Sunday, February 14, 2010

Dick Francis has died

I loved his books.
I read most of them many times.

It was widely believed Mr. Francis' wife, Mary, did the actual writing, and after her death in 2000, the subsequent books made me think that was true.

But I loved the books. I don't care which Francis wrote them, I loved them.

Thank you Dick and Mary Francis for hundreds if not thousands of hours of good reading.



The news came in The Telegraph today.

12 comments:

Deep River said...

My sister's favorite author after Walter Farley. Unfortunate.

Anne Gallagher said...

I met Mr. Francis once when I was working for Dr. Alan Simpson and his wife Mary. Mr. Francis was a very charming, shy, bookish sort of man who dressed that day in a rather tatty herringbone blazer and very funny shoes. He stayed only a few hours; for lunch they had tomato soup with cucumber sandwiches. It was a very pleasant afternoon and Dr. Simpson remarked how very pleased he was to have his old friend come to him at Yellow Gate Farm.

Cat Moleski said...

I too, loved his work; his characters and his settings. So much fun to read. Such a big part of my youth.

Pepper Smith said...

I will miss knowing there's a new Dick Francis book coming every year. He had a big influence on my own writing choices.

MAGolla said...

Rest In Peace, Dick Francis.
I truly appreciated his books as they had a realism that other authors were unable to convey and written in a way that only a true horseman could have done.

Anonymous said...

Aww, sad for us, but I'm sure he had a great life, living with all those great stories.

I loved reading the Dick Francis books on my dad's shelves when I was a kid.

RIP

ryan field said...

I used to reserve his books in college at the library.

RIP

Abby said...

I always looked forward to my annual Dick Francis fix, and suspect that even the horses are a little somber in their stalls tonight.

Victoria Kerrigan said...

Longshot was my favourite of his, but really there were so many... the one of the film director, was it Wild Horses? I loved that story.

He always wrote in first person, and it always seemed to me to be the same character with slightly different minor details... not that I ever minded. I thought he was a master of the quick (and apt) character description.

I wouldn't have thought Mary did ALL the work; many elements of his writing seemed undeniably male to me.

I understand his son, Felix will be writing the racing thrillers now.

Rebecca Knight said...

He (and Mrs. Francis) were one of my mom's favorites :). I think she owns all of his books. He will be missed!

Sandra Cormier said...

I read the latest, Silks, co-written by Felix. I noticed a slight difference in voice and I'm sure Mr. Francis had some help with the writing in his later years. Still, his vast experience and storytelling skills shone throughout his life and I'm grateful for every single book.

He never wasted a single word.

Pepper Smith said...

His latest was actually Even Money. It feels so much more like his earlier work.

Looking forward to Crossfire, but also regretting it will be the last.