Did you see Dick Francis died? I feel personally bereft. I don’t follow horse racing. let alone steeple-chasing. (In fact, I’m scared of horses, beautiful creatures though they are. They’re so damned big.) But Francis was an uber-champion jockey. He rode for the Queen. He was also a real gentleman and an extraordinarily gifted and interesting person. He didn’t have much of an education, but when he gave up riding and turned to writing, he was amazin
g. He wrote a book a year for years on end, all of them terrific reads.
If you want to learn what tension and narrative power is all about, read Dick Francis. I used to swallow his books whole, in one big gulp, they were that good. I bet he was a dream to edit. His heroes are usually quiet, competent men, assured in their masculinity - rather like their creator, I imagine. Not chest-beating alphas, but real men! There’s generally a romance, though it’s low-key and understated.
One of the things I loved was how hard he worked and how much attention he paid to detail. His research was always meticulous. Not all of his heroes are horse or racing people. I remember one about a toy inventor, another about an actor. But whatever it was, he knew everything there was to know about it. And he made the research an integral part of the story without beating you over the head with it.
Haven’t read them? I envy you. If you’re looking for a place to start, you couldn’t do better than the Sid Halley books. (The three covers pictured here.) Sid is brave without bravado and he makes brains sexy. Your local library will have them for sure.
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My mom was sad to hear of his death. She’d only read one of his books, but she said he was an excellent writer. First thing out of her mouth when I asked her if she’d heard of him was, “Yeah, I know who he is. He wrote all those books about horse racing.” LOL!
Leslie Wainger said at one of RWA’s conferences that she mourned the fact that Dick Francis was getting older… which might mean that eventually his books might stop coming. He was an excellent story teller indeed, and the world will mourn his passing - and his stories.
I agree, Denise - Dick Francis was a brilliant story teller and his books are wonderful reads. I have an extraq reason to be fond of his work - he helped to turn my husband into an avid reader - something dh rarely did when I first met him.
Very sad to know that that fabulous talent is no longer around.
Sorry to say I’ve never heard of him but I’m off to amazon.com to find a Kindle download.
Well sorry
but I’ve heard of the man but never read a book.
Not a big horsy person but will have a look at the ones you sugested Denise.
Always sad to hear when someone who gave so much in the enjoyment and pleasure to others (in whatever their craft) passes to the great Artistic Creators Convention in the sky.
Hail Dick Francis…
Sorry, I forgot,
Your new book came this week and I’ll be enjoying the cooler weather to stick my nose in it.
:))Mary
Hi Denise
I hate being a stereotype, but I, too, went through all the protests about not being into horse racing etc - until I read my first one - and then I was hooked. I read every one of them. Being a book collector as well, I didn’t just borrow them for the library. Nope. Had to own them - and still do.
A good man gone.
That’s right, Dani, he was totally identified with horse-racing. It was like his brand, though he was much more than just that,
Ah, Malvina, I couldn’t think of a better epitaph than to have someone like Leslie Wainger say I was a great storyteller… Oh, wow…
Sharon, that’s a wonderful accolade, isn’t it? That Dick Francis turned your husband on to reading. I’m still working on my daughter in law. Still find it hard to imagine someone not taking the opportunity for such fabulous experiences. *shakes head*
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