SOURCE: "Dead Funny: The Lighter Side of Dick Francis," in The Armchair Detective, Vol. 26, No. 2, Spring, 1993, pp. 76-81.

In the following essay, Schaffer discusses the humor found in Francis's novels.

Since Dick Francis published his first mystery novel in 1962, he has gained a world-wide audience of devoted readers. The critics who have written articles about him over the years put into words what his fans feel. Paul Bishop, for example, comments on Francis's skillful pacing, attributing that ability to "what he learned about pacing a horse" during his career as a steeplechase jockey. Michael Stanton approves of his "exquisite variations of setting, plot, and psychology" and notes the role violence plays in his novels. Charles Gould praises him for his "tight plotting" and "the strongly-marked and individual style which makes such storytelling into literary art." And Marty Knepper analyzes the considerable literary risk-taking found in his novels.

No...