Fairfax-Lucy, Brian

About the author

Brian Fairfax-Lucy wrote other books for children as well as these two pony titles (The Children of the House I can highly recommend). His full name was Sir Brian Fulke Cameron-Ramsay-Fairfax-Lucy, 5th Bt, and he was born on 18 December 1898, and died on 21 January 1974. His family owned Charlecote Park, now owned by the National Trust.

Finding the books
Horses in the Valley is now expensive with its dustjacket; the Scottie version is very difficult to find and so pricing does tend to be erratic. The Horse from India is not quite as easy to find as Horses in the Valley, but is usually cheaper.


Bibliography (pony books only)


The Horse from India

Frederick Muller, 1944, illus Stanley Lloyd

Richard West’s parents are in India, and he is living with his aunt in Leamington Spa. He then goes away to school, accompanied by the wooden horse his parents send him from India. Richard decides his future is as a jockey, and he runs away from school to be one. The horse becomes a sort of talisman as
Richard learns how to be a jockey. He enters into a rivalry with Geordie Hollis, another would-be jockey, and in the end, the horse has to be sold to pay a ransom after his parents are kidnapped. Geordie and Richard
go on their with their careers together.

Horses in the Valley

OUP, 1941, illus Stanley Lloyd
Transworld, Scottie, London, 1955, pb

This is a story about the horses in the valley at Honeyvale: Bear the black Shetland,
Colonel the bay hunter, and a chestnut filly called Katharina. Told from the point of view
of the horses, we hear their conversations with each other. Mrs Grantoun and her
daughter Ann have come to stay while the owners, Major and Mrs Farringdon are away.
Then the Major decides to sell Colonel and Katharina. Mrs Grantoun buys Katharina, hoping to make money out of her as a successful racehorse.  Colonel is sold, but then bought back by a rather unexpected buyer, and Katharine of course wins.