Author Charles Ryan will be signing copies of his book Lion On A Leash on Saturday, April 19, from 3 to 5 PM as part of Alderson Main Street’s second annual Lion Days! This book is based on the incredible true story of a lion cub born in captivity and the circus cavalcade that captivated a nation.

In this remarkable novel based on a true story, journey back to just before the turn of the nineteenth century, when the circus held the heart of a nation, and a young lion became headline news for an entire generation.

When a male African lion is born to French & Company’s Great Railroad Show in Alderson, West Virginia, the company fears lost profits as the cub’s mother, the star of their production, turns to nurturing her offspring. The circus orders the cub drowned.

Susan Bebout, wife of the town’s blacksmith, comes to the rescue, taking in the cub and raising it in domesticity, where it is beloved by many in the community-but loathed by others as a dangerous predator. As newspapers around the nation tell the story of the rescued lion, circuses compete to own him-and so does the Smithsonian National Park Zoo.

Emerging from the fray is the Barnum & Bailey Circus, eventually becoming home to the cub and billing him as ferocious, shocking Susan, who raised him to be a gentle creature. The lion, named “French” after the circus where he was born, became a national sensation-and this is his story.

Lion On A Leash journeys across thousands of miles, exposing the beautiful and the sinister in the nineteenth century circus cavalcade. For fans of animal stories, the early era of show business, and historical fiction, French’s story will surprise, delight, and remind readers that every living thing deserves a chance to thrive.

For more information about Lion Days, contact Cheryl Mansley at cherylmansley@gmail.com or 304-702-0554, or visit ArtBeat of the Mountains or Alderson Main Street on Facebook.