November 7: Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure by Kelly Enright

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Osa and Martin: For the Love of Adventure, by Kelly Enright, tells the story of the small-town boy who lures the young small-town girl into a life of romance, adventure and showbiz. In 1906, Martin Johnson returns to his hometown of Lincoln, KS, to give a slide and variety show focusing on his adventures in the South Seas. At first, the 16-year-old Osa is put off by Martin’s arrogance, but within one month, the couple marries in Kansas City, and off they go—all over the world and back again.

Enright was drawn into this amazing love story by Osa’s 1939 autobiography, I Married Adventure, standing out on the shelf in a zebra-print binding. The book recalled their honeymoon in the South Seas, adventures in Africa, and fundraising tours of the vaudeville circuit in America. Osa was the first woman to get an African hunting license, and her autobiography became a New York Times bestseller. It was also optioned for the movies, and she was the star. But, sadly, she was not much of an actor. Their legacy is evident in the Museum of Natural History in New York City and the founding of the National Wildlife Federation, and film and photographic archives, which include some 20 movies and ‘70s series shows.

Enright’s portrait of a couple who could make a home anywhere in the world will inspire Kansans to make a field trip of their own to Osa’s hometown in Chanute and the museum that bears their name.



The Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum; Chanute, KS
I Married Adventure by Osa Johnson