Twice Shy
M. Joseph, 1981; Putnam, 1982
A friend gives Physics teacher Jonathan Derry some tapes which contain an unusually accurate computer program for handicapping horses.
Characters
- Jonathan Derry
- Head of the Physics Department at West Ealing School.
- Sarah Derry
- Jonathan's wife, can't have kids.
- William Derry
- Jonathan's brother.
- Peter Keithly
- Computer programmer, wrote a program for handicapping horses, gave Jonathan the tapes.
- Donna Keithly
- Peter's wife, kidnaps a baby.
- Ted Pitts
- Algebra teacher at Jonathan's school, also teaches computers.
- Mary Pitts
- Ted's wife.
- Chris Norwood
- Worked at Angel Kitchens, stole papers from Mrs. O'Rorke and had Peter design a computer program using the information.
- Vince Akkerton
- Worked with Chris Norwood at Angel Kitchens.
- Liam O'Rorke
- Professional gambler, his system won an average of every third bet.
- Mrs. O'Rorke
- Planned on selling her husband's betting system to Harry Gilbert until the papers were stolen.
- Harry Gilbert
- Made his fortune from bingo, plans to buy a string of betting shops for his son.
- Angelo Gilbert
- Harry Gilbert's son, weapon of choice is a pistol.
- Eddy
- Angelo's cousin, a follower.
- Jenkins
- Head of the Math Department at West Ealing School.
- Louisa & David
- Technicians at the school.
- Paul Arcady
- Jonathan's student, "wit of the class."
- Detective Chief Superintendent Irestone
- Detective Inspector Robson
Favorite passages
A friend gives Physics teacher Jonathan Derry some tapes which contain an unusually accurate computer program for handicapping horses. PART ONE Ecvinal chose a favorite quote from each part of Twice Shy. From Part One: Jonathan notes, And from Part Two: Cassie says, Criminals in jail are there voluntarily. UnaLibreta's favorite quote from Twice Shy: William says, speaking of horses
People like Vince Akkerton were the indispensable getters of things done.
They are a friendly nation living in our land, letting their human neighbors tend them and feed them, accepting them as servants as much as masters. Fast, fascinating, essentially untamed, they are my landscape, my old shoes, the place to where my heart returned, as necessary to me as the sea is to sailors.
Chosen by members of the reading group in the late 1990s. From Twice Shy by Dick Francis.
The group read it
We discussed Twice Shy on November 3, 1997.
This page was first written for the reading group's original site in the late 1990s and was lost when AOL Hometown closed. It has been recovered from the Internet Archive.