Dick Francis

Once the steeplechase jockey for the British Queen Mother, crime writer Richard Stanley "Dick" Francis was born in Wales in 1920. Francis left school at fifteen to become a jockey and he became a horse trainer when he was eighteen. He volunteered for duty during World War II, expecting to join the cavalry but finding himself serving in the Royal Air Force. After the war, Francis became a full-time jockey, winning over 350 races and becoming champion jockey of the British National Hunt. Once he retired from racing, he became the racing correspondent for The Sunday Express newspaper and wrote his autobiography, The Sport of Queens. He released his first thriller, Dead Cert, in 1962.and it was made into a feature film. His wife Mary was his close collaborator, researching and perhaps co-writing the books. Many of his thrillers were adapted for television films, including some broadcast in the U.S. as part of the public broadcasting Mystery series. Francis' novels, including forty bestsellers, earned him numerous honors, including becoming an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) and a later promotion to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He is also the only three-time recipient of the Edgar Award and winner of the Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Award and a Diamond Dagger from the Crime Writers Association of Great Britain. Francis died in 2010.