VJ Books Presents Author Dick Francis
Dick Francis (31 October 1920 - 14 February 2010) 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. On his retirement from the sport 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. He was rightly acclaimed as one of the greatest thriller writers in the world.
All his novels deal with crime in the horse-racing world, some of the criminals being outwardly respectable figures. The stories are narrated by one of the key players, often a jockey, but sometimes a trainer, an owner, a bookie, or someone in a different profession, peripherally linked to racing. This person is always facing great obstacles, often including physical injury, from which he must fight back with determination.
Dick Francis was the winner of the prestigious Crime Writers' Association's Cartier Diamond Dagger and the only three-time recipient of the Mystery Writer of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for Forfeit in 1970, Whip Hand in 1981, and Come to Grief in 1996, the same year he was make a Grand Master for a lifetime's achievement. He was awarded a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list in 2000.
His last four novels - Dead Heat, Silks, Even Money and Crossfire - were written in collaboration with his younger son, Felix, a former teacher who, over the past 40 years, helped research many of the Dick Francis novels. Crossfire, published in September 2010, was the book that he and Felix were working on before his death in February 2010.
Since his death, Felix has taken over the literary reigns from his father and Dick's legacy will live on through the Dick Francis novels.
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Dick Francis Bibliography
Fiction
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Dead Hert 1962
- Nerve 1964
- For Kicks 1965
- Odds Against 1965
- Flying Finish 1966
- Blood Sport 1967
- Forfeit 1968
- Enquiry 1969
- Rat Race 1970
- Bonecrack 1971
- Smokescreen 1972
- Slay Ride 1973
- Knockdown 1974
- High Stakes 1975
- In the Frame 1976
- Risk 1977
- Trial Run 1978
- Whip Hand 1979
- Reflex 1980
- Twice Shy 1981
- Banker 1982
- The Danger 1983
- Proof 1984
- Break In 1985
- Bolt 1986
- A Jockey's Life 1986
- Hot Money 1987
- The Edge 1988
- Straight 1989
- Longshot 1990
- Comeback 1991
- Driving Force 1992
- Decider 1993
- Wild Horses 1994
- Come to Grief 1995
- To the Hilt 1996
- 10 LB. Penalty 1997
- Field of 13 1998
- Second Wind 1999
- Shattered 2000
- Under Orders 2006
- Dead Heat 2007 (with Felix Francis)
- Silks 2008 (with Felix Francis)
- Even Money 2009 (with Felix Francis)
- Crossfire 2010 (with Felix Francis)
Felix Francis (as Dick Francis) Novels
- Dick Francis's Gamble - 2011
- Dick Francis's Bloodline - 2012
- Dick Francis's Refusal - 2013
- Dick Francis's Damage - 2014
- Front Runner - 2015
- Triple Crown - 2016
- Pulse - October 2017
Non-Fiction
- The Sport of Queens - 1957 (Dick Francis Autobiography)
Dick Francis Awards and Honors
- 1970 - Forfeit - Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel
- 1970 - Britain's Crime Writers Association Gold Dagger Award for Fiction
- 1981 - Whip Hand - Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel
- 1989 - Cartier Diamond Dagger Lifetime Achievement Award
- 1996 - Come to Grief- Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel
- 1996 - Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award
- 1999 - Elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature
- 2000 - Malice Domestic Award for Lifetime Achievement
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