Nicholas Evans in 2005. Critics were scathing about his first novel,
“The Horse Whisperer,” but he received more favorable reviews with his next three books.
Photo by Tina Fineberg
Nicholas Evans, Author of ‘The Horse Whisperer,’ Dies at 72
He was a first-time novelist whose tale of a manly vocation and family trauma broke publishing and then movie rights records when Robert Redford bought them.
By Penelope Green
Aug. 15, 2022
Nicholas Evans, the British journalist turned author whose novel-turned-film, “The Horse Whisperer,” broke publishing and movie records, along with the hearts of readers who made the book a best seller in 20 countries, died on Aug. 9 at his home in London. He was 72.
Nicholas Evans was born and grew up in Worcestershire, England. He studied law at Oxford University, graduating with first class honors, then worked as a journalist for three years on the Evening Chronicle in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. He then moved into television, producing films about US politics and the Middle-East for a weekly current affairs programme called Weekend World. It was during this time that he traveled a lot and got to know the United States.
Nicholas Evans: 'Guilt is my subject. I've taken research to an extreme degree'
The bestselling author of The Horse Whisperer bares his soul about the event that nearly killed him - and almost tore apart his family
Decca Aitkenhead
Sunday 13 November 2011
Nicholas Evans is a celebrated storyteller, and the story he tells me is a cracker. A man and his wife go to stay with her brother and sister-in-law, a titled couple who live on a beautiful estate in the wilds of the Scottish Highlands. On a balmy August evening, the man goes out and picks some mushrooms. He brings them back, fries them up in some butter, sprinkles parsley over them, and the family enjoy a relaxing evening meal.
There was death at its beginning as there would be death again at its end. Though whether it was some fleeting shadow of this that passed across the girl’s dreams and woke her on that least likely of mornings she would never know. All she knew, when she opened her eyes, was that the world was somehow altered.
You could hear the horse half a mile away, even before the pickup and trailer turned off the highway. She was screaming and crashing her hooves against the metal walls. And when the rear door was lowered, she exploded into the arena, bucking and swerving and filling the sunlit air with dust. Her owner had driven hundreds of miles to bring her here. He was at his wits’ end, sighing as he leaned on the rail beside me to watch. “If Tom can’t straighten her out, nobody can.”
MISTAKE: Gordon Cumming says she does not blame her partner for her ordeal.
Singer pays an emotional tribute to her kidney donor
Helen McArdle
August 2, 2012
SCOTS singer-songwriter Charlotte Gordon Cumming has spoken of the overpowering moment when a friend offered to donate her kidney after undergoing secret blood tests.
Ms Gordon Cumming suffered kidney failure in 2008 after consuming poisonous mushrooms handpicked in the grounds of her brother's estate at Altyre House in Forres, Moray.
Horse Whisperer author Nicholas Evans faces lengthy dialysis to avoid kidney failure after eating deadly mushrooms
By OLINKA KOSTER FOR MAILONLINE UPDATED:
The best-selling author of The Horse Whisperer faces a 'long haul' of kidney dialysis after eating highly-toxic mushrooms.
Nicholas Evans, whose book was turned into a film starring Robert Redford, picked them while walking in woodland with his family.
The millionaire author was taken to hospital where he was given dialysis to combat the effects of the rare Cortinarius Speciosissimus mushrooms, which can cause kidney failure.
Author Nicholas Evans and wife Charlotte are seriously ill in hospital after eating 'destroying angel' mushrooms they picked on a woodland walk
His wife Charlotte, her brother Sir Alastair Gordon Cumming and his wife Louisa, were also admitted to hospital.
In a 1979 case of poisoning by the mushroom, two people were so badly affected that they needed kidney transplants.
Last night Mr Evans's spokesman said the full extent of the harm to the 58-year-old writer and his family remains unclear. They are still being treated in hospital.
'Dialysis is the kind of treatment given at the earliest to get toxins out of the body. The medical staff got them on dialysis very quickly,' the spokesman said.
'Particularly with this sort of mushroom poisoning, very often people don't realise for quite some time that anything is wrong.
'It's been the best part of 30 years since there was a poisoning case involving this particular mushroom.
'The specialists at the hospital have done brilliantly, contacting people all over the world who have experience of this.
'A friend who visited them at the weekend said they were all four walking about and were cheerful and positive.
Hit novel The Horse Whisperer, also a film with Robert Redford and Kristin Scott Thomas
'They are in good heart, but realise there's going to be a long haul of dialysis before they can see if there are long-term effects on their kidney function.'
Mr Evans and his 50-year-old wife, who live near Totnes, Devon, became ill ten days ago while staying at her brother's 12,000-acre Altyre estate in Moray, North-West Scotland.
They had picked the mushrooms in woodland and cooked and ate them later on.
The next day they all became ill and are now in the renal unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
It was established that among the mushrooms they had eaten were Cortinarius Speciosissimus, the toxins of which attack the kidneys in particular. Samples have been sent for analysis.
A family friend said: 'They have picked mushrooms in the woods before and thought these were safe ones.
'They are normally very careful about picking them. The big worry is that others could make the same mistake with the same disastrous consequences.'
Mr Evans was struggling with £65,000 of debt when Robert Redford bought the film rights to The Horse Whisperer for £3million in 1995.
The adaptation, starring Redford and Kristin Scott-Thomas, was released three years later and was a box office success. The book itself has sold 15million copies worldwide.
Mr Evans has previously overcome skin cancer. He has four children including a six-year-old son, Finlay, with Charlotte, his second wife. Mrs Evans is a songwriter who wrote a hit record for pop group the Sugababes.
Mary Gibby, director of science at the Royal Botanic Garden in Edinburgh, said: 'One of the known results of poisoning from this particular species is kidney failure.
'If treatment is not received early enough, that can obviously result in death.
'It has become more common for people to go foraging in recent years and if they are not sure what mushrooms have got, they need to get them identified.
