A Kestrel for a Knave" is a novel by English author Barry Hines, published in 1968. Set in an unspecified mining area in Northern England, the book follows Billy Casper, a working-class boy troubled at home and at school, who finds and trains a kestrel whom he names "Kes".
A bit of "googling" revealed that the novel's title was taken from a poem found in the Book of Saint Albans, and refers to the kestrel, the only bird a knave (male servant, or man of low class) was legally allowed to keep in medieval England. Thank you, GOOGLE, for clearing that away.
The book received a wider audience when it was adapted into the film "Kes", which is regarded as one of the greatest British films ever. I have watched it several times as did a certain regular reader of this blog who hails from the same part of Yorkshire --- some of us have to, I guess.
Further "googling" brought me to the book "Life After Kes" by Simon W. Golding. "Oh, good, another 'Lord of the Flies'", I thought to myself, but this one is not a William but a Simon W. Golding. The preview made me want to read the whole book but it's well over forty dollars on ebay.
Maybe my regular reader finds a copy of it during his volunteering stints at LIFELINE, in which case I'm happy to swap it for my copy of "The Wonder Down Under". In the meantime, I hope he will accept this excellent BBC documentary by the same name as a down-payment.
Was this post just an excuse for me to stop me from going outside and instead spend more time by the blazing fireplace? A hundred percent.
