''King of the Wind'' is a novel by

Marguerite Henry Marguerite Henry (' Breithaupt; April 13, 1902 – November 26, 1997) was an American writer of children's books, writing fifty-nine books based on true stories of horses and other animals. She won the Newbery Medal for ''King of the Wind'', a 19 ...

that won the

Newbery Medal The John Newbery Medal, frequently shortened to the Newbery, is a literary award given by the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association (ALA), to the author of "the most distinguished cont ...

for excellence in American

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

in 1949. It was made into a film of the same name in 1990.''King of the Wind''
at

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Plot

As the fast of Ramadan is ending in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria t ...

, Agba, a mute slave boy, tends to his favorite Arabian mare, who gives birth that night. The

colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

has a white spot on his hind heel, considered the emblem of swiftness and good luck, but it also has a wheat ear on his chest, symbolizing bad luck. The mare dies within a few days, but Sham matures into a promising racehorse. Later, the Sultan summons six horseboys to his palace, including Agba, and charges them to accompany six horses to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. The horses are to be given as gifts to the French King

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

. The horseboy is to remain with that horse until the horse's death, then return to Morocco. When the racehorses arrive in France, they are frowned upon by the French, who believe that they are not 'lusty' enough to be racehorses. Sham becomes a kitchen horse, but he is so disobedient that the cook sells him to a carter. Agba becomes a servant to Sham's new owner and meets Grimalkin the cat along the way. Sham is bought by a Quaker man and taken to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. When Sham refuses to let the Quaker's nephew ride him, his owner sells him to an inn. Agba is jailed when he is caught sneaking into the inn to see Sham, but the Quaker's housekeeper

bail Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required. In some countrie ...

s him out, and both Sham and Agba are released into the service of the Earl of Godolphin. The Earl treats Sham as a workhorse, albeit kindly. A mare Lady Roxana, meant to be a mate for the horse Hobgoblin, arrives. Sham successfully fights Hobgoblin for her. She enjoys Sham's company, but the Earl is embarrassed by the incident. He orders Sham, Agba, and Grimalkin to live in Wicken Fen, and they depart. Two years later, the Earl's Chief Groom comes to see Agba and reveals that Lady Roxana gave birth to Sham's son Lath, who was left untrained. One day, Lath jumped a fence and outran some of the colts that the Earl was training. The trio return to Godolphin, and Sham is named the Godolphin Arabian. After the Earl reveals that he is near bankruptcy, they race Sham's sons at Newmarket. The sons win the races and the Queen's purse, thus repairing the Earl's fortunes and establishing Sham as one of the founding stallions of English track racing.

References

External links

Review in ''The New York Times''
{{Newbery Medal Newbery Medal–winning works 1948 American novels Children's historical novels Novels by Marguerite Henry Novels set in Morocco Novels set in Paris Novels set in England Novels about horses Children's novels about animals American children's novels 1948 children's books