About the author
Fury is one of those words that drips with meaning if you’re an American brought up in the 1950s and 1960s. “Fury – the story of a horse and the boy who loves him,” was read over the opening music at the start of the show, and those few words must conjure up the vivid sort of childhood memories I get with the first few notes of White Horses. Fury was aired in the UK but I’m not sure when or on what channel.
The series ran from 1955–60. It was a Western, and featured Joey Clark, a boy adopted by Jim Newton, who owned the Broken Wheel Ranch in California. Fury is the black horse Joey eventually (it takes three years) catches, and the series is about their adventures. Fury will only allow Joey to ride him, unless Joey gives someone else permission, thereby fulfilling a classic pony book dream; perhaps you could argue this shows the the-horse-who-answers-only-to-you is a universal dream.
Albert G Miller wrote the books developed from the series. He was an established radio and tv dramatist, and said “he watched Fury’s TV adventures so consistently that he now considers this important horse almost a part of his family.” Other authors also contributed books to the Fury series, and their books can be found at the end of the page.
Many thanks to Susan Bourgeau for all the pictures in this section.
Finding the books
The books were published originally by John G Winston, and then later in a uniform edition by Grosset and Dunlap with pictorial boards. There was a notable later printing, shown below, abridged and with art by Everett Raymond Kinstler. The books seem reasonably easy to find (in America at least) in all their incarnations. A Friend for Shadow is easy to find in the US. It was not published in the UK.
Links and sources
Wikipedia article on the television series (no longer extant)
Broken Wheel – a fansite about the telvision series
Horse Fame on Highland Dale, the horse who starred in the Fury series
Terri Wear: Horse Stories, an Annotated Bibliography
Bibliography (horse books only)
Fury: Stallion of Broken Wheel Ranch
John G. Winston Company 1959, illus James W Schucker
Grosset & Dunlap, 1959, illus James W Schucker, cover art uncredited
Joey, who is mad about horses, runs away from the orphanage to see the rodeo. He meets Jim Newton, who has captured a wild black stallion. Jim and the horse like Joey, and adopt him.
Fury and the Mustangs
Holt Rinehart and Winston 1960, illus Sam Savitt
Grosset & Dunlap 1960, illus Sam Savitt, cover art uncredited
Scholastic 1960, cover art by Lydia Rosier
Jim and Joey Newton think that mustang herds should be kept intact, but their neighbour, Mr Barstow, wants to get rid
of the wild horses.
Fury and the White Mare
Holt Rinehart and Winston 1962, jacket by Ezra Jack Keats – no internal illustrations
Grosset & Dunlap, 1962, cover art uncredited
Fury runs off with a white mare, and moves onto Mr Yancey’s land. When Joey follows the horses, he realises Mr Yancey’s operation is illegal, but Joey is forced into keeping silent to prevent Fury being killed.
Albert G. Miller’s Fury
adapted and abridged by Alice Thorne
Grosset & Dunlap 1959
(part of their Silver Dollar Series),
illus Everett Raymond Kinstler
A Friend for Shadow
L W Singer Company, Inc, New York. 1969. Illus Lilian Obligado. 48 pp.
Dick’s little colt, Shadow, seems to be behaving more and more strangely with each day that passes. Dick knows Shadow will never make a race horse unless he calms down, and if he doesn’t do that soon, he’ll be sold. Dick decides that what Shadow needs is a friend who will be with him all the time, so he sets out to find one.
Fury titles by other authors
Fury and the Lone Pine Mystery (William Felton, 1957)
Fury Takes the Jump (Seymour Reit, 1958)
Fury and the Mystery at Trapper’s Hole (Troy Nesbit, 1959)
Fury –
