Sid Halley
Encyclopedia
Sid Halley is a fictional character (a former Champion Jockey) and private detective who is the central character in four Dick Francis
novels, Odds Against, Whip Hand
, Come to Grief and Under Orders
. He is the only central character to appear in more than two Francis novels, and one of only two to appear more than once.
Halley's master not only trained him in horses, but to invest the money that the young jockey earned. In addition, the elderly trainer (who died soon after) educated the young jockey in speech and manners, and in much else in life. The young man was not only a rising jockey by the time he completed his indentures, but also had been reputed to have won a small fortune on the stock market.
Halley became a successful jockey, rising to become champion jockey—a status he held for "five or six years". During his early career, before he achieved success, he married Jenny Roland, daughter of retired Rear Admiral Charles Roland. The marriage produced no children and was never a great success, and while Halley was Champion Jockey, his wife gave him an ultimatum—racing or her. Halley chose racing. The two separated while Halley was still racing, and a divorce followed between the events of the first two books. Despite this, Halley had become close to Charles Roland (after a very rocky start) and the friendship persisted.
Halley was injured in a racing accident, crippling his left hand—making it a useless appendage—and ending his racing career. After a fall, a horse had stepped directly on his hand. Despite several operations, the hand had little utility. It was further damaged by the villain in Odds Against, resulting in its amputation. Throughout most of the rest of the series, Halley struggles to come to terms with the loss of his hand.
In the book Under Orders he gets married to Marina Van Der Meer.
in a six episode television series, The Racing Game. Produced by Yorkshire Television
, the series aired between November 1979 and January 1980. The first episode was a brief adaptation of Odds Against; the other episodes were original stories created for the series by various writers. In his autobiography The Sport of Queens, Dick Francis says he owes the existence of Whip Hand to Mike Gwilym's performance, because the actor so closely matched Francis's concept of Halley that he became interested in writing a second book about the same man.
Dick Francis
Richard Stanley "Dick" Francis CBE was an English jockey and crime writer, many of whose novels centre around horse racing.- Personal life :...
novels, Odds Against, Whip Hand
Whip Hand
Whip Hand is a crime novel by Dick Francis, the second novel in the Sid Halley series. The novel received Gold Dagger Award for Best Novel of 1979 and the Edgar Award for Best Novel of 1980...
, Come to Grief and Under Orders
Under Orders
Under Orders is the title of a novel by Dick Francis, published on 7 September 2006.This is the fourth Francis novel to feature Sid Halley, jockey turned private detective....
. He is the only central character to appear in more than two Francis novels, and one of only two to appear more than once.
Character biography
Halley was born to a single mother, due to her fiancé's death at age 20 (though a newspaper report in Come to Grief says he was 19) only three days before the wedding in a fall from a high ladder while earning extra money on overtime. Eight months after his father's death, Halley was born. Halley's mother, aged 19 at his birth, was a window cleaner from the Liverpool slums, who later worked as a biscuit packer. Halley's boyhood home was Liverpool. She died when Halley was 15 of an obscure kidney ailment. Before she died, she pulled Halley from grammar school and apprenticed him to a Newmarket racing trainer.Halley's master not only trained him in horses, but to invest the money that the young jockey earned. In addition, the elderly trainer (who died soon after) educated the young jockey in speech and manners, and in much else in life. The young man was not only a rising jockey by the time he completed his indentures, but also had been reputed to have won a small fortune on the stock market.
Halley became a successful jockey, rising to become champion jockey—a status he held for "five or six years". During his early career, before he achieved success, he married Jenny Roland, daughter of retired Rear Admiral Charles Roland. The marriage produced no children and was never a great success, and while Halley was Champion Jockey, his wife gave him an ultimatum—racing or her. Halley chose racing. The two separated while Halley was still racing, and a divorce followed between the events of the first two books. Despite this, Halley had become close to Charles Roland (after a very rocky start) and the friendship persisted.
Halley was injured in a racing accident, crippling his left hand—making it a useless appendage—and ending his racing career. After a fall, a horse had stepped directly on his hand. Despite several operations, the hand had little utility. It was further damaged by the villain in Odds Against, resulting in its amputation. Throughout most of the rest of the series, Halley struggles to come to terms with the loss of his hand.
In the book Under Orders he gets married to Marina Van Der Meer.
Adaptation
Sid Halley was played by Mike GwilymMike Gwilym
-Early life:Born in Neath, Gwilym is the brother of actor Robert Gwilym, son of Arthur Aubrey Remington Gwilym and Renée Mathilde Eugénie Léonce Dupont. His parents were the proprietors of a women's clothing chain in Wales. Mike's Belgian maternal grandfather was the oil industrialist Edmond Jules...
in a six episode television series, The Racing Game. Produced by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
, the series aired between November 1979 and January 1980. The first episode was a brief adaptation of Odds Against; the other episodes were original stories created for the series by various writers. In his autobiography The Sport of Queens, Dick Francis says he owes the existence of Whip Hand to Mike Gwilym's performance, because the actor so closely matched Francis's concept of Halley that he became interested in writing a second book about the same man.