Geraldine Brooks is famous for having brought us her owndistinctive take on the Black Plague, the life of King David,and the search for a rare manuscript during the Bosnian War,among other things. This time around, she’s delving into theastonishing true story of America’s most famous horse (thatnobody’s ever heard of).

Lexington was a phenomenon, a champion both on theracetrack in his short career (winning six of his seven races) andon the stud farm in his retirement. But as the memories of hisfame faded, so too did his place in the history books, and up untila few years ago, his skeleton was languishing in a dusty attic inthe Smithsonian Institute.

Brooks brings to (fictional) life the three main players inLexington’s life – his early owner, Warfield; his second owner,Ten Broek; and his trainer Jarret Lewis, a Black man who wasas much the property of Lexington’s owners as the horse was.This isn’t just the story of a horse: this is the story of racism andprejudice running throughout different periods of Americanhistory. It’s the story of a modern-day romance between twoscholars. It’s the story of skeletons and beetles that eat deadflesh. But at its core, it’s the love story of the man, Jarret Lewis,and the horse, Lexington.

As with each of Brooks’ books, the historical detail isastonishing, and you can’t escape the sense that this is reallyand truly the way things happened. The barns, the barbers, the drawing rooms, thestreets, are all skilfully and convincingly drawn. The cruelty of humankind towardsanimals, as well as the cruelty of humankind towards itself feels real. This is a huge book,with enormous themes, beautifully and engagingly written. Expect it on all the prize liststhis year. Brilliant!