![]() ![]() ![]() After Mary's death in 2000, Dick wrote five more novels with Felix (who, unlike Mary, was credited as a co-author on four of them). The influence of his wife Mary (nee Brenchley) on his writing has been argued to be quite large - Dick himself described their efforts as teamwork, and it has since been confirmed by their son Felix that Mary did most of the research and they basically wrote the books together, with Felix helping out. His first novel was published in 1962, following which he wrote a novel a year for the next 38 years. After retiring from racing, he took up writing, initially with his autobiography. However, his most famous race was a loss in the 1956 Grand National on Devon Loch, he had a five-length lead going into the home stretch, only for the horse to unexpectedly jump in the air and fall on its stomach note this gave rise to the phrase "to do a Devon Loch" to describe an act of failing to win at the last minute despite being in a seemingly unassailable position it's used by British sports journalists to this day. Prior to becoming an author, Francis had himself been a successful jockey - winning 350 races, most notably on horses owned by HM the Queen Mother. Richard Stanley Francis CBE (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010), better known as Dick Francis, was a British crime novelist whose works invariably had some connection with Horse Racing. ![]() If laws are inconvenient, ignore them, they don't apply to you." "Crime to many is not crime but simply a way of life. ![]()
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