnou príležitosťou zmeniť jej zvyky. Odviezla Pippu do rezervácie Meru s jediným cieľom – vrátiť maznáčika divočine. Vtedy ešte netušila, že Pippa ju zavedie do nového, čarovného sveta samotárskych a záhadných gepardov.

Autobiografie, podle které byl natočen mimořádně úspěšný film. V této knize se Adamsonová zmiňuje i o svém dětství v Opavě. Fotografie: autorka a Josef Vágner

Joy Adamsonová popisuje svoji práci s levharticí Penny. Joy dlouhou dobu čekala, kdy by se mohla ujmout opuštěného mláděte levharta. Jednou lovecká skupina našla mládě, které bylo zřejmě opuštěné matkou. Joy si vzala mládě na starost a pojmenovala ho Penny. Penny si brzy na Joy zvykla a bralaji jako náhradní matku. Penny rychle rostla a Joy jí musela urychleně najít nový domov. Stala se jím rezervace Shaba.

Joy Adamsonová patrí k pionierom, no nemá nič spoločné s voľakedajšími americkým pioniermi, čo na vozoch pokrytých plachtovinou a ťahaných štvorzáprahom prichádzali do divočiny klčovať lesy – hoci aj ona strávila väčšiu časť života v nehostinnej divočine. Jej však šlo o to, aby našla nový spôsob, ako pozerať na svet okolo nás a lepšie chápať ostatné tvorstvo.