DISCUSSION NOTES FROM OUR NOVEMBER MEETING
TO THE HILT - By Dick Francis
The main character Alexander Kinloch, a painter forced into detecting is very good at hiding things. This talent gets him into quite a bit of trouble in Dick Francis's delightful book To The Hilt. The hilt in question is a solid gold sword handle given to a Kinloch ancestor by bonnie prince Charlie himself. Al's hiding of the "family hilt" from the British historians sparked a lively debate in our group. After all - when does a family heirloom of historical significance cease belonging to a single family and become part of the National Treasure? Members remarked on the recent case of Kelley Clarkson's purchase of a ring belonging to Jane Austen. Miss Clarkson was forced to sell the ring to the Jane Austen Museum in order to prevent the ring from leaving Great Britain. Of course as another member pointed out -- the Rosetta Stone is still housed in the British Museum.The hiding of the hilt is not the main focus of the story but one of the delightful side stories that gets Al into trouble. There are hidden chalices, racehorses and missing company millions. Al is not responsible for the millions but is responsible for keeping the family business from going under in such dire straits. We all agreed that if we ever needed to hide anything Alexander Kinloch would be our go-to guy. Although, several of us were appalled at the places these valuable irreplaceable items were left. I leave you to read the book and see if you can discover their hiding places.
Dick Francis was a jockey turned writer who rode for the Queen (yes the actual Queen). When he retired from racing he turned his talent to writing. There has been speculation as to whether he or his wife wrote the novels. Some say he drafted the stories and she penned them, others say she was his researcher. All say they worked as a team. All of us were fascinated by the description of a painting Alexander was working on. The detail was amazing and we all agreed we'd like to see it.
Not only did the author keep you guessing as to what was really going on he did it in a delightful fun prose that was a joy to read. It made me go out and get another one of his books. Highest praise indeed. Until next time.........
