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Felix Francis (born 1953) is a British
crime writer True crime is a nonfiction literary, podcast, and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people associated with and affected by criminal events. The crimes most commonly include murder; about 40 per ...
. He is
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, wi ...
’ younger son. Felix studied
physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...
and
electronics The field of electronics is a branch of physics and electrical engineering that deals with the emission, behaviour and effects of electrons using electronic devices. Electronics uses active devices to control electron flow by amplification ...
at
London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...
, and then started a 17-year career teaching
Advanced Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational aut ...
physics at three schools, the last seven as head of the
science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...
department at
Bloxham School Bloxham School, also called All Saints' School, is an independent co-educational day and boarding school of the British public school tradition, located in the village of Bloxham, three miles (5 km) from the town of Banbury in Oxfordshir ...
in Oxfordshire, before quitting to look after his father's affairs. He lives in Oxfordshire. From 1993 to 2005, he was a director and deputy chairman of World Challenge Expeditions Ltd. Felix is also a former
governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
of Winchester House Prep School, and is a governor of Malvern College. Dick's wife,
Mary Francis Mary Elizabeth Francis (née George; born July 1948) is a former British civil servant who focussed primarily on financial and economic policy. She is a non executive Director of Barclays plc, Valaris plc. and PensionBee Group PLC, where she is ...
, assisted with both the research and the writing of many of Dick's novels until her death in 2000. Felix assisted with this, and after Mary died Felix took over her work. Felix and his father often worked together on plot and character details at Dick’s home in the Cayman Islands. This partnership allowed Dick to draw upon Felix’s knowledge and experience as a physics teacher in ''Twice Shy'' and his past as an international
marksman A marksman is a person who is skilled in precision shooting using projectile weapons (in modern days most commonly an accurized scoped long gun such as designated marksman rifle or a sniper rifle) to shoot at high-value targets at longer-than- ...
in '' Shattered'' (2000) and '' Under Orders'' (2006). With the publication of ''Dead Heat'' in 2007, Felix took on a more significant role in
writing Writing is a medium of human communication which involves the representation of a language through a system of physically inscribed, mechanically transferred, or digitally represented symbols. Writing systems do not themselves constitute h ...
, and was credited as co-author. ''Silks'' (2008) was the second novel in this father-and-son collaboration, and ''Even Money'' (2009) was the third. ''Crossfire'' (2010) was the novel Dick and Felix were working on when Dick died in February 2010. Felix's first novel written without his father was ''Gamble'', published in September 2011, beginning the "Dick Francis novel" franchise.


Critical response

Kirkus said ''Gamble'' was "fully worthy of the family name", familiar to Dick Francis fans, but well-handled. Eurocrime gave a mixed review to ''Gamble'', commenting on Felix's lack of direct experience of
horseracing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...
, criticizing "a curious flatness" in its
narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...
, but calling it "a nicely layered, slightly complex thriller".Sarah Hilary, "Gamble" (Review), Eurocrime, 11/09/2011, http://www.eurocrime.co.uk/reviews/Gamble.html


Novels


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Felix 1953 births Living people British crime fiction writers