The Sport of Queens

by Dick Francis

The biography of thriller-writer Dick Francis. Francis is known for setting his novels against the background of horseracing. This revised edition tells how he became one of Britain's leading National Hunt jockeys and a champion steeplechaser, riding as jockey to the Queen Mother.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Autobiography, Mystery, Horses, Memoir, Sports

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1957

About the author

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

Reviews

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

Though Dick Francis is one of my favourite writers,I was left a bit disappointed by his autobiography.

Dick Francis was a former jockey who went on to become a champion thriller writer.In between,he was a journalist and before that,he was a combat pilot during World War II.

In 1956,Dick Francis was riding highy fancied Devon Loch at the Grand National.The horse belonged to the Queen Mother,and was leading before falling inexplicably,shortly before the end.There is a youtube video showing the actual footage.

That moment of heartbreak remained with Francis,and similar incidents are often used in his racing thrillers.

Francis talks about his writing career,though it is not a particularly enlightening account of how he wrote his thrillers.As he puts it,"the process of writing fiction is a mystery."

There is also an account of his days as a pilot during World War II,which is fairly interesting.

Most of the book,however,is about his days as a jockey and a rather mechanical description of the races he rode.It lacks excitement and is a rather half-hearted effort.

I expected more from this book,it didn't quite meet my expectations.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading all or nearly all of Dick Francis' novels, imagine my excitement at coming across this 1957 gem at a used book store. For people unfamiliar with Francis' work, this author of more than 30 novels had a first, very successful, career as a jump jockey in England. This book, which launched his career as a writer, tells of how he very nearly won the Grand National. Readers of his novels will marvel at how much of himself he puts into his characters.

[Celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dick Francis... those who know him and love him are aware that he likes to write crime novels with horse racing as a theme.

Did you know he was a steeplechase jockey too?

Dick was born in the United Kingdom in 1920 and from the beginning Horses were in his blood.

This book, The Sport of Queens, is about his life journey as a jockey.

I have a good friend who is a big Dick Francis fan, so I promised to read at least one of his suspense novels just to see if I might like him too.

My Dick Francis reading plan took off when I found that he wrote his autobiography.

Great place to start, I thought, and I was right.

Some of the book is full of racing information. Unfortunately, somewhat dull. But there was so much more that made me smile.. like his learning to ride at the age of 5 on a donkey and his experiences coming to America to run in the International Steeplechase. The chapter 'America' describes this last experience and it was entertaining to read an Englishman's view of horse racing in America.. oh so different than he has in England.

So now I have met Dick Francis. My next step is to read one of his many racing crime novels.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is amazing to think that someone so brillant, who writes such amazing stories, could have produced this book. It was basically a list of all the horses he rode and all the racecourses. And how different weather conditions affected each different track and each horse. I was disappointed because one just knows that he's had an exciting life, but it just doesn't come across in this book.

[Adam Kynaston · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super dry but a favorite of my moms :) very sentimental for me.

The middle chapters are skippable - the courses and horses etc, too many boring details. The story shines in his early and later life.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

Sport of Queens is an autobiography by Dick Francis. It makes for an interesting read.
->2023 Reading Challenge.
->Glennie's Collection
Dick Francis novels were a familiar fixture in our household when I was growing up, as both my parents loved his books. He was amongst the first ‘adult’ reads that I explored at the time, and over the years I have read everything he’s written. I remember every time my mother read one of his books, she'd tell me about him and how he'd gone from being an RAF pilot to being the Queen Mother's favourite jockey, before retiring to become a journalist/writer.
Since my mother passed away over a year ago, I have been making my way through her book collection, finally. I decided to make reading her entire collection a part of my reading challenge for the next couple of years (she has a HUGE collection), as well as a way to pay tribute to my mum, who was such a voracious reader..... Reading her collection of books has stirred up a lot of memories, mostly of our shared love of reading. I am forever grateful that she passed on her love of reading to me. 🥰🙏💗📚📖
This one's for you Glennie 🥰🙏💗📚📖

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited when I realized that Dick Francis had an autobiography. The book was not exactly what I expected, but when I realized it was published in 1957 it made more sense. He talks about his childhood and his lifelong association with horses and then his transition into being a Steeplechase jockey. It amused me that he would describe the horses and the races and the racetracks so thoroughly, I skipped some of that. But the rest of it was very interesting to me. In an afterward he mentions having to retire because he was getting older and not healing as well from his racing falls, and in only a paragraph says that he started writing for a newspaper and that eventually he tried to write a book. When this afterward was published he had only written a couple of books. It made me wonder how he would have written his autobiography towards the end of his life when he was such a best-selling author.

[David Highton · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first book Dick Francis wrote - his pre-war childhood in the stables run by his rather, his war experience in the RAF and his post war steeplechasing career in particular. All though the names are now dated, this is an in depth description of National Hunt racing, culminating in the famous fall by Devon Loch fifty yards from the end of the Grand National.
A final chapter added later cruises over his journalism career, his first thriller and the next thirty years of his writing career until he and his wife relocate to Florida in 1986.

[Sue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the mysteries he's written and here is a chance to know more about him personally. He writes about his childhood, his learning to ride and then experiences as a jockey. I knew he'd ridden but didn't know all he'd accomplished. Then, once he left racing, how he actually began writing. For me some of the sections about the courses and the routine were a bit tedious but still interesting. Overall an interesting read.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I probably wouldn’t have picked this up myself but it was loaned to me and I’ve always enjoyed the mystery stories Francis has written. I was more interested in Francis as a person and author than I was with him as a racer, and I skimmed some of the parts about the races he was in. I’m glad that he added the chapter at the end where he talked about the mysteries. I was glad to get the chance to find out more about him.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Before Dick Francis was one of the most popular equine authors of all time, he was a jockey. This story takes you through his early life and how he not only ended up race riding but also serving in the military and turning into a writer. I am a huge fan of Francis and thought I knew a lot about him but even so, I learned a lot about him in this story.

[Pam Coll · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent insight into Dick Francis's life and his knowledge of horses, race horses particularly. It would have earned 5 stars if he had included more of his emotions and reactions as this book has a wonderful coolness and acceptance of adversity which glosses over some of his more painful experiences. Well worth reading.

[Tiina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of this autobiography is interesting to read even though one has very little first-hand knowledge on horses, riding, or racing. I have to admire how he begins the book. Already there one could see that he would (or his wife would) write excellent mystery novels!

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I usually really enjoy Dick Francis writing but this one was a little too technical for me in spots but by the middle of the book I was really starting to enjoy it. I will continue to read his thrillers as that is where I think he really shines.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot about racing and wish I had had some of that information before reading all those thrillers. I did start skimming towards the end when he described various courses.

[Mel Brannen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dick Francis is one of my cozy mystery favorites

[Christa (haines) Sheridan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much detail on some sections, not enough in others. I'm so glad to have read this.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, easy read, but not as good as Francis' fiction. I would have liked to have a clearer timeline and more vivid race descriptions.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

His books have been abridged and digested--I love it! Reader's Digest Condensed Books are how I discovered Dick Francis.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

After devouring all of his books, I thought it time to read the autobiography of Dick Francis. It was very interesting to read about the life of a steeplechase jockey. Falling off a horse every 15 rides is not very good odds. Also by the time a jockey is 40, his body no longer bounces back as quickly after an injury. I enjoyed reading about his transition from jockey to author. In his career as a jockey Francis is best known for 'almost' winning the Grand National. After reading his account of the race I watched the video on the Internet. What a mystery, and only Devon Loch knows what really happened.

[Mark Isaak · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is roughly half autobiography and half general information on horse racing. I found parts of it interesting and parts boring, and I expect others will, too, but probably which parts are interesting or dull will vary from person to person. The book covers everything I would want and expect to be covered without getting bogged down in details. The afterword, which covers Francis' life as a writer, is quite short. As that is the part of his life which I have seen the fruits of, I was hoping for more, but still, what little is there is informative enough not to be disappointing.

[Billie Doux · Rating 3 out of 5]

By the time I got to the Francis autobiography The Sport of Queens, his first book, I was a huge Dick Francis fan and found his first person protagonists so fascinating that I couldn't wait to find out what the man was really like. Unfortunately, The Sport of Queens didn't tell me much about him at all. The man just doesn't like to talk about himself. If you're interested in Francis himself, you can learn a lot more about him from his mysteries.

[Ange · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an autobiography. Doesn't read as well as his fiction but it is interesting. What I read lingers in my thoughts. One such story is that horses if handled properly likes to race. One such horse lost his rider on the first jump. This horse continued the race soaring over all the subsequent jumps until he came in first.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jockey and author, Dick Francis' autobiography is most memorable for speculating as to why Devon Loch, five lengths ahead, in the final stretch of the 1956 Grand national suddenly jumped and collapsed beneath the author.

[Amy Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading a lot of Dick Francis novels, and rating them consistently as fours. I give this a five because it was so interesting to see the person behind the books. Seems like he was a great guy!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read for folks who like his mysteries and want to know about the man behind them. The man loved being a jockey.

[Kay]

Amazing!

[Gordon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it because I like him as an author, but this wasn't the same. Of course maybe I shouldn't have expected it to be

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

For racing buffs really

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

He had a job I would've adored -- horse trainer and steeplechase jockey and rode for the Queen of England. Cool!

Wouldn't mind reading more of the author.