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| The NY Times reported that Dick Francis has died at the age of 89. When I was in my 20s and 30s I read almost all of his books. I always enjoyed his main characters for their competence and humility. I haven't read a Francis book in many years, but I'm grateful for those that I did read and enjoy. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Obit
Follow-Up Postings:
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| He will be missed. I enjoyed his work greatly. He did have quite a good run, didn't he? |
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- Posted by carolyn_ky (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 18:13
| I'm so sorry to hear this. I have read all his mysteries and admired his nice-guy male characters while wondering that they seldom had close family members. The very last one of the three written with his son was my least favorite; most favorites were the Sid Halley ones. |
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- Posted by sarah_canary (My Page) on Sun, Feb 14, 10 at 18:23
| I agree about Sid Halley, but I also liked Kit Fielding. I hadn't really thought about family connection. Hmmm. |
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| Oh I had not heard this. yes, I used to read his books all the time. I always enjoyed them. |
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| My husband and I have read every one of his mysteries, and when she was still living, my MIL did as well. I'm sorry we've lost him. He seemed to have lived a good life. Not only was he accomplished in two distinct careers but he was also well liked as a person, if what I have read is to be believed. We just lost Robert Parker two or three weeks ago. Both authors' novels were automatic purchases in this household. Rosefolly |
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| There was always a large collection of Dick Francis' books in my parents house and I must have read quite a few of them. Always real page-turners and good, fast moving thrillers. DF himself would have preferred to have been remembered as the jockey who won the Grand National, which he almost did until the Queen Mother's horse collapsed under him just short of the winning post, than a successful writer of all those books. |
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| I have a nearly complete collection of Francis books. I liked all of them up to Second Wind, which was after his wife Mary died and before he began writing with his son Felix. I thought his final books were much better and more like his early work. I liked his heroes too, especially Kit and Sid, and the one who made the mechanical toys (I forget his name). Vee, the pictures of his horse collapsing in the Grand National were astounding. |
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- Posted by bumblebeez (My Page) on Mon, Feb 15, 10 at 11:21
| I have always liked his mysteries a great deal too. I have listened to everything he has on audiobooks. I admit I thought he had already died! |
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| I understand that his books were written in close collaboration with his wife Mary, who died in 2000. So it would be no surprise that the writing changed quite a bit after that. I believe he "retired" for awhile, then started writing with his son. Although it is a mistake to make judgments from reading magazine articles, he seems like a good and decent person. I don't know if he every wrote memoirs, but that would be worth reading - maybe his son will publish something. |
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| He did write a memoir some time ago. It was called The Sport of Queens. R |
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| Yes; at 89 not unexpected, but still a shame. I have a complete set of paperbacks up to when his wife died - I ought to get the rest if only for completeness! He did seem to be a genuinely nice guy too. His autobiography Sport of Queens is also a good yarn, though as it was actually the first thing he published, it clearly only covers his racing career. Did he write the books, or did his wife? Well, I suspect it was a joint effort, and his name was on them for marketing purposes. Speaking personally, I don't really care two hoots who actually wrote them - I'm just grateful for many hours of happy reading. I liked Sid Halley too - perhaps it's a shame he didn't have more repeating characters. But still - he churned out a book a year for a long long time, and gave a lot of people a lot of pleasure. (And made a lot of money...!) So who am I to criticize? |
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| This past Tuesday's Wall Street Journal had a nice article about his life. |
Here is a link that might be useful: As Jockey or Author, a Success
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