Whip Hand
Harper, 1979 ยท Edgar Award, Best Novel; Gold Dagger
Characters
- Sid Halley
- private investigator, ex-steeplechase jockey
- Rosemary Caspar
- hires Sid to protect Tri-Nitro
- George Caspar
- one of the top three of British racehorse trainers
- Gleaner, Zingaloo, Bethesda, Tri-Nitro
- horses George trained
- Bobby Unwin
- reporter for the Daily Planet
- Charles Roland
- Jenny's father
- Jenny
- Sid's ex-wife
- "Nicholas Ashe"
- real name is Norris Abbott
- Lord Philip Friarly
- "earl, landowner, and frightfully decent fellow," owns racehorses
- Trevor Deansgate
- bookmaker, runs firm called Billy Bones (born Trevor Shummuck)
- Eddy Keith
- works in the Jockey Club Security Service (ex-Superintendent)
- Commander Lucas Wainwright
- top brass of the Security Service, policing arm of the Jockey Club
- Chico Barnes
- part-time judo teacher, works also for Sid
- Alan Stephenson
- doctor at the limb center
- Paddy Young
- George Caspar's head lad
- Brothersmith
- George Caspar's vet
- Oliver Quayle
- Charles's solicitor
- Toby
- Jenny's "shield and supporter"
- Louise McInes
- Jenny's roommate
- Tom Garvey
- owns and runs a stud farm
- Inky Poole
- George Caspar's work jockey
- Mason
- investigator employed by Security Service to check out the syndicates
- Mrs. Cross
- Charles's housekeeper
- Sir Thomas Ullaston
- reigning Senior Steward, head of the Jockey Club
- Jacksy
- a jockey known to take bribes
- Peter Rammileese
- Martin England
- trainer, Sid's friend
- Henry Thrace
- owns and runs a stud farm
- Ken Armadale
- research vet for Equine Research Establishment
- Mr. Livingston
- works at Tierson Pharmaceuticals Vaccine Laboratories
- Barry Shummock
- Trevor Deansgate's brother, also works at Tierson Pharmaceuticals Vaccine Laboratories
Favorite passages
I found a very philosophical quote about life that I liked. Sid is thinking about what he's learned from losing his hand: Favorite quote chosen by Kelly Orgill: The Sid Halley books are: Odds Against , Whip Hand, and Come to Grief .
I guessed life was like that. You gained and you lost, and if you saved anything from the ruins, even if only a shred of self-respect, it was enough to take you through the next bit.
But one discarded dreams and got dressed, and made what one could of the day.
Chosen by members of the reading group in the late 1990s. From Whip Hand by Dick Francis.
The group read it
We discussed Whip Hand on October 6, 1997 and again during our "Month of Sid," December 1998.
This page was first written for the reading group's original site in the late 1990s and was lost when AOL Hometown closed. It has been recovered from the Internet Archive.