56: The Thrilling World of Dick Francis

56: The Thrilling World of Dick Francis

From Slightly Foxed by Slightly Foxed: The Real Reader's Quarterly

January 15, 2026 · 58 min · Episode 56

About this episode

The episode explores the life and career of Dick Francis, a legendary figure in racing and crime fiction.

Wartime bomber pilot, champion jockey, racing journalist, bestselling novelist, Dick Francis truly was a legend. The Slightly Foxed team join Dick’s son Felix and renowned racing commentator Derek Thompson (‘Tommo’ to his fans) to talk about the modest man who left school at 15 but went on to write thrillers set in the world of racing that have sold more than 60 million copies in 35 languages. Dick grew up with horses and riding was in his blood, though he didn’t become a professional jockey until he was 26, an age when many jockeys are retiring. But he quickly became one of the most successful National Hunt jockeys (and Champion Jockey in 1953–4), riding winners for top owners including the Queen and Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. And it was the spectacular collapse of the Queen Mother’s horse Devon Loch beneath him on the point of winning the Grand National in 1956 that finally persuaded Dick to retire from racing and begin a new career, first as a journalist and then as a writer of endlessly inventive crime fiction. So how did he do it? The novels, with their evocative titles – Dead Cert , Decider , Bolt , Hot Money – take you straight into the world of old-fashioned racing…

People in this episode

Host: Slightly Foxed team

Guests: Felix Francis, Derek Thompson

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Queen, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother

Books & works: Dead Cert, Decider, Bolt, Hot Money

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