(no subject)
Who is Dick Francis? With his numerous awards and best selling mysteries, he is a great and proficient author. If one has not read a Francis mystery, one might assume that he [ can you say eek? wtf was I thinking? This intro needs help like mad]. While this theory is not the case, Francis is a great deal more than just an author. In fact, Francis writes mostly from his own experiences, which make his books incredibly realistic. Dick Francis’s novels all reflect some important aspect of his life.
Francis writes the most about his tremendous experience with horses, particularly steeplechasing Thoroughbreds, or ‘chasers. The fact that Francis writes mostly about horses is a reflection of his life: his father was a ’chase jockey, then managed a training stable, where Francis learned to ride when he was only five years old (cite). This vital part of Francis’s life is mirrored in Bonecrack, where hero Neil Griffon takes over his father’s training stable when his father is injured. Griffon’s willingness to help his father can be seen as a reflection of Francis’s own devotion towards his father. Francis’s father, George Francis, probably had the strongest influence over Francis’s life, as he let Francis drop out of school at the age of fifteen in order to show horses (cite). George must have been a significant person in Francis‘s life, as a strong father figure is often found in Francis’s novels. In 10 lb. Penalty, for example, the main character Benedict Juliard, gives up his hopes and dreams of becoming a jockey in order to serve as a bodyguard to his father as he campaigns for office. The ‘son protecting father’ theme is repeated in Hot Money, where amateur jockey and assistant trainer Ian Pembroke is called by his father to be a bodyguard. The father-son bond is visible both in Francis’s life and books.
In his horse-centered life, Francis went from riding barely broken hunters to becoming a amateur steeplechase jockey. In his mysteries, most of the ’detectives’ are jockeys or ex-jockeys. This makes the characters seem more realistic, as Francis is able to use his own knowledge of the business and jargon to really give the characters dimension. Francis then became a professional jockey, eventually becoming a champion, with seventy-six wins. It has been said that “Francis has used his horse racing background to give him the framework on which to hang his fictional material,” which is in evidence in most of his works (cite). Kit Fielding, a character found in both Break In and Bolt, is a champion jockey who is, again, drawn into helping his family. Fielding is probably such a popular character because of Francis’s ability to bring him to life. Philip Nore is another jockey, found in Reflex, and Roland Britton, in Risk, is an amateur jockey who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This event can be associated to the eight Grand Nationals that Francis himself rode in. Although he never won a Grand National, Francis came close to winning on the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, in 1956 (cite). Although some people have questioned how Francis can keep writing jockey-turned-detective stories, his life as a jockey gives his readers a different way to look at racing. No matter what the main focus of Francis’s mystery is, the reader usually finds it is somehow related to horses.
In fact, a detail that most readers don’t realize about jockeys is the number of injuries they sustain. Francis himself is quoted as saying,
During my racing days, I broke twenty-one bones…
As a jockey, I broke one collarbone five times and the other one six. Now it’s an even dozen. I broke my nose five times. The twenty-one broken bones don’t include ribs. You don’t include broken ribs, and you don‘t say anything to the doctor about them; you just carry on. (cite).
Many of his books involve injuries on the track. For example, one of his most loved characters, Sid Halley- hero of Come to Grief, Whip Hand, and Odds Against- had to have his hand amputated when the horse he was riding fell, and landed on him. Racing can even be deadly, as Gerard Logan found while watching his jockey friend take a fall that turned out to be fatal. Francis was often criticized for being too violent, but “…having experienced innumerable broken bones while racing…”, Francis felt he had to tell the whole story of the life of a jockey (cite).
In Straight, jockey Derek Franklin has been injured before, and find himself with another broken ankle. This brings him to consider retirement, as he knows that the career of a jockey does not last long. Francis’s career as a jockey lasted from 1946-1957, which is only eleven years (cite). Eventually, every jockey has to move on to a new career, and Francis stayed connected to horses by becoming the owner of his own stable, from 1960-1980 (cite). So did ex-jockey Randall Drew, in Trial Run, by becoming the owner of a training stable. Obviously, Francis writes straight from his own experiences. In For Kicks, Daniel Roke is the owner of a stud farm in Australia. Since he owned a stable for about twenty years, Francis has extensive knowledge that he can draw from in order to create his characters.
However, Francis did not buy a stable right after he retired. He first took up writing to pay the bills, starting with his own biography, and ending with many novels and short stories under his name. When he retired from racing in 1957, Francis took a job as a horseracing correspondent for the Sunday Express, a job that continued until 1973. He also contributed many articles to different periodicals such as Horseman’s Year, In Praise of Hunting, Sports Illustrated, and Stud and Stable, all containing knowledge he gained from his time in the racing business. Francis also became a TV horserace commentator after he retired from racing (cite). His time on TV is used particularly in Come to Grief, where Sid Halley’s friend and TV personality Ellis Quint turns out to be the antagonist. Francis’s familiarity with journalism make him an authority on writing about a journalist, which he did in Forfeit, with James Tyrone. Tyrone was actually a sports writer for a Sunday newspaper, probably much like Francis, and again, incorporating the equine aspect of Francis’s life. Not only does Francis’s understanding of journalism and writing help him create his books, it gives him another subject on which to write about.
But before Francis could become a jockey or author, he had to serve his time during World War II. Originally, Francis signed up for the cavalry, but was placed in the Royal Air Force as a flying officer from 1940-1946. He learned aircraft maintenance, and was sent to Rhodesia for flight training (cite). His time spent in Africa was probably the springboard for Edward Lincoln in Smokescreen, an actor who goes to South Africa to film a movie. After the war, Francis started a charter business with three airplanes. Since a good amount of his life was spent involving airplanes, it makes sense that Francis writes about them in a few different novels. In Rat Race, Matt Shore is a pilot for an airline cab that makes trips to different racecourses. This mystery also ties into Francis’s time spent as a jockey, as he had to know his way around the tracks and their backsides. Henry Grey, in Flying Finish, is both an amateur jockey and a pilot for a horse transport airline. The fact that Francis can write about all the aspects of his life and still make it interesting proves just how fascinating a knowledgeable author can make his subjects.
When people read Francis’s works for the first time, they are often stunned by the “biographical similarities” (cite) they find. Many key parts of his life are placed into all of his numerous works, from family and horses to airplanes and journalism. One of the reasons he is so successful at writing is that he has lived through everything that he writes about, which makes his stories both credible and accurate. While Francis’s topics may vary, his novels are all a part of him- both his past and his future.
Help would be appreciated!
Francis writes the most about his tremendous experience with horses, particularly steeplechasing Thoroughbreds, or ‘chasers. The fact that Francis writes mostly about horses is a reflection of his life: his father was a ’chase jockey, then managed a training stable, where Francis learned to ride when he was only five years old (cite). This vital part of Francis’s life is mirrored in Bonecrack, where hero Neil Griffon takes over his father’s training stable when his father is injured. Griffon’s willingness to help his father can be seen as a reflection of Francis’s own devotion towards his father. Francis’s father, George Francis, probably had the strongest influence over Francis’s life, as he let Francis drop out of school at the age of fifteen in order to show horses (cite). George must have been a significant person in Francis‘s life, as a strong father figure is often found in Francis’s novels. In 10 lb. Penalty, for example, the main character Benedict Juliard, gives up his hopes and dreams of becoming a jockey in order to serve as a bodyguard to his father as he campaigns for office. The ‘son protecting father’ theme is repeated in Hot Money, where amateur jockey and assistant trainer Ian Pembroke is called by his father to be a bodyguard. The father-son bond is visible both in Francis’s life and books.
In his horse-centered life, Francis went from riding barely broken hunters to becoming a amateur steeplechase jockey. In his mysteries, most of the ’detectives’ are jockeys or ex-jockeys. This makes the characters seem more realistic, as Francis is able to use his own knowledge of the business and jargon to really give the characters dimension. Francis then became a professional jockey, eventually becoming a champion, with seventy-six wins. It has been said that “Francis has used his horse racing background to give him the framework on which to hang his fictional material,” which is in evidence in most of his works (cite). Kit Fielding, a character found in both Break In and Bolt, is a champion jockey who is, again, drawn into helping his family. Fielding is probably such a popular character because of Francis’s ability to bring him to life. Philip Nore is another jockey, found in Reflex, and Roland Britton, in Risk, is an amateur jockey who won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. This event can be associated to the eight Grand Nationals that Francis himself rode in. Although he never won a Grand National, Francis came close to winning on the Queen Mother’s horse, Devon Loch, in 1956 (cite). Although some people have questioned how Francis can keep writing jockey-turned-detective stories, his life as a jockey gives his readers a different way to look at racing. No matter what the main focus of Francis’s mystery is, the reader usually finds it is somehow related to horses.
In fact, a detail that most readers don’t realize about jockeys is the number of injuries they sustain. Francis himself is quoted as saying,
During my racing days, I broke twenty-one bones…
As a jockey, I broke one collarbone five times and the other one six. Now it’s an even dozen. I broke my nose five times. The twenty-one broken bones don’t include ribs. You don’t include broken ribs, and you don‘t say anything to the doctor about them; you just carry on. (cite).
Many of his books involve injuries on the track. For example, one of his most loved characters, Sid Halley- hero of Come to Grief, Whip Hand, and Odds Against- had to have his hand amputated when the horse he was riding fell, and landed on him. Racing can even be deadly, as Gerard Logan found while watching his jockey friend take a fall that turned out to be fatal. Francis was often criticized for being too violent, but “…having experienced innumerable broken bones while racing…”, Francis felt he had to tell the whole story of the life of a jockey (cite).
In Straight, jockey Derek Franklin has been injured before, and find himself with another broken ankle. This brings him to consider retirement, as he knows that the career of a jockey does not last long. Francis’s career as a jockey lasted from 1946-1957, which is only eleven years (cite). Eventually, every jockey has to move on to a new career, and Francis stayed connected to horses by becoming the owner of his own stable, from 1960-1980 (cite). So did ex-jockey Randall Drew, in Trial Run, by becoming the owner of a training stable. Obviously, Francis writes straight from his own experiences. In For Kicks, Daniel Roke is the owner of a stud farm in Australia. Since he owned a stable for about twenty years, Francis has extensive knowledge that he can draw from in order to create his characters.
However, Francis did not buy a stable right after he retired. He first took up writing to pay the bills, starting with his own biography, and ending with many novels and short stories under his name. When he retired from racing in 1957, Francis took a job as a horseracing correspondent for the Sunday Express, a job that continued until 1973. He also contributed many articles to different periodicals such as Horseman’s Year, In Praise of Hunting, Sports Illustrated, and Stud and Stable, all containing knowledge he gained from his time in the racing business. Francis also became a TV horserace commentator after he retired from racing (cite). His time on TV is used particularly in Come to Grief, where Sid Halley’s friend and TV personality Ellis Quint turns out to be the antagonist. Francis’s familiarity with journalism make him an authority on writing about a journalist, which he did in Forfeit, with James Tyrone. Tyrone was actually a sports writer for a Sunday newspaper, probably much like Francis, and again, incorporating the equine aspect of Francis’s life. Not only does Francis’s understanding of journalism and writing help him create his books, it gives him another subject on which to write about.
But before Francis could become a jockey or author, he had to serve his time during World War II. Originally, Francis signed up for the cavalry, but was placed in the Royal Air Force as a flying officer from 1940-1946. He learned aircraft maintenance, and was sent to Rhodesia for flight training (cite). His time spent in Africa was probably the springboard for Edward Lincoln in Smokescreen, an actor who goes to South Africa to film a movie. After the war, Francis started a charter business with three airplanes. Since a good amount of his life was spent involving airplanes, it makes sense that Francis writes about them in a few different novels. In Rat Race, Matt Shore is a pilot for an airline cab that makes trips to different racecourses. This mystery also ties into Francis’s time spent as a jockey, as he had to know his way around the tracks and their backsides. Henry Grey, in Flying Finish, is both an amateur jockey and a pilot for a horse transport airline. The fact that Francis can write about all the aspects of his life and still make it interesting proves just how fascinating a knowledgeable author can make his subjects.
When people read Francis’s works for the first time, they are often stunned by the “biographical similarities” (cite) they find. Many key parts of his life are placed into all of his numerous works, from family and horses to airplanes and journalism. One of the reasons he is so successful at writing is that he has lived through everything that he writes about, which makes his stories both credible and accurate. While Francis’s topics may vary, his novels are all a part of him- both his past and his future.
Help would be appreciated!