Bonecrack by Dick Francis

First published: 1971

Type of work: Social morality

Time of work: The late 1960’s

Locale: Newmarket, England

Principal Characters:

• Neil Griffon, the protagonist, a financial consultant, the substitute head of a racing stable
• Alessandro Rivera, an apprentice jockey
• Enso Rivera, Alessandro’s father, an international fence
• Neville Griffon, Neil’s father, the owner of the stable
• Etty Craig, the head stable hand

The Novel

While Neil Griffon, the protagonist of Bonecrack, is substituting for his father as the head of Rowley Lodge, a racing stable in Newmarket, England, he is kidnaped by Enso Rivera, an international fence based in Bastagnola, Switzerland. Rivera threatens to destroy the stable if Griffon does not take on his son as a jockey and allow him to ride Archangel (the stable’s prize thoroughbred) in the Derby.

Soon after Alessandro Rivera, the son, arrives at the stable, chauffeured in a Mercedes limousine by Carlo, one of Enso’s thugs who kidnaped Griffon, the major conflict in the novel becomes clear. The battle is between Griffon and Enso Rivera for the allegiance of Alessandro.

Alessandro is an only child, spoiled and arrogant. At first he refuses to take care of the horses he rides during the daily exercise routines. Etty Craig, the head stable hand, is disturbed by this and complains to Neil. Because Enso Rivera has warned him against telling anyone, including the police, about his threat, Neil mollifies her to give himself time to figure out how to deal with the situation. His father, Neville, in the hospital with a broken leg, wants him to hire the experienced John Bredon to run the stable, but Neil puts him off, keeping him in the dark as to why he himself is staying on at Rowley Lodge. He cannot even confide in his girlfriend Gillie, who lives in his house in Hampstead.

Neil bides his time. Noticing that Alessandro is a talented rider with a genuine feel for the profession, he patiently attempts to guide the boy away from his egomania—and the influence of his criminal father—by controlling which horses he rides and by teaching him the finer points of becoming a jockey. He points out to him that he cannot ride in any races unless he signs an apprenticeship agreement, cosigned by his father and witnesses. Though difficult and reluctant, Alessandro gradually goes along with Neil’s demands.

Neil’s problems accumulate along the way. Before Alessandro arrives, Enso has the leg of Moonrock, Neville Griffon’s own horse, broken. After Alessandro is knocked unconscious from a spill from Traffic, one of the wilder horses in the stable, the leg of another horse, Indigo, is broken by one of Enso’s thugs. Both Moonrock and Indigo have to be killed. Though Enso has made his point, Neil refuses to be daunted. He installs an alarm system and catches Carlo in the act of disabling another horse, Buckram, the only racehorse in the stable wholly owned by Neville Griffon. Not only does Neil save the horse and store Carlo’s hypodermic full of anesthetic and his truncheon as evidence, but he also disables Carlo as a watchdog over Alessandro.

Neil himself drives Alessandro to the races in which he has booked him. Alessandro rides well and wins several races. His father, however, angry that his son is following Neil’s directions, begins to drive him himself to the races in which he is entered. Alessandro is depressed by the pressure of his father’s presence and begins to ride badly. Neil continues to encourage him, and finally, as the Derby draws near, Enso and his thugs Carlo and the American Cal again kidnap Neil. This time, Enso has his collarbone broken. When Neil still refuses to allow Alessandro to replace Tommy Hoylake, the stable’s chief jockey, as Archangel’s jockey, Enso arranges to have Hoylake killed during a practice run. Alessandro, however, having regained his confidence enough to win the Newmarket race on Lancat, has been assigned to exercise the horse that Hoylake was supposed to exercise. Confronted by an enraged Enso, Neil discovers what he intends to do. Though losing Lancat to a rifle bullet on the practice course, he manages to save Alessandro’s life. Enso, in the meantime, having found out from Neil that his son is on the horse that Hoylake is supposed to be riding, and arriving too late to stop the shot he thinks has killed his son, kills Carlo and Cal with his pistol and is killed himself by the latter before he dies.

Alessandro has by now accepted that his father has corrupted his freedom to the extent of seriously threatening his ability to develop on his own. He has also accepted that he is not yet skilled enough to ride a horse such as Archangel in the Derby. In effect, Neil Griffon has become his true father, a fact made even clearer by the death of Neil’s own tyrannical father in the hospital from a bloodclot toward the end of the story. Both Neil and Alessandro are free now, and Neil, as a surrogate father, offers Alessandro a place at Rowley Lodge, which the boy enthusiastically accepts.

The Characters

Because he is the narrator of the novel, Neil Griffon shapes the reader’s perception of both him and the story. He is a self-made man who has succeeded despite his father, who has always been disapproving of and harsh to him. At seventeen, and after attending Eton, Neil struck out on his own. He became a successful dealer in antiques, and after that a financial consultant specializing in saving firms on the verge of bankruptcy. At thirty-four he is very much his own man and has learned to accept his father for what he is. Neil has, in short, matured to the point where he knows that the value of independence lies not in rebellion so much as in development, for which one is personally responsible. This puts him in a position to tutor Alessandro.

Alessandro has had an upbringing different from Neil’s. His father has spoiled him and accustomed him to accept the violent removal of anyone who stands in his way. Since he can get anything he wants, he has a false view of independence. He does not realize that he depends wholly on his father, not on himself. Neil changes this. Using the same patience and tact he brings to his business dealings and to his own father, he shows Alessandro how to believe in his own native abilities and to trust in his own judgment.

Neville Griffon and Enso Rivera function as antagonists in the novel. Both are blind to the needs of others, especially their sons, and this threatens their own achievements. Neville, because he will not listen to anyone else, has brought his stable into debt and fails to make use of the talent of his main helpers. Enso, because he depends on violence instead of reason and on pride instead of love, loses his son and his life.

The women in the novel are skillful for the most part, but weak. Alessandro’s mother has long ago lost her battle with his father over the latter’s growing sterility. Enso has got rid of her, infuriated by her telling insults. Etty Craig, the head stable hand at Rowley Lodge, is the best in her class, but she has allowed Neil’s father to make her too dependent on his slanted judgment. It takes Neil’s trust in her skill and his encouragement to bring her around at the end. Margaret, Neville’s secretary, is also first-class in what she does, and again it is Neil who allows her to take on responsibilities for which she is amply qualified but was afraid to assume on her own under his father. The only exception to the competency of the women in the story is Gillie, Neil’s girlfriend. She is truly one of the “idle rich”; she has no skills, she pampers herself, and she moreover has been hurt by a divorce and bereaved by the death of her young daughter Jennifer. Nevertheless, she is not weak; she has learned to enjoy her wealth and to avoid the pride that could easily come with it. She and Neil are both amused by her dreadful sense of decor, and each is happy in the other’s company. Her ability to love, her social maturity, and her sense of humor allow her to provide Neil with a strong support during his battle with Enso and Alessandro Rivera.

Critical Context

Dick Francis, himself a prizewinning jockey before his retirement from the track, established his reputation as a mystery writer through his firsthand knowledge of thoroughbred racing. His protagonists are usually men who share this knowledge, who are professionally capable in general, who bear up quietly but efficiently under pressure, and who, though they rely on themselves to deal with the crimes that threaten them, are open to the women they love.

What sets Bonecrack apart from much of his work is Francis’ focus on its theme rather than on the crimes of kidnaping, assault, and attempted murder which dramatize it. The relationship between fathers and sons is an important one because of the ambiguity which invests it. Francis makes clear what can go wrong with such a relationship and how he thinks it should be conducted, revealing in the process the value of personal choice and insisting that one cannot blame others for one’s failures, that to be truly free one must decide to be.

Bibliography

Bauska, Barry. “Endure and Prevail: The Novels of Dick Francis,” in Armchair Detective. II, no. 3 (1978), p. 238.

Callendar, Newgate. Review in The New York Times Book Review. LXVI (May 21, 1972), p. 30.

Foote, Timothy. Review in Time. May 22, 1972, p. 96.

Larkin, Philip. “Four Legs Good,” in The Times Literary Supplement. October 10, 1980.

The New Yorker. Review. XLVIII (July 22, 1972), p. 80.

Stanton, Michael N. “Dick Francis: The Worth of Human Love,” in Armchair Detective. XV, no. 2 (1982), p. 137.

Weeks, Brigitte. “Writing Mystery Novels: An Interview with Dick Francis,” in The Writer. XCVI (August, 1983), p. 11.