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Dick Francis  (Richard Stanley Francis)

NEW in Crime and Suspense:
P. D. James with a new Dalgliesh crime novel: The Lighthouse
John le Carré The Mission Song
Ruth Rendell: End in Tears
Ian Rankin: The Naming Of The Dead
Robert Goddard: Never Go Back
John Grisham: The Innocent Man

Originally a very successful steeplechase jockey (born 1920), National Hunt Champion and riding horses for the Queen Mother, Francis turned to writing crime novels when his riding career ended. He has become as successful a writer as he was as a rider.

His crime novels always has horses or riding as a theme, most of them are set in racing circles. Generally, his heroes either starts as a horseman, or ends as one.

The main character often is a loner, with a complicated family history. If not a pro in the horse world, he is a pro in some other, often very arcane, profession - glass blower, travel book writer etc.

He wrote his autobiography, The Sport of Queens in 1957. Two books has been written about Francis, Melvin Barnes' Dick Francis and J. Madison Davis' Dick Francis (Twayne's English Authors Series, No 464). In addition to his crime stories, Francis has written A Jockey's Life, a biography of Lester Piggott, a jockey as famous as Francis himself.

List of books:

The Sport of Queens 1957 Autobiography
Dead Cert 1962  
Nerve 1964  
For Kicks 1965  
Odds Against 1965 First Sid Halley novel
Flying Finish 1966  
Blood Sport 1967  
Forfeit 1969  
Enquiry 1970  
Rat Race 1970  
Bonecrack 1971  
Smokescreen 1972  
Slay Ride 1973  
Knock Down 1974 Hardcover edition!
High Stakes 1975  
In the Frame 1976  
Risk 1977  
Trial Run 1978  
Whip Hand 1979 Second Sid Halley novel
Reflex 1980  
Twice Shy 1981  
Banker 1982  
The Danger 1983  
Proof 1984  
Break In 1985 First Kit Fielding novel
Bolt 1986 Second Kit Fielding novel
A Jockey's Life 1986 Biography of Lester Piggott
Hot Money 1987  
The Edge 1988  
Straight 1989  
Longshot 1990  
Comeback 1991  
Driving Force 1992  
Decider 1993  
Wild Horses 1994  
Come to Grief 1995 Third Sid Halley novel
Racing Classics 1995 Penguin booklet (64 pages) of short stories
To the Hilt 1996  
10-lb Penalty 1997  
Field of Thirteen 1998 Collection of short stories
Second Wind 1999  
Shattered 2000  

Many of his books are also available as audiobooks. In addition, a number of books has been published as omnibuses, containing two or three novels. These are value for money.

[30.04.03]A must for the reader of modern crime novels, The Mammoth Encyclopedia of Modern Crime Fiction gives a encyclopedic view of post-war crime fiction. For non-English readers it is a drawback that very little non-English material is included, but it is a great fountain of facts about English language authors. Its scope is strictly crime, leaving thrillers out - it still fills 780 pages, so you'll have more than enough to read.
More Mammoth Encyclopedias or Mammoth Books of a surprisingly wide range of subjects - Erotic photography, Shaggy Dog stories, Murder and Science and so on....

This page was last updated on 05.02.2005.

 

 

 

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