Four Years in Paradise

Osa Johnson (1894-1953) was, with her husband Martin, a pioneer in the field of wildlife filmmaking. From the time they eloped in 1910 until Martin’s death in a plane crash in 1937, the Johnsons made numerous trips to the South Seas and five major expeditions to Africa. Together they produced more than fifty films, ranging from single-reel silents to feature-length sound films. The sequel to her bestselling I Married Adventure, Four Years in Paradise (first published in 1941) tells the story of the Martins’ protracted stay at Lake Paradise in Kenya, where Osa hunted with a gun while Martin stalked with his camera, perfecting the techniques that would set the standard for all subsequent life-action wildlife photography. Osa’s is a bracing story of adventure, love, and creative partnership.