A Kestrel for a Knave

Story

Young Billy Casper is not doing well at school and his home life isn’t much better. Barnsley is a mining town where everybody works hard for very little reward, and Billy longs for something more. When he finds Kes, the kestrel hawk, he begins a relationship like never before. Through trust and love, Kes inspires Billy by teaching him what it takes to survive in a harsh world.

Why we chose it

A classic from the 1960s which portrays the hardship of Billy’s life at home and at school but it shows too a real love of the countryside and of nature and the novel is not without warmth, hope and humour.

Where it came from

The author’s younger brother, Richard, loved kestrels as a child. Barry Hines claimed that this inspired the story. He also loved to base his stories in Yorkshire and found it incredibly important that he represented the area and its people well.

Where it went next

The story was adapted into the successful film Kes (1970) which was among the British Film Institute’s top 10 British Films that year. The story is considered a modern classic and is used as a set text to study in schools across the UK.

Associated stories

During his fifty-year career, Barry Hines wrote only nine novels. Among them The Blinder (1966) and Price of Cole (1979) were some of the most successful. He also wrote for stage and screen. One of the most memorable of his television works was the BBC film Threads (1984).