Foxhunting Books

Pedia was a genius; he had the love for the sport and the ability to pass it on, not only to his family and friends, but to anyone who picks up any of his books. He was incredibly talented and dedicated to his work- this book shows the passion that captured him as it does so many of us that truly love the hunt, the hounds, and the horses.

best book ever very interesting and intriguing ....very clear and interesting.. i new of the man personally so it was a pleasure to read the book

Reading this collection of special hunting stories so deftly illustrated was a joy. The breadth of the collection encompasses many different periods in hunting lore and offers the reader the enjoyment of reading about hunting from those whose perspectives differed as greatly as did their writing styles. Mr. Mackay-Smith has arranged the collections and illustrations very cleverly, with a sure sense of rythmn and sharp editing skills. A wonderful gift, much treasured.

A wonderful collection of stories about Norfolk Hunt - both past and present - but can be enjoyed by anyone facinated by the sport of foxhunting. Great for the coffee table.

A wonderful collection of stories about Norfolk Hunt - both past and present - but can be enjoyed by anyone facinated by the sport of foxhunting. Great for the coffee table.

A great read for the seasoned member of the hunting field and the novice to foxhunting alike. Patrick Teroerde, MFH

After having the pleasure of meeting and visiting with Melvin during a recent research trip of my own for a book I am writing, I was very pleased to be lent a copy of this book for my reading/research enjoyment. Melvin is truly an original man and anyone who comes into contact with him is immediately struck by his easy ways and welcoming smile. This book will put you in the saddle and trailing behind one of the top Masters of the Hounds in the United States today, and perhaps one of the best in the world. Hats off to Mr. Winants for capturing the spirit of the sport and the spirit of Melvin Poe, a man and his horses and hounds. Judith Joyce Poe, author But I Have Known You

An interesting combination of fantasy and mystery although the mystery is not important to the storyline.

You may wonder as you read any book in this series how a town full of freedom loving, democratic minded citizens could be persuaded to call a silly, 70-year old harridan Master. Why they would endure her pettiness and mean spirited insults and why they obey her whimsical dictates. Those answers and others are never fully revealed to the reader.

Brown shows an absurd lack of knowledge when it comes to all the animals in her novels. Foxes don't enjoy being hunted, nor do they sit around their humble dens at night and gossip about foxhunters. Horses don't enjoy being jumped over ice to give their riders a thrill. But wishing makes it so in this Virginia community, that is if you are one of the hunting-mad, rich gentry.

Ignore the basic cruelty to animals and the unpleasant sense of entitlement felt by the fox hunters.

I've read Ms. Brown for years and keep hoping I'll enjoy one of her latest books as much as High Hearts or her earlier books. Her snobbish Virginia characters and foxhunting settings have worn very thin. I believe in southern gentility as much as the next person, but in light of the issues we face today, lauding something like foxhunting as "civilized" seems a slap in the face.

I don't mind the animal antropomorphizing, but I do mind her using that device to justify foxhunting as a sport that the foxes apparently "enjoy", even if she only portrays "no kill" hunts.

....but found it confusing since I read Hotspur first. Apparently the author decided to ignore the details in Pete's will in the following books. (Doug to become Hunt Master, no Joint-Master.)

Just found this Rita Mae Brown fox hunting murder mystery series and loved it.. read all of them so far but am posting review for the first...

bottom line all are superb... to be honest when I picked up the first I was not sure what the bit was about anthropomorphizing the animals (hounds, horses, foxes) but it is fine... not overdone and fits right in...

what I like about the series is it is above all positive about life and positive about keeping on living with any and all set backs that occur to people including the loss of loved ones, jealousy sexual and professional, rivalry, pettiness, etc. etc. etc.

it's darned entertaining hearing about American fox hunting from someone expert in the sport who loves it (btw they don't kill the foxes)... it's fun reading the glossary at the end and in the text ("gyp" is a synonym for "bitch" etc.) ...

and finally it's reassuring to read about keeping on keeping on and having both youth and elders and middle agers being able to coexist and help each other...

what can I say I laughed I cried I was entertained and I was engaged... what more would one want ! :)

I thoroughly enjoyed the book - I couldn't wait to find time to read. Outfoxed is light yet intelligent with a fascinating glimpse at the communication between animals and their role in solving the crime. As an animal lover and avid reader, I highly recommend this book. As a recent mystery convert, I am hooked and cannot wait to read the second book in the series (Hotspur).
Enjoy!

This novel seemed like a rush job. The characters are so prolific that you barely get to know who's who - is it human, animal or hunting history being shared. Too much to sort out and too little meat to make it worth it.

Normally I love Rita Mae Brown's stories. I can't wait for them to come out! But this one I found to be disappointing. It had virtually no plot and little interesting interactions with the animals but what felt like an inordinate amount of "lecturing" about various and sundry things. Frankly, it was dull which is something I never thought I would say about one of Ms. Brown's books.

Rita Mae Brown reads her own work in the audio version of this book, not a good decision. Sometimes (like with Barbara Kinsolver), the author's reading enhances a book. Unfortunately, Ms. Brown's inept reading was distracting. I think, overall, I liked the book, as I've liked all her previous works. But with her very odd pacing (she sometimes ran names together, so for the first several chapters I thought there were nuns in the book - Sister Charlotte, for example) and her inability to "voice" the characters differently, I kept getting lost. Several times I had no clue whether the speaker was animal or human. I'd not read any of the Hunt Club books before; maybe it would have helped if I had already known all the characters.

It's wonderful to have another visit with Sister Jane and the crazy people who populate her world. I liked the mystery but the mystery isn't really why I read Rita Mae Brown's hunt books. I read them because I love rural Virginia, dogs, tales of the hunt and character studies.

I liked the fact that there weren't neat endings in this book. One of the students at the local girl's school is an emotional mess, she is making progress but doesn't miraculously turn into a great kid by the end of the book. Another plus for me was be being mercifully spared another sex scene between Sister and her enthusiastic new boyfriend in this book. That was a relief.

I only have a few complaints: I may the only one but I really think Crawford got somewhat wronged in The Hunt Ball. He's a jerk at times, he's crass, a snob, his reaction to Shaker's punch was childish and he loves to show off his wealth but his money goes a long way to making the hunt possible. In the real world Shaker should've either apologized for belting him and or had to face assault charges. The last time a likeable character messed up in this series she had to face the consequences and went to jail. Shaker's transgression is treated like it 's no big deal because he's a beloved member of the pack and Crawford is only tolerated for his money. I didn't like that. Also, the animals had too small a role in this installment of the series and I missed them.

Hunt Ball seems to be a bridge novel and should be read immediately before The Hounds and the Fury. Perhaps in a later edition the two books will be published together.

In spite of the fact that I am not entirely convinced that the foxes enjoy the sport of fox hunting as much as the people do, and as much as Rita Mae Brown proclaims, I enjoyed the Hunt Ball, much as I have enjoyed her other books, both the Sneaky Pie series and the Sister Jane series. I appreciate the way Brown gives voice to the animal characters and uses them to make observations about humans, and I also share her obvious love and respect for the animals in her stories. Her characters are likable, and the feeling of community is welcoming and a nice place to spend a few hours.

In this book, as in all of her books, the mystery is peripheral to the plot, and is rather contrived, but that's not why I read the books. I read them because I always feel that these are people who, should I show up on their doorstep, would bring me in, offer me a nice plate of cookies and then put me to work along with everyone else.

So if you are looking for a nice, tight mystery, this book isn't it. But if you are looking for friends and a welcoming spirit, then by all means pick up these books. You'll be glad you did.

I enjoyed this book, as I do all Rita Mae Brown's "Horsey" stories! I hope more are coming...fast !

An o.k. story if you can get past the talking birds and animals. Tough to be outfoxed by a fox! I thought this was the first book by Ms Brown I had read, but on checking my list of books read, I find "Riding Shotgun" which I don't recall one bit. I guess there were no talking animals in it. Guess not too much effort was put into solving the mystery at the time of Nola's disappearance cause everyone thought the 2 eloped. But had there been, it wouldn't have been difficult to uncover the culprit at that time and might have spared another person's life.
Long live the clever fox.

I enjoy the animal's personification and dialogue in these books and while I'm not enamored of foxhunting, the information about it does make the book informative.

My complaint is that the resolution of the mystery resembles a CHiPs episode I saw in the late 70s. A re-enactment with actors playing the parts of people who've been dead for 2 centuries? It's rather unsatisfactory. I wonder if the author just got painted into a corner and could only conjure up this elaborate scheme to solve the mystery. I found it to be a disappointing way to end an otherwise enjoyable novel.

While other reviewiers here find the talking animals and foxhunting information not to their taste, I find it enjoyable and fascinating. The mystery here is not as well done as in the previous work _Outfoxed_, and the recent _Full Cry_, but the intrigues of the Jefferson Hunt are what make the book. The murder of Nola seemed to me a bit of rehashing of plot from one or two of the Sneaky Pie books, but I am an avid re-reader of Ms Brown's Sneaky Pie work. It would probably go unnoticed by a reader not as familliar with those stories.
The real stars of the story are the animals' interactions with each other and with Sister, and foxhunting itself. Rita Mae Brown paints a picture of life in rural Virginia as intriguing and affectionate as Peter Mayle's France from _A Year In Provence_.
She makes me want to visit, observe a hunt, and wallow in the hospitality of the south. With this and the first book, you grow to know the players in the hunt club as closely as actors on a soap opera. I too missed Doug, and hope he returns in future books. If you enjoied _Outfoxed_, you will enjoy Hotspur.

This could have been a fabulous story with interesting and compelling characters. Instead, we have another self-indulgent wallow in the world of fox-hunting and so-called gracious southern living. I gave up on Rita Mae Brown several years ago when she stopped writing inventive and intriguing novels and started writing stories about talking animals. Recently I picked up Hotspur hoping some of the old zing had come back into her writing. Sadly, it hasn't.

I am afraid that I found this book utterly disappointing. Expecting people to have realised that old-fashioned fox-hunting is as much a tradition as gladiator fighting or slavery used to be, I was shocked to see that someone still seems to find it enjoyable. The fact is that countless scientific studies show that fox-hunting is not necessary, and as to all other arguments, what is wrong with drag-hunting? The only answer is that blood-thirsty hunters would not find it as much fun.

Robards is God , mind you some lesser mortals may call him the anti-Christ ! .My hunting career began as a child ,around the age of seven , with the Stonhall Harriers hunted by Miachel O' Shaughnessy M.H. & George Kennedy M.H. and with The County Limerick Foxhounds hunted by Lord Daresbury M.F.H. & Hugh Robards. I have early memories of Mr. Robards and all of them still send chills down my spine.At the sight of him arriving at the meet with those Old English Hounds, man and beast knew something special was going to happen today.With this book Mr. Robards instills that same thrill of the chase into words. The thrill and excitement he generated in those early days sealed my faith , I entered Hunt Service. For those interested in the art of venery all I can say is that I have insisted on my whips reading it before the opening of cubbing.(Diana rather than Venus!)The highest compliment I can pay this book is that it was easy to read , I finished it in two evenings!

This is a book full of character and characters of an age that will not be seen again. The relationships between employer and employee of an era where etiquette and manners were all too important. It provides the reader with a real feeling of how the hunting circle worked and how a man devoted to his job through his love for the hounds and the countryside dealt with the changing landscape and attitudes over the decades. Well worth every penny, and a must have for anyone intested in foxhunting and country pursuits.

I agree wholeheartedly with another reviewer who remarked that Brown should decide if she's going to sermonize or write a mystery. I think she has decided....she's sermonizing. This book wasn't even remotely interesting. A minor mystery was deeply embedded in all Brown's preaching. If you aren't paying attention, it'll slip right past you.
...And I made the mistake of getting "The Hounds and the Fury" at the same time I got "Full Cry." I'm not looking forward to it.

I have been a great fan of Rita Mae Brown (and Speaky Pie Brown) for many years. I am enjoying the Foxhunting Mysteries trementously. I love the characters, the plots, the education I am getting on the sport of fox hunting, and Rita Mae Brown's personal philosophy on many subjects. I highly recommend this series, if you like books that are thought provoking as well as entertaining. Full Cry is the third book in the series. I have read all five of the books now available and am anxiously awaiting the next great story about the Jefferson Hunt Club.

I listened to this on CD in my car...driving around western Virginia.

-The author is not a very good reader...her rhythm/intonation is off...but I didn't mind the flubs at all. It's nice to have a reader that sounds like a real person. And by having her read it, the we avoid the distraction of having the technical terms being pronounced incorrectly. (Although I'm not used to hearing "hooves" rhyming with "moves".)

-It's a matter of taste, but talking animals (or babies, for that matter) have no appeal whatsoever for me. Ugh! And if they did talk, no horse that I've ever ridden would have said, "Are you all right?" when I fell off. I believe they'd say, "Aaaaaaaaah...at last. Hey, there's some grass!"

-Being a woman of a certain age, I liked the Sister character, (although I don't believe she still had her figure at 72). But the denouement---and Sister's actions in it---was utterly improbable and illogical. Gimme a break!

I have always enjoyed Rita Mae Brown's work. That being said, and yes, this story line does wear abit thin, but the worst, unforgivable sin is that she read the story herself. It was awful. Several times she will start a sentence, only to stop and restart after a few words. There was no feeling of character in her voice. Yoy can hear her swallow and clear her throat, so I guess it's the production values that are the biggest offender.

Having read the other books in this fox hunting series, I can say this one is not up to the standard. The plot line is not as well defined as in the other books. It is rather sketchy to be honest.

While Rita Mae Brown fans will probably read it anyway, it is not a book that will draw in new fans.