The Girl With No Name: The incredible true story of a child raised by monkeys

Description

'It all happened so quickly. One minute I was squatting on the bare earth, preoccupied with popping pea pods. The next, I saw the flash of a black hand and white cloth, and before I even had a chance to cry out it had sailed towards my face, and completely covered it...' In 1954, in a remote South American village, a four-year-old girl was abducted and later abandoned deep in the Colombian rainforest. So begins the incredible true story of Marina Chapman, who went on to spend several years alone in the jungle, her only family a troop of capuchin monkeys. Using instinct to guide her, she copied everything they did and gradually learned to fend for herself. At around ten years old, a completely feral Marina was returned to civilisation by hunters, who sold her as a slave to a brothel. Mistreated and groomed to be a prostitute, she escaped - to live the perilous existence of a Colombian city street kid. Marina's life as a wild child wasn't over. In some ways, it had only just begun. This is her astonishing story.

Marina Chapman was born in Colombia, South America, around 1950. Her real date and exact location of birth are unknown. She has lived in Bradford since she was 27. Now a retired chef, she continues to work for an inner city children's nursery, and regularly volunteers for numerous local charities. Her greatest joy in life is being a grandmother to three, a mother to two, and a wife of thirty-five years. Vanessa James is Marina's younger daughter. She began writing her mothers story in 2006 as a way of documenting her incredible life. After two years, and one research trip, the original version of the book was complete. Vanessa now lives and works in London as a Film & TV composer, and musician in the band Starling.