WRITER

Dick Francis

1920 - 2010

Photo of Dick Francis

Icon of person Dick Francis

Richard Stanley Francis (31 October 1920 – 14 February 2010) was a British steeplechase jockey and crime writer whose novels centre on horse racing in England. After wartime service in the RAF, Francis became a full-time jump-jockey, winning over 350 races and becoming champion jockey of the British National Hunt. He came to further prominence in 1956 as jockey to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, riding her horse Devon Loch which fell when close to winning the Grand National. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Dick Francis has received more than 741,997 page views. His biography is available in 26 different languages on Wikipedia. Dick Francis is the 2,467th most popular writer (down from 2,073rd in 2019), the 1,819th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 1,625th in 2019) and the 200th most popular British Writer.

Memorability Metrics

  • 740k

    Page Views (PV)

  • 54.61

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 26

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 4.33

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.01

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Notable Works

Enquiry
Horse racing, Fiction
1971
Longshot
Mystery, Fiction
1991
Proof
Mystery and detective stories
A very good thriller. Twists and turns abound amidst identity chasing. Vintage Dick Francis. Wine merchant Tony Beach is no stranger to personal tragedy -- or to the world of fine vintage wines. But when hidden hit men literally -- and brutally -- crash a society party he has, as usual, expertly catered, Tony finds himself caught in the terrifying midst of a mystery that begins with sham scotch and counterfeit claret and escalates to hijacking and murder. Strong drink indeed for a man of otherwise peaceful pleasures who must draw on every reserve of hidden courage to crack a sophisticated scam and to save many lives -- especially his own.
1984
Risk
Horse racing in fiction, Horse racing, Fiction
Roland Britten was an amateur jockey, and an accountant by profession, who woke up one morning and found he couldn't move his hands. And all he could hear was the noise of an engine, very close by. He finally decided he was lying in the dark, tied to a generator. But why? And where? And by whom? And what would happen next.
1977
1978
Smokescreen
Fiction, Motion picture actors and actresses
1988
Proof
Mystery and detective stories, Horse racing, Fiction
A very good thriller. Twists and turns abound amidst identity chasing. Vintage Dick Francis. Wine merchant Tony Beach is no stranger to personal tragedy -- or to the world of fine vintage wines. But when hidden hit men literally -- and brutally -- crash a society party he has, as usual, expertly catered, Tony finds himself caught in the terrifying midst of a mystery that begins with sham scotch and counterfeit claret and escalates to hijacking and murder. Strong drink indeed for a man of otherwise peaceful pleasures who must draw on every reserve of hidden courage to crack a sophisticated scam and to save many lives -- especially his own.
1984
Enquiry
Horse racing, Fiction, Jockeys, fiction
From *Amazon*: When Kelly Hughes rides the favorite into second place, he gets penalized for his trouble. Not only has he lost the race, but also his license, as the Jockey Club suspends him - believing he threw the race. Only he knows that the problem lay with the horse's performance, not his own. Suspecting he was framed, Kelly sets about finding out how it was done, and then who might have done it.
1971
Rat Race
Fiction, Mystery, Horse racing
1984
Foundation's Friends
American Science fiction, Parodies, imitations, Science fiction, american
Strip-Runner - novelette by Pamela Sargent The Asenion Solution - short story by Robert Silverberg Murder in the Urth Degree - short story by Edward Wellen Trantor Falls - short story by Harry Turtledove Dilemma - short story by Connie Willis Maureen Birnbaum After Dark - short story by George Alec Effinger Balance - short story by Mike Resnick The Present Eternal - short story by Barry N. Malzberg PAPPI - short story by Sheila Finch The Reunion at the Mile-High - short story by Frederik Pohl Plato's Cave - novelette by Poul Anderson Foundation's Conscience - short story by George Zebrowski Carhunters of the Concrete Prairie - novella by Robert Sheckley The Overheard Conversation - short story by Edward D. Hoch Blot - novelette by Hal Clement The Fourth Law of Robotics - short story by Harry Harrison The Originist - novella by Orson Scott Card Also contains prefaces by Ray Bradbury and Ben Bova and afterwords by Janet Asimov and Isaac Asimov
1989
Risk
Horse racing in fiction, Horse racing, Fiction
Roland Britten was an amateur jockey, and an accountant by profession, who woke up one morning and found he couldn't move his hands. And all he could hear was the noise of an engine, very close by. He finally decided he was lying in the dark, tied to a generator. But why? And where? And by whom? And what would happen next.
1977
Dead cert
Fiction, Horse racing, Private investigators
Jockey Bill Davidson's accident seems suspicious to his friend Alan Yorke who goes back to check the fence where Bill Davidson fell, and finds length of wire on the ground. The wire disappears before the police arrive to check Alan's story, so he must find out what happened himself.
1962

Among WRITERS

Among writers, Dick Francis ranks 2,467 out of 7,302. Before him are William Beckford, Alois Musil, María Kodama, Annie Proulx, Rolf Hochhuth, and Ariwara no Narihira. After him are Christopher Priest, Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, Valentin Kataev, Andrey Kurbsky, Lidia Zamenhof, and George Ohsawa.

Most Popular Writers in Wikipedia

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Contemporaries

Among people born in 1920, Dick Francis ranks 159. Before him are Lê Đức Anh, Miguel Delibes, Amet-khan Sultan, Renato Carosone, Lazar Mojsov, and Josip Manolić. After him are Marlen Haushofer, Marie Tharp, Janet Jagan, Thomas Szasz, Richard Adams, and Katsuko Saruhashi. Among people deceased in 2010, Dick Francis ranks 117. Before him are Rasim Delić, Tomáš Špidlík, Miguel Delibes, Captain Beefheart, Caterina Boratto, and Abu Omar al-Baghdadi. After him are Jean Ferrat, Claude Lefort, Emilio Eduardo Massera, Rue McClanahan, Anatoly Dobrynin, and Luis García Berlanga.

Others Born in 1920

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Others Deceased in 2010

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, Dick Francis ranks 1,819 out of 8,785. Before him are Peter Capaldi (1958), Alexander Bain (1818), Julian of Norwich (1342), Miranda Richardson (1958), William Beckford (1760), and Sid Watkins (1928). After him are Ronnie O'Sullivan (1975), Christopher Priest (1943), Matthew Paris (1200), Leo Genn (1905), John Wetton (1949), and Andrew Irvine (1902).

Others born in United Kingdom

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous

Among WRITERS In United Kingdom

Among writers born in United Kingdom, Dick Francis ranks 200. Before him are Aelred of Rievaulx (1110), Dorothy L. Sayers (1893), George Meredith (1828), Renée Vivien (1877), E. Nesbit (1858), and William Beckford (1760). After him are Christopher Priest (1943), Richard Adams (1920), Peter Shaffer (1926), Edward Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (1878), John Mandeville (1300), and Noël Coward (1899).

British born Writers

Go to all Rankings
Load previousLoad previous