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The Bolinvars
Marguerite F. Bayliss

Statistics:
Copyright 1944
306 pages
Historical/General Fiction
Out of Print

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Horse connection:
(Fox Hunting, Steeplechasing, Racing, Driving) Fox Hunting

Description:
A family feud of unknown origin between the Virginia and (New) Jersey branches of the Bolinvar family leads cousins Devereux and Hugo Bolinvar into a vivacious equestrian rivalry which spans three continents. Possibly the ultimate sporting novel, this book is replete with such arcana as the bloodlines of the early Thoroughbred, the origins of the Standardbred, fox-hunting and steeplechasing in Europe, training with the Spanish Riding School, and even some expert and wonderfully-drawn details on carriage driving. The novel culminates in a fantastic fox hunt from Virginia all the way to - well, that would spoil it! Lock the doors, turn off the phone, and return to the days of daring cavaliers, dashing young ladies, fine bloodstock and those who love them all. This book is a horse lover's dream come true.

NOTE: This book was originally published by The Derrydale Press in 1937 in 2 volumes titled "Bolinvar". Reviewed is the wartime edition published by The World Publishing Company.

Accuracy:
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painfully inaccurate   [login to vote]   detailed and exquisitely accurate

5.00 Rating, 3 Votes

Quantity:
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minimal or background   [login to vote]   horsey

5.00 Rating, 3 Votes

Quality:
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waste of time   [login to vote]   worth a worldwide search

4.33 Rating, 3 Votes

Ratings Key

How Gay is This Guy?, by andreasgarrett on March 09, 2006

Not that there's anything wrong with that but to modern ears I think the hero's obvious crush on his Virginia cousin is a bit much-he left his new bride to hang out with another man for a year. If you compare how much and in what way he speaks of his wife to the same for his cousin-no comparason! AND the foxhunting sequence is goofy in the extreme. I liked the horse bits because they echo my love for the Throughbred BUT I don't think any horse, even a tb is capable of a 500 mile run.

Amendment, by Lizviola on November 29, 2003

I have to make an amendment to the review I posted above. I was reviewing the wartime edition, NOT the first edition. Having now read the Derrydale Press first edition, it would be prudent to issue a caveat that the first edition contains some pretty serious racist remarks/philosophies which may very well grate on contemporary readers (they most certainly did on me). The wartime editor did a splendid job of excising 99.9% of this, to the point that I had no idea it had ever been there until I read the first edition.

On the other hand, the first edition also contains some fascinating period fox hunting lore that the wartime edition does not (e.g., cubbing was never practiced in America until the late 1800s. And apparently the standard size of a box stall in those days was 16' x 16'!!!)