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A Jockey's Life: The Biography of Lester Piggott

dick francis

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Chronicles the life and times of a sports legend, whose racing career spanned almost four decades of valor and victory, controversy, pain, disgrace, and vindication

Genres nonfictionbiographysportshorseshorse racing

468 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 24,1986

This edition

Format: 468 pages, Mass Market Paperback
Published: July 12, 1987 by Fawcett
ISBN: 9780449213308
ASIN: 0449213307
Language: English

About the author

dick francis

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Dick Francis, CBE, FRSL (born Richard Stanley Francis) was a popular British horse racing crime writer and retired jockey.

Dick Francis worked on his books with his wife, Mary, before her death. Dick considered his wife to be his co-writer - as he is quoted in the book, "The Dick Francis Companion", released in 2003:
"Mary and I worked as a team. ... I have often said that I would have been happy to have both our names on the cover. Mary's family always called me Richard due to having another Dick in the family. I am Richard, Mary was Mary, and Dick Francis was the two of us together."

Praise for Dick Francis: 'As a jockey, Dick Francis was unbeatable when he got into his stride. The same is true of his crime writing' Daily Mirror '

Dick Francis's fiction has a secret ingredient - his inimitable knack of grabbing the reader's attention on page one and holding it tight until the very end' Sunday Telegraph '

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 Allan 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 eighty-nine, but he remains one of the greatest thriller writers of all time.

Series:
* Sid Halley Mystery
* Kit Fielding Mystery

Community Reviews

Rating(4.3 / 5.0, 4 votes)

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4 reviews All reviews

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

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Very well written biography by Dick Francis who obviously knew Lester Piggot very well.
I learnt quite a few things about Lester that I didnt know. Some good detailed passages on the horses Lester rode and knew.
If youve an interest in the man or the sport then this is a recommended read

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

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Horse racing has been called the sport of kings and it took tough, wiry men to compete as jockies. Lester Piggott was one of these men and this is the story of his career.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

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I'm a Dick Francis junkie. I believe I read all of his mysteries in order. Still remember being at loose ends for a bit after I finished the last one. Stumbled on this years later and quite enjoyed it. My daughter is a horsewoman (although she deplores thoroughbred racing) so I try to do some reading in this category. Would definitely recommend for the Dick Francis fan, or anyone who wants to know a little more about racing.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

April 26,2025

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Yes, I enjoyed Francis' writing so much that I read his biography of a jokey I'd never heard of. And I liked it.

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