STAGE Reflex

4 Dick Francis

Introduction

The story
Philip Nore is a jockey who is interested in
photography. Three years ago Nore had been asked to
lose races by his boss Victor Briggs and now he starts
asking Nore to lose deliberately once again. Nore is
very unhappy about having to cheat in this way.
When George Millace, a well-known photographer, someone else gasses his house and his friend Jeremy
dies in a car crash, life begins to change drastically for nearly dies.
Philip. He develops photographs from negatives in a After these events Philip develops the rest of the
box which he picks up from George’s house, which negatives finding Dana’s list (of names, dates and
has been burgled. The first photograph shows that a drugs implicating Kinship) and evidence that George
well-known owner, Elgin Yaxley, had lied to the police. had also known about the race fixing.
After developing this photograph, Nore notices Philip is an honest man and confronts Victor with
that the unpopular Ivor den Relgan has been allowed George’s photograph in order to make him stop
to become a member of the Jockey Club by Lord cheating, not to blackmail him. He forces Kinship, who
White because White is interested in his daughter, had tried to gas him and had killed George, to tell him
Dana. At the same time, Nore witnesses den Relgan the name of the drug supplier behind him.
attack Lance Kinship, the famous film-maker, when he
tries to talk to Dana. Background to the story
Once Philip develops George’s photos of a naked The word ‘reflex’ is a reference to the cameras of
couple, he believes George was blackmailing the George and Philip which play such an important role in
people in the pictures and was murdered. Philip the story; and also to the psychological and moral
eventually shows Lord White the photograph which reflexes which make us what we are.
proves that Dana is not den Relgan’s daughter but his Dick Francis is the world-famous author of nearly
lover. Lord White then expels den Relgan from the forty best-selling novels, most if not all of which are
Jockey Club. set in the world of horse racing. He has also written a
Meanwhile, Philip is becoming increasingly biography of the famous British jockey, Lester Piggott;
disillusioned with the world of racing as well as being an autobiography (The Sport of Queens); and
worried about what to do with the photographs. In produced several collections of racing stories. Before
search of some comfort, he finds the woman who he became a writer, he was a jockey himself (from
looked after him sometimes as a child, Samantha. He 1946 to 1957) and then wrote a racing column for the
meets her daughter, Clare, a publisher who tells Philip Sunday Express from 1957 to 1973. He wrote his first
that his photographs are very good. novel in 1962.
After Philip sees Yaxley at the races, he develops
blackmail letters from George to Yaxley and tells him Discussion points
he wants the same as George. Yaxley gives him a 1 What, in your opinion, are the worst kinds of
large cheque for the Injured Jockeys’ Fund. Philip now crime? Are there any crimes which you do not
realizes that George was not making money for think are very serious?
himself but for a worthy cause. 2 Have you ever done something which you felt was
Life now becomes very dangerous for Philip. He is right to do but which other people thought was
beaten up very badly by den Relgan’s men. Dana wrong?
demands a list which Philip does not have while 3 Have you ever deliberately not tried to do your best
at something?

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 STAGE Reflex
4 Pre-reading activity

Match the words with the pictures

1 2 3 4

5 6 7 8

a ‘There’s a special silver cup for the winner e Victor picked up a large envelope and held
of this race.’ it out to me.
b I held the piece of paper over the pan and f ‘You know everything, don’t you?’ said
watched George’s letter appear. Victor.
c I lay on one elbow. My mouth full of grass g Lance Kinship smiled happily. ‘Two more
and dirt. copies of them all,’ he said.
d ‘Jeremy, don’t die. Jeremy, it’s my fault.’ h Clare opened the box and began to look at
the photographs.
To the teacher

Aim: To familiarize students with the setting to the ones who appear most);
Time: 10–20 minutes 2 who they are or what the relationships between
Organization: Give one copy of the worksheet to them are.
each student or to each pair of students. Ask the Then ask them:
students to match the picture with the correct 1 to look again at the pictures and put them in order
caption. as they think they occur in the story;
When they have matched the pictures and the 2 to predict, in general terms, the story from the
captions, ask them: pictures.
1 how many different people appear altogether in Key: 1c, 2h, 3b, 4a, 5f, 6g, 7e, 8d.
the pictures (get them to pay particular attention

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 STAGE Reflex
4 While reading activities

Acting the story

Make dialogues for these scenes.

1 2 3

4 5 6

To the teacher

Where: At the end of Chapter 10 the class has collectively provided a dramatisation of
Aim: To create dramatic re-enactments of the text the story so far.
(Acting the story)/To focus on the outcome (Story Ask the students to first read the relevant passage in
prediction) the book and then rehearse their own extended
Time: 15–30 minutes (Acting the story)/10–20 version of the scene, providing more dialogue than
minutes (Story prediction) appears in the text.
Organization: Give out the worksheets to pairs or Each pair or group acts out their own picture in turn.
groups of students. For the first activity, allocate the After the first activity, ask students in groups to
roles of the different characters in the pictures to predict the outcome of the story by using the
pairs or groups of students. Tell them the illustrations remaining chapter headings: The other idea; Not
represent key moments in the story. Students careful enough; Dana is desperate; Hidden list;
re-enact the different scenes in the right Victor talks; The last photographs.
chronological order so that by the end of the activity

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 STAGE Reflex
4 After reading activity

Hunt the crime

Find examples in the book of the following crimes. Write one sentence for each example of
each crime you can find in the second column of the table below.
CRIMES EXAMPLES
1 Adultery (having sex with someone who is not
your husband or wife when you are married)
2 Arson (burning a house or building deliberately)
3 Assault (hitting someone very hard)
4 Assuming a false identity (saying you are
someone who you are not)
5 Attempted murder (trying to kill someone)
6 Blackmail (getting money from someone by
warning that you will say bad facts about them)
7 Bribery and race fixing (giving money to someone
to do something wrong; changing the result of a
race by not trying hard enough)
8 Burglary (stealing things from houses)
9 Drug dealing (selling drugs) and drug taking
10 Fraud (getting money by telling lies or cheating)
11 Murder (killing someone)
12 Perjury (telling lies to the police or in a law court)

To the teacher

Aim: To revise, remember what has been read, gasman (page 62); 5: Philip/Jeremy by Lance Kinship
summarize, extend vocabulary (page 69); 6: Millace/Yaxley (page 48); Millace/den
Time: 10–20 minutes Relgan (page 53); Philip/Yaxley (page p57–59);
Organization: Ask students to work alone or in pairs Millace/Victor Briggs (page 81); 7: Philip on Daylight
to identify all the different crimes in the list. They will (pages 5–6); Victor’s envelope (page 14); 8: the
probably have to use their dictionaries or ask for your Millace’s house (pages 3 and 10); 9: Dana den Relgan
help for some of the terms. By imposing a time limit, and Lance Kinship (page 23); Philip’s mother (page
you can turn the activity into a race to see who can p34 and 86); Dana den Relgan (page 67); Lance
get the most correct answers in the time allotted. Kinship (page 86); 10: Yaxley and O’Tree (page 17);
Key: 1: Lord White with Dana den Relgan – probably 11: George Millace by Lance Kinship (pages 30 and
(page 23); 2: George Millace’s house by den Relgan 86); 12: Yaxley (page 17); (NB. There is also the less
(page 19); 3: Mrs Millace (page 10); den Relgan on clearly definable crime of Lord White’s in gaining den
Kinship (page 24); den Relgan’s men on Philip (page Relgan’s entry into the Jockey Club.)
63); 4: Dana den Relgan (page 53); den Relgan as the

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