Advent Book 2 – A life among the lions

Today’s book in my Advent calendar is Lions on the Lawn by Mary Chipperfield and is a memoir of the life and her family running the lion reserve at Longleat House and particularly of her friendship with one lion which she raises from a cub. This book first appeared in paperback in 1972 and the book I have was published at that time. It’s obviously over fifty years old but in good condition for its age and still has the inserted black and white photographs.

Anyone of my age will remember the Chipperfield family who used to run a circus which travelled around the country and also appeared on the TV occasionally, particularly at Christmas. I wasn’t aware that they were responsible for the lions at Longleat although I have visited the enclosure and the stately home.

I am not a huge fan of animal stories although I have read books by Gerald Durrell and James Herriot which I think would be in the same vein and possibly written at the same time as this memoir. I don’t see so many books like those these days but now we seem to have a lot of books about owls, hawks and dogs, some of which I have read.

I think it will be interesting to learn about the lions at Longleat, how they came there and how they were cared for although I will have to remember that this book was written some time ago and things, including attitudes to wild animals, will have changed since then.

Book 2 is one which I don’t think I would have purchased to read but which I will definitely give a go.