Joseph E. Chipperfield (1912-1976)

Full name Joseph Eugene Chipperfield. Born in St Austell, Cornwall in 1912. Died in 1976. Also wrote under the name John Eland Craig. As well as a writer he worked as an editor and scriptwriter of documentaries.

He was brought up on a farm where he developed his love of countryside and animals, both of which feature in all his books. He travelled around Europe making notes on wildlife and researched many of the locations of his books first hand. His novel Storm of Dancerwood is based on his experiences travelling the west country with his Alsation Max.

As well as his horse stories he wrote many books about dogs which are probably considered his best works, also other animals, usually in the wild, such as eagles, foxes and stags. His pony books were all about wild horses set in America.

Pony Books:

SILVER STAR STALLION OF THE ECHOING MOUNTAIN
(HUTCHINSON 1953)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Very rare.
There is a French edition of this  (pictured) which is for some reason easier to find than the English version!

DARK FURY STALLION OF LOST RIVER VALLEY
(HUTCHINSON 1956)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Reprinted in paperback as DARK FURY by Armada and later under full title by Beaver.
SUMMARY: The stallion Dark Fury escapes his humiliating life as a circus performer and sets off across the desert to his wild homeland.

GHOST HORSE STALLION OF THE OREGON TRAIL
(HUTCHINSON 1959)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Reprinted in paperback as GHOST HORSE by Armada and Beaver.
SUMMARY: The story of Pahute, descendant of Dark Fury, who becomes a legendary stallion in his own right. Many men have tried to capture him, but none have managed it. Can Jim Blaine succeed where others have failed?

CHECOBA STALLION OF THE COMMANCHE
(HUTCHINSON 1964)
ILLUSTRATED BY G. GIFFORD AMBLER
Rare.

BANNER THE PACING WHITE STALLION
(HUTCHINSON 1972)
ILLUSTRATED BY ROBERT HALES
Reprinted in hardback. Rare.

Collectors Info:
Ghost Horse and Dark Fury were the only two to be reprinted as paperbacks, both by Armada and later Beaver. These are consequently a lot easier to find than the others, which are fairly rare. Silver Star is very hard to find. However if you can read French there is a much easier to find French version!