Horse by Geraldine Brooks

Horse by Geraldine Brooks

“A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history”.

Kentucky, 1850. Jarret, an enslaved groom, forms a profound bond with a bay foal, leading the horse to achieve unprecedented victories throughout the Southern region. As the nation is engulfed in civil war, a young itinerant artist renowned for his paintings of the racehorse joins the Union forces. In a treacherous night, he reunites with the stallion and its groom, far removed from the glamour of the racetrack.

New York City, 1954. Martha Jackson, a daring gallery owner known for championing avant-garde contemporary artists, becomes obsessed with a nineteenth-century equestrian oil painting of mysterious origin.

Washington, DC, 2019. Jess, a Smithsonian scientist from Australia, and Theo, a Nigerian-American art historian, unexpectedly find themselves connected through their shared fascination with the horse. While Jess studies the stallion’s bones in search of clues about its power and endurance, Theo delves into the forgotten history of the Black horsemen who played a crucial role in its racing triumphs.

Drawing inspiration from the extraordinary true story of the record-breaking thoroughbred Lexington, Horse is a novel that intertwines art and science, love and obsession, and confronts the unfinished legacy of racism.

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