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Hortonmere/Dai Evans #1
The Running Foxes
Set in the Lakeland Falls where dour farmers who hunt on foot are outwitted and outrun by a vixen and her cubs.
142 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
93 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Stranger
112 books29 followersPsuedonym of Joyce Muriel Wilson (1921–2007). Lived in Anglesey, Wales.
Trained as a biologist, specialising in animal behaviour, and tried her hand at dog training too. Not surprisingly, animal themes, especially relationships between human and animal feature in all of her books. She thought that the human-animal/human-nature relationship was extremely important and that a co-existence between the two could improve quality of life. She said "for many people an animal can provide a harmony lacking in day-to-day relationships with people."
Her books are not very anthropomorphic, deliberately so. She thought that many animal books, especially childrens were inaccurate or sentimental or humanised the animal and wanted her stories instead to "show how animals live in a world that is real to them"
They are definitely not sentimental either, many are quite downbeat. Disasters often strike her fictional worlds and her characters are often unhappy, guilt-stricken or remorseful. However they usually end on a more upbeat and optimistic note.
Ms. Stranger was one of the few authors to write horse stories aimed at adults. Most of her pony books are either adult or teenage stories.
Trained as a biologist, specialising in animal behaviour, and tried her hand at dog training too. Not surprisingly, animal themes, especially relationships between human and animal feature in all of her books. She thought that the human-animal/human-nature relationship was extremely important and that a co-existence between the two could improve quality of life. She said "for many people an animal can provide a harmony lacking in day-to-day relationships with people."
Her books are not very anthropomorphic, deliberately so. She thought that many animal books, especially childrens were inaccurate or sentimental or humanised the animal and wanted her stories instead to "show how animals live in a world that is real to them"
They are definitely not sentimental either, many are quite downbeat. Disasters often strike her fictional worlds and her characters are often unhappy, guilt-stricken or remorseful. However they usually end on a more upbeat and optimistic note.
Ms. Stranger was one of the few authors to write horse stories aimed at adults. Most of her pony books are either adult or teenage stories.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 8, 2010
This is is a subtle, quiet book with a relatively sparse storyline, but remarkably touching. Joyce Stranger has filled her book with the well-created and maintained atmosphere of the fells in a fading era. The penetrating cold and damp of the morning mist on the hills and the warm, smoky camaraderie of the local pub are almost tangible in The Running Foxes. This simple but magical world is populated by a cast of gruff but good hearted old men whose lives revolve around animals both for work and recreation and who I thoroughly enjoyed following as they hunted over the fells, made bets or came to terms with their loneliness.
As the title suggests, foxes and fox hunting play a large part in this book, and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a book which managed to address this in quite such a balanced way. The author admires the foxes for their cunning and trickery, but also admires the men for their dedication to their animals, their country skills and the sense of community that the hunt brings. Both fox and man seem to enjoy the thrill of the chase. Of course, it helps that there are no fox killings in the book, but nonetheless it was refreshing to read something which is able to see both points of view and present them alongside one another.
As the title suggests, foxes and fox hunting play a large part in this book, and I don’t think I’ve ever encountered a book which managed to address this in quite such a balanced way. The author admires the foxes for their cunning and trickery, but also admires the men for their dedication to their animals, their country skills and the sense of community that the hunt brings. Both fox and man seem to enjoy the thrill of the chase. Of course, it helps that there are no fox killings in the book, but nonetheless it was refreshing to read something which is able to see both points of view and present them alongside one another.
May 4, 2022
This is an evocative book, capturing the bleak but full life of the Cumberland fells. Despite the harshness, it is touching. Both animals and men are decribed with a sure hand. Recommended.
September 28, 2020
This is the story of a family of foxes (a mother and her two children, Rufus and Rusty) and a small village in Great Britain. The interactions between the foxes and the citizens are interesting. The hounds who chase the foxes (fox hunts) are often thrown off by the cleverness of the mother, who is teaching her kits how to survive on their own.
Life in the small village (Hortonmere) is not always pleasant for its citizens as they battle to keep their crops and livestock from being destroyed. Flooding and rough weather all contribute to the difficulties of these villagers' lives, but the hunt is a social event as well.
Loved the cleverness of the vixen and how one elderly man, Jasper, secretly roots for the foxes as he sits in his corner of the Black Swan pub. The story is representative of the life being led in Cumberland, England during a time when men hunted on foot with the help of their dogs.
At times, this reader felt it was a book designed to be read by children (tweens and above), but then other times, the vocabulary seemed as if it was written for adults. Not sure which it is.
Life in the small village (Hortonmere) is not always pleasant for its citizens as they battle to keep their crops and livestock from being destroyed. Flooding and rough weather all contribute to the difficulties of these villagers' lives, but the hunt is a social event as well.
Loved the cleverness of the vixen and how one elderly man, Jasper, secretly roots for the foxes as he sits in his corner of the Black Swan pub. The story is representative of the life being led in Cumberland, England during a time when men hunted on foot with the help of their dogs.
At times, this reader felt it was a book designed to be read by children (tweens and above), but then other times, the vocabulary seemed as if it was written for adults. Not sure which it is.
January 23, 2017
Just a little easy reading book with lovely insights to a kind of country life that you can hardly believe still exists. I suppose with the hunting ban it actually doesnt exist now.
Lovely character portraits of the locals and their dogs with a bit of excitement introduced by the arrival of an American cousin!
Thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing.
Lovely character portraits of the locals and their dogs with a bit of excitement introduced by the arrival of an American cousin!
Thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing.
November 28, 2019
A bit rambling this one, less of a cohesive plot.
October 11, 2022
A quaint, charming account of a rural Welsh community whose inhabitants’ lives intersect with a pair of young adventurous foxes, Stranger splits her narrative between the wild animals and their human neighbors, though some xenofiction fans may be disappointed to find that she favors the former in terms of perspective. [6/10]
November 16, 2024
While The Running Foxes may not deliver a tightly woven plot or fully realized character arcs, Joyce Stranger’s world-building and richly descriptive prose make it a journey worth taking for those interested in pastoral escapism. Set in a mid-twentieth century English countryside, the novel immerses readers in the lives of both the people and wildlife of the region. Through Stranger’s deft descriptions, you’ll flee through the underbrush with foxes, tend fields alongside farmers, and share the thrill of a hunt with local hunters. The vividly depicted scenes even allow readers to savor the hunters' hearty meals in the local pub once their quarry has gone to ground.
The book’s standout moments center around a kindly recluse’s attempts to raise a mischievous orphaned otter, a charming thread that could have been a full narrative on its own. Unfortunately, this otter’s storyline ends abruptly without any resolution, leaving readers wondering about his fate. He neither returns to the wild nor settles into life as a pet, nor does he pursue any alternative outcome that could have given his story closure. This tendency to drop narrative threads without follow-through is a recurring issue throughout The Running Foxes, weakening the book’s momentum and causing it to drag, especially in the latter chapters.
Similarly, the late introduction of a stray dog—who is taken in with little background or development in the last thirty pages—highlights the novel’s lack of a clear protagonist and limited character depth. Readers seeking strong character arcs or a well-defined plot may find themselves frustrated by these unresolved and abruptly shifting storylines.
Despite these shortcomings, The Running Foxes excels in transporting readers to a tranquil, bygone era. The book is an evocative ode to rural life, capturing the quiet beauty and interconnectedness of a small countryside community. If you enjoy gentle, immersive reads, The Running Foxes is worth exploring for its atmosphere alone. For those drawn to similar stories with more structured plotting and deeper characterization, David Rook’s The Ballad of the Belstone Fox may serve as an ideal companion read, offering a similarly evocative world with a more cohesive narrative.
The book’s standout moments center around a kindly recluse’s attempts to raise a mischievous orphaned otter, a charming thread that could have been a full narrative on its own. Unfortunately, this otter’s storyline ends abruptly without any resolution, leaving readers wondering about his fate. He neither returns to the wild nor settles into life as a pet, nor does he pursue any alternative outcome that could have given his story closure. This tendency to drop narrative threads without follow-through is a recurring issue throughout The Running Foxes, weakening the book’s momentum and causing it to drag, especially in the latter chapters.
Similarly, the late introduction of a stray dog—who is taken in with little background or development in the last thirty pages—highlights the novel’s lack of a clear protagonist and limited character depth. Readers seeking strong character arcs or a well-defined plot may find themselves frustrated by these unresolved and abruptly shifting storylines.
Despite these shortcomings, The Running Foxes excels in transporting readers to a tranquil, bygone era. The book is an evocative ode to rural life, capturing the quiet beauty and interconnectedness of a small countryside community. If you enjoy gentle, immersive reads, The Running Foxes is worth exploring for its atmosphere alone. For those drawn to similar stories with more structured plotting and deeper characterization, David Rook’s The Ballad of the Belstone Fox may serve as an ideal companion read, offering a similarly evocative world with a more cohesive narrative.
December 2, 2025
Enjoyable saga of village life. Many Joyce Stranger's stories are in this same setting with various characters from the village coming across various animals in the surrounding countryside. In this one we have foxes, an old man and a lovable black dog. You get hooked on these stories and read the others before and after.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews