Mark Daniel

British author, journalist and gastronome. Full name Mark Daniel Fitzgeorge-Parker. The son of a Lambourn trainer and equine artist, he was raised amidst the world of horses and learnt to ride as soon as he could walk. He also spent a lot of his childhood amongst the racing scene at Longchamps in France, which began his interest in the country and the language. After studying at Cambridge and taking a year out to travel France, he began work as a writer and occaisional chef. His writing output was eclectic from film novelisations to collections of children's verse to food and travel columns to a guide to French phrases!

Mark Daniel has also used his racing background to write a number of excellent and gritty adult thrillers set in the racing world.

Horse & Pony Books (Adult Horse Fiction):

UNDER ORDERS
aka UNBRIDLED (USA edition)
(BARRIE & JENKINS 1989)
Reprinted in paperback.
First published in the USA in hardback by Houghton Mifflin, where it was re-titled.
Reprinted in paperback in the USA also.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, UK paperback, USA edition.
SUMMARY: With his career taking a nose-dive and a world of debt opening up before him, steeplechase jockey Georgie Blane considers pulling a race and becomes embroiled in an underworld of crime and corruption.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

THE BOLD THING
(BARRIE & JENKINS 1990)
Reprinted in paperback.
First published in the USA in hardback by Little, Brown and Co.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, USA edition.
SUMMARY: After a stint in prison for drink driving and manslaughter Micky Brennan finds his new life as a seller of animal feed a far cry from his previous existence as a top trainer. So when an old friend offers him a job as a stud manager on an Irish stud he jumps at the chance. But once there he finds plenty of trouble awaiting him in the form of a protection racket and IRA gun-men.

THE DEVIL TO PAY
(MICHAEL JOSEPH 1992)
Reprinted in paperback.
Also a large print edition produced.
First published in the USA in hardback by Little, Brown and Co.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st USA edition.
SUMMARY: Jockey Nick Storr is the priviliged son of a top trainer and is looking forward to riding his father's horse in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, However just before the race his father gives Nick the boot from his ride and his job. Nick, much embittered, begins to ride for Maria Thornton an enemy of his father's and becomes embroiled in plans for her revenge. Soon he begins to find out dark secrets from his father's past and finds his life may be in danger.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

PITY THE SINNER
(MICHAEL JOSEPH 1993)
Reprinted in paperback.
Also a large print edition produced.
First published in the USA in hardback by St. Martin's Press.
EDITIONS PICTURED: UK paperback.
SUMMARY: Jockey Neil Munrow is surprised to say the least when the sum of $100,000 appears in his bank account. But what he sees as a well-timed windfall which will help him win custody of his beloved daughter in his divorce battle, instead begins a chain of events which will lead him to betray his ideals and even his best friends.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

SLEEK BODIES
(MICHAEL JOSEPH 1994)
Reprinted in paperback.
First published in the USA in hardback by St. Martin's Press.
EDITIONS PICTURED: 1st edition, UK paperback.
SUMMARY: Philip returns from France to help run the family stables when his brother is ill. He finds that trouble and danger are enveloping the place.

A KILLING JOKE
(MICHAEL JOSEPH 1995)
Reprinted in paperback.
EDITIONS PICTURED: UK paperback
SUMMARY: Englishman Jago hopes to have a chance of winning the Pardubice, the Czech equivalent of the Grand National. But his decision to combine smuggling with racing brings him face to face with danger.
PONYMAD RATING: 4 HORSESHOES

Collectors info:
All were also published in the USA except for, I think, A Killing Joke. Although not as common as the more well-known Dick Francis racing thrillers for example, the books are for the most part not too hard to find in paperback form in both the UK and USA, although first editions may be a bit more elusive.