author
Thomas Smith
1790–1878
A legendary 19th-century English huntsman, he turned a life in the saddle into lively sporting books full of sharp observation and storytelling. His best-known works blend memoir, country life, and an unusual gift for bringing the fox-hunting world vividly to life.
1 Audiobook
The Life of a Fox, Written by Himself
by Thomas Smith
About the author
Thomas Smith (1790–1878), often known as Tom Smith, was an English huntsman and sporting writer. Reliable catalog records link him to books including Extracts from the Diary of a Huntsman, Sporting Incidents in the Life of Another Tom Smith, and The Life of a Fox.
Contemporary and library sources describe him as a major figure in fox hunting, serving at different times with the Craven, the Pytchley, and the Hambledon hunts. That practical experience gives his writing its appeal: even when he is recounting sport, he writes with the eye of someone who knew the people, places, and routines of the countryside firsthand.
What still makes his work memorable is its mix of action, anecdote, and personality. The Life of a Fox is especially distinctive, using an animal's point of view to create something between sporting literature and imaginative natural storytelling, while his memoir-style books preserve the voice of a colorful public character from rural 19th-century England.