A Kestrel for a Knave

A Kestrel for a Knave is a novel by English author Barry Hines, published in 1968. It is set in a mining area (only ever referred to as "the City") and tells of Billy Casper, a young working class boy troubled at home and at school, who only finds solace when he finds and trains a kestrel whom he names "Kes".

The book was made into a film Kes and is often used in Key Stage 4 assessment in the United Kingdom, as part of GCSE English courses. The book is so named because of a poem found in the Boke of St Albans. In medieval England, the only bird a knave was legally allowed to keep was a kestrel.

Although considered a classic and widely taught in schools, A Kestrel for a Knave remained unpublished in the United States until 2015.

Plot

In the opening pages of the book we see Billy and his half-brother Jud sleeping in the same bed in a troubled household. Billy tries to encourage Jud to get up to go to work, but Jud only responds by punching him. Soon afterwards Billy attempts to leave for his paper round, only to discover that Jud has stolen his bicycle. As a result, Billy is late and has to deliver the newspapers on foot.