# A Kestrel for a Knave

Canonical: https://www.bookquiver.com/barry-hines/a-kestrel-for-a-knave/9780141184982

![A Kestrel for a Knave](https://quivercdn.com/covers/penguin-classics/barry-hines/a-kestrel-for-a-knave_978-01-4118-498-2.jpg?v=2026-04-23%2012%3A10%3A30)

- Book: [A Kestrel for a Knave](https://www.bookquiver.com/barry-hines/a-kestrel-for-a-knave) ([A Kestrel for a Knave.md](https://www.bookquiver.com/barry-hines/a-kestrel-for-a-knave.md))
- Authors: [Barry Hines](https://www.bookquiver.com/barry-hines)
- Publisher: penguin_classics
- ISBN: 978-01-4118-498-2
- Pages: 208
- Published: 2000-05-25
- Language: en_GB
- Binding: Softcover

## Description

Life is tough and cheerless for Billy Casper, a disillusioned teenager growing up in a small Yorkshire mining town. Violence is commonplace and he is frequently cold and hungry. Yet he is determined to be a survivor and when he finds Kes, a kestrel hawk he discovers a passion in life. Billy identifies with her proud silence and she inspired in him the trust and love that nothing else can. Intense and raw and bitingly honest, A Kestrel for a Knave was first published in 1968 and was also made into a highly acclaimed film, Kes , directed by Ken Loach.