A Horseman Riding By
(publ. Hodder & Stoughton)
A Horseman Riding By is a 1966 novel by R. F. Delderfield that starts in 1902 at the tail end of the Boer War and is continued in the sequel to end in the summer of 1965. It is set in Devon in the early 20th century. It was to some extent an elegy for the traditional society which was blown apart by the First World War. Delderfield wrote at least one sequel, some accounts describe it as part of a trilogy, but this may be due to confusion because it was published in two parts in the USA.
It was made into a BBC television serial in 1978 starring Nigel Havers, Prunella Ransome and Glyn Houston. The BBC did not adapt the remainder of the series of novels, but a few years later they adapted two more of Delderfield's novels, To Serve Them All My Days and Diana.
Long Summer Day
The first novel is Long Summer Day. The novels are all set in south Devon, where the main character, Paul Craddock buys an estate after serving with the Imperial Yeomanry in the Boer War. The first novel covers the years of the long “Edwardian afternoon” after the death of Queen Victoria, including the postponement of the coronation of King Edward VII, the Liberal landslide of 1906 and the coronation of King George V. The story follows the trials and tribulations of Craddock, and later his second wife and their growing family.
Post of Honour
The second novel Post of Honour covers the years from 1914 through to May 1940 with the Dunkirk evacuation. However the first chapter catches up with the main characters and events from 1911 to the outbreak of the First World War in 1914. The second novel finishes with the “Miracle of Dunkirk” with Craddock’s eldest son Simon (his son from his brief first marriage) returning safely from France.
The Green Gauntlet
The third and final novel The Green Gauntlet is in two sections, part one picks up the story of the Craddock family in February 1942 and runs through the rest of the Second World War and the culmination of the D Day landings, the story then takes us on to the end of the war just before V.E. Day. Part two gets underway with the V.E. Day celebrations in May 1945, then follows the Craddock family fortunes through the 1950s and up until the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965