Horse Sense
I really wanted to like this book which I bought at the Westlake Library sale a few weeks ago:
I have been a Traveller fan for a long time. When I was in fifth grade, my class took a field trip to Lexington and I actually saw Traveller's skeleton that Horwitz refers to on page 274. That, of course, was over 50 years ago. When I went to college in Richmond (also a long time ago), I often admired the statue of Traveller on Monument Avenue.
A book about Traveller that I really liked—all the way through—was Richard Adams' novel, Traveller. In it, Traveller tells about the war from his own viewpoint. And Traveller never once refers to himself as a mare.
In fact, I did like this book. I really liked this book. Until I got to page 274 and read about Traveller, Robert E. Lee's horse.
Why would a Pultizer Prize-winning author refer to the most famous Southern horse as a she? Everyone knows that Traveller, originally named Jeff Davis and then Greenbrier, was a he—a gelding. (I once heard a noted Civil War historian refer to Traveller as a stallion, but I held my tongue). I think the author might have gotten Traveller confused with Lucy Long, a mare that Lee owned.
You'd think, though, that the publishers (Pantheon for the hardcover, Vintage for the paperback) would have had the horse sense to use a fact-checker.
After page 274, I was skeptical about everything else I read. What else did the author get wrong? I wondered.
This picture, scanned from the photo that hangs on my wall, shows Traveller displaying a particular anatomical part that a mare would not have.
I have been a Traveller fan for a long time. When I was in fifth grade, my class took a field trip to Lexington and I actually saw Traveller's skeleton that Horwitz refers to on page 274. That, of course, was over 50 years ago. When I went to college in Richmond (also a long time ago), I often admired the statue of Traveller on Monument Avenue.
A book about Traveller that I really liked—all the way through—was Richard Adams' novel, Traveller. In it, Traveller tells about the war from his own viewpoint. And Traveller never once refers to himself as a mare.
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posted by Becky Mushko | 9:06 AM
4 Comments:
Richard Adam's novel sounds interesting.
I think we would all be surprised at how many "facts" presented in books are actually wrong.
I rest my case:
EDIT!
Heh heh heh...
If people intend to me a book about a horse well-known in history, they need to know that I do, as a reasonably intelligent (I hope) reader, know the difference between the (cough) sexes [of horses, in this case]. To do otherwise insults the reader and looks a lot like a standing ovation of rotten tomatoes on the author, the publisher, and everyone who was responsible for making sure that the work of literary art was also a realistic and genuine article down to the last punctuation mark.
Of course, none of us is perfect. But be-darned if I'll call a mare a gelding or vice-versa. Which reminds me of an old fella who once told me he had a new filly-colt out yonder in the pasture... as you may imagine, that spawned quite a heated 'discussion' until he finally realized what I was getting at in picking at him over it. From there, we shared a good laugh.
~ R.L.M. Tipton
Proof again that a writer should research, research, and then research again.
LOL - we must be sisters!! I love stories, and I do love a yarn full of embellishment, but also am a stickler for the true facts. How hard was it for her to look at the picture and not notice he's a he?
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