About the author
The name Andre Norton does not immediately conjure up the horse story. She won the Gandalf Grand Master Award from the World Science Fiction Society in 1977, and the Damon Knight Memorial Grant Master Award in 1983, both for her prowess as a writer of science fiction. However, she did write a few historical novels, in which horses figure. The Drew Rennie books (a pair) are set in the 1860s and tell the story of a young boy who fights in the American Civil Wars, and of what happened to him afterwards. Stand to Horse, as far as I’m aware, is a Western story.
Andre Norton was born Alice Mary Norton in Cleveland, Ohio, and was educated at Western Reserve University. She worked as a librarian for 18 years, before becoming a full time writer. Under the names Andre Norton, Andrew North and Allen Weston she wrote over 200 works of science fiction.
Finding the books
The Drew Rennie books have been reprinted many times, and if you want a reading copy, you are spoiled for choice. Very good first editions, however, are not cheap. Stand to Horse has not been reprinted as often, but is easy to find.
Links and sources
Terri Wear: Horse Stories: An Annotated Bibliography
Series
Drew Rennie
Ride, Proud Rebel
Rebel Spurs
Bibliography (horse books only)
Ride, Proud Rebel
World Books, 1961
Fawcett Junior Books, 1981
The Echo Library, UK, 2008
Wildside Press, Print-on-demand, 2013
Bottom of the Hill Publishing, UK, 2013
This is the story of Drew, a boy thrust at too young an age into the bloody battles of the Civil War, riding under General Morgan.
Rebel Spurs
World, 1962
Wildside, 2007, POD.
Bottom of the Hill Publishing, 2013
Set in 1866, Drew heads for Arizona, taking with him two blooded Kentucky horses. He hopes to find his father, Hunt Rennie. Hunt doesn’t know Drew exists, and he already has blooded horses and a foster son. Drew brings with him just his thoroughbred stud Shiloh, a mare about to foal, and a mule. But he reveals his name to no one. He manages to get himself hired as a hand at his father’s ranch, but there’s a lot to go through before he gets what he wants.
Stand to Horse
Harcourt, Brace & Co, New York, 1956
This is about the US army’s attempt to use camels in exploring the desert southwest. It’s also about the fight against the Apache Indians.
