Joy Adamson to a number of publishers before it was bought by Harvill Press, part of HarperCollins. Published in 1960, it became a bestseller, spending 13 weeks at the top of "The New York Times" Best Seller list and nearly a year on the chart overall. The success of the book was due to both the story of Elsa and the dozens of photographs of her. Readers had pictures of many of the events of Elsa's life leading up to her release. Subsequent books were also heavily illustrated. "Born Free" received largely favorable reviews from critics. Adamson worked closely with publishers to
Edward Adamson was formally bestowed upon him. He died at his London home, the Studio, Hollywood Road in West Brompton, on 3 February 1996, aged 84. His ashes were interred at the Ashton Chapel (c 1706) on the Ashton Wold estate. Adamson saw people psychologically recovering - 'healing', in his terms - by means of expressing themselves through art. The act of creating was what mattered to Adamson, who felt the artist or therapist should avoid influencing, distorting, or impinging upon self-expression. Adamson encouraged 'free expression' by letting people come to paint or sculpt without comment or judgement, and with only minimal