Category: Books of Note

Author Answers: Mary Perdue

Published on by Jennifer Kelly1 Comment

Last week, the Books of Note series looked at the recent biography Landaluce: The Story of Seattle Slew’s First Champion, an examination of the short life of the star-crossed filly Landaluce. For February’s Author Answers, let’s hear more from author Mary Perdue, who parlayed her love of the daughter of Seattle Slew into a book that not only covers the filly’s five starts but also the people, places, and names that made her.

I met Mary in 2019 as she was writing Landaluce and was delighted to see the fruit of her labors in this gorgeous book. She captures the spirit of the best that the sport can be and what happens when great Thoroughbreds take root in our souls. If you haven’t had a chance to pick up Landaluce, find it at your favorite bookseller. In the meantime, find Mary’s Author Answers below.

Continue reading “Author Answers: Mary Perdue” →

Books of Note: Landaluce

Published on by Jennifer Kelly

All right, I need to confess something here: my connection to this month’s Book of Note goes beyond simply reading it. I have had the great privilege of getting to know author Mary Perdue and her work since our initial conversation in 2019. I read an early draft of the manuscript so I got to know both Mary and Landaluce in a way that most readers do not get to. I realize that might make anyone reading this post say, “Well, of course, you enjoyed this and recommend it.”

While that is true, let me say that, as a lifelong reader and writer with years of experience behind me, Landaluce: the Story of Seattle Slew’s First Champion would still earn my deep respect and enthusiasm with or without that early access. This story has a heart that beats with a passion and reverence that belongs not just to the woman who wrote it, but also to those who bore witness to this story. It is that awe and veneration of this tragic filly that makes Landaluce a book that I would recommend to anyone who loves this sport, its history, and the animals at the center of it.

Continue reading “Books of Note: Landaluce” →