Prolific Mystery Writer

October 31, 2023

A Tuesday Newsday Classic Updated

Witches, goblins and small children in costumes begging for candy. Ah, it must be Halloween. It’s a ‘hard-to-miss’ day and all of us, no doubt, know of its history.

So, instead of a rehash, today’s topic involves one of my favorite authors. Born October 31, 1920, he wrote more than 40 novels in his lifetime. He did not begin his novel writing career until he was 40 years old. All of his books centered on the world of horseracing. That author: Dick Francis.

From the Infallible Wikipedia:

“In 1962, he published his first thriller, Dead Cert, set in the world of racing. Subsequently he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which he published a short-story collection). Although all his books were set against a background of horse racing, his male heroes held a variety of jobs including artist (In the Frame and To the Hilt), investigator for the Jockey Club (The Edge), pilot (Rat Race and Flying Finish), wine merchant (Proof) and many others. All the novels are narrated by the hero, who in the course of the story discovers himself to be more resourceful, brave, tricky, than he had thought, and usually finds a certain salvation for himself as well as bestowing it on others.”

My favorite book of his is titled “Straight” and tells the story of a man, Derek Franklin, who inherits his brother’s (Greville Franklin) life when the latter dies in a freak accident. Near the end of the book Derek muses about one of his antagonists, Thomas Rollway:

Dick Francis was one of my mother’s favorite authors also. So beloved, in fact, that she collected his books whenever she found used copies for sale from the library. I inherited the collection after both she and my father were gone. She died one month after this article was originally posted in 2017.

In 1995 I learned that Dick Francis was having a book signing at Tower Records and Books on Queen Anne Avenue in Seattle. So I took my two year old daughter and drove in to the city to purchase and get signed a copy of his most recent book to give to my mother for Christmas. There was a line when we arrived. I learned a couple things about Dick Francis that day. First, that he didn’t much like chit-chatting with his fans; and, second, that book signings required a glass of Merlot for him to get through the event. The store manager brought him one glassful while I was there.

Eventually my daughter and I make it to the front of the line and I hand him the book with the request that he sign it for my mother. He asks me why I wasn’t getting a second book for myself. Well! That would have required going and buying the second book then getting back in line once again while trying to keep a two year old entertained. I only bought the one book.

On the title page of Wild Horses he wrote “Hi Janet” and then signed his name.

And my mother’s collection? It’s an impressive mix of paperback and hardback books with publication dates from 1962 to 1999.

If you have not read any of his books they are, I think, a good example of how to mix narrative, dialogue and action. His research, the character development, and the details are always outstanding. So get one of Francis’ books the next time you want to curl up with a good one for the weekend! Well worth the time.

A couple of interesting links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Francis

His son, Felix, who co-wrote with Dick for ten years, carries on with writing novels in the same style. I’ve read a couple of his solo novels and I think he’s done a good job honoring his father’s legacy!  http://www.felixfrancis.com/index.php

https://www.salon.com/2022/11/19/dick-francis-felix-mary-mystery-novels/