Two Decades of Dick Francis

[memelaina]

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up two Dick Francis novels on CD at the library. They were sitting there on the shelf next to each other, and as I find Dick Francis especially good for listening to in the car, I checked them out. The first was IN THE FRAME - a novel that actually begins with a murder in England and moves on to action in Australia and New Zealand. Having just gotten back from Australia a couple months ago, I found it especially interesting. The second was 10 POUND PENALTY and it had as a background, in addition to racing, an election in Britain. Listening to it during our own election season left me with a feeling that the Brits are ever so much more civilized about these things. Both books were enjoyable - enough so that I would often sit a few minutes in parking lot or driveway listening to the end of a chapter before turning off the car.

When I went to enter them on my book list, I noticed that IN THE FRAME was written in 1976 - eight years before my first trip to Australia - and that 10 POUND PENALTY was written in 1997. The books were written 20 years apart. And the most recent was already more than a decade old. But the thing that struck me was that neither felt in the least dated. Technology, or the lack thereof, didn't intrude on the story in the least. With both I was immediately swept into the story and into the characters and it could have taken place at any time in the 'modern' world - i.e. there were planes and trains and cars and telephones, an electronic security system and somewhere in the background, some computers. These, however, were as much a part of the setting as frying eggs in the kitchen or opening the 'fridge for a beer. They had absolutely no effect on the stories, and the stories themselves were engrossing.

I've been reading my way through Francis, slowly, since threeringedmoon introduced me to his novels about thirty years ago. In the last five years, I've made a list and actually looked out the ones I've missed. I still have about a dozen of his forty-three novels yet to go, and I'm in no real hurry because, sad to say, there will be no more.

Comments

[arwensouth.livejournal.com]

How funny -- I think I've read two Dick Francis novels, and one of them was In The Frame! It's been a while, though -- I think I must have read it shortly after it came out.

[galtine1.livejournal.com]

Love Dick Francis. I jumped to his books when I was done with the Black Stallion series as a kid.

Biggest challenge I have with a lot of them is that it feels like find/replace happens...name/city/type of car/name of horse/sex of horse all get changed but the basic plots are the same. Kinda like the Harlequin Romance-mill for a while.

But even with that, they are great romps -- the racing info is quite accurate (should be, he was a jockey), and the pacing keeps you in the book.

Autographs from Mr. Francis

[suzanne berry (from livejournal.com)]

Twice I stood in line to have DF autograph a book for me. The first time his wife sat in the background quietly waiting while a store full of her husband's fans had him sign books. He commented that she was crucial to his writing. The second time, I remember him as a frail gentle man who signed his name with gnarled, arthritic hands that were so distorted he could hardly hold a pen. I believe that he stopped writing after his wife died.

I gladly treasure those books.

[threeringedmoon.livejournal.com]

I did?

[gilraen2.livejournal.com]

yes, you did. we were at kent's townhouse down in SW and you said Dick Francis was one of the very few authors you acquired in hardback each year. at that point i only did that for Elizabeth Peters and Marion Zimmer Bradley, but i started reading DF (although not buying him in hardback). you also turned me on to Dorothy Sayers whom I had never read either. see? you had no idea you were such a powerful influence for good in the universe.

[filkferengi]

When asked what she read for fun, MZB admitted to being a huge Dick Francis fan.