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Dick Francis |
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DICK FRANCIS was one of the most successful post-war National Hunt jockeys. The winner of over 350 races, he was champion jockey in 1953/1954 and rode for HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, most famously on Devon Loch in the 1956 Grand National. On his retirement from the saddle, he published his autobiography, The Sport of Queens, before going on to write forty-three bestselling novels, a volume of short stories (Field of 13), and the biography of Lester Piggott.
During his lifetime Dick Francis received many awards, amongst them the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association’s Cartier Diamond Dagger for his outstanding contribution to the genre, and three ‘best-novel’ Edgar Allen Poe awards from The Mystery Writers of America. In 1996 he was named by them as Grand Master for a lifetime’s achievement. In 1998, he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and was awarded a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List of 2000.
Dick Francis died in February, 2010, at the age of 89, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.
“One of the most reliable mystery writers working today...Francis’s secret weapons are his protagonists. They are the kind of people you want for friends.”
Detroit News and Free Press
“[Francis] has the uncanny ability to turn out simply plotted yet charmingly addictive mysteries.”
The Wall Street Journal
“A rare and magical talent…who never writes the same story twice... Few writers have maintained such a high standard of excellence for as long as Dick Francis.”
San Diego Union-Tribune
“Francis puts real people into real situations... He appeals to our brains as well as our emotions.”
Virginia Pilot and Ledger-Star
“After writing dozens of thrillers, Dick Francis always retains a first-novel freshness.”
Indianapolis Star
“He writes about the basic building blocks of life - obligation, honor, love, courage, and pleasure. Those discussions come disguised in adventure novels so gripping that they cry out to be read in one gulp - then quickly reread to savor the details skipped in the first gallop through the pages.” Houston Chronicle
“Dick Francis stands head and shoulders above the rest.”
Ottawa Citizen
