In the novel The Lord of Misrule, author Jaimy Gordon gives her reader a look into the ethically and morally questionable worlds of horse racing. The narrative focuses on Maggie, a young girl with no experience in racing; Medicine Ed, an elderly groom looking for a way to settle down on his own; and Tommy, Maggie’s boyfriend who descends into madness while pursuing a career in racing. Themes in the novel include the roles of luck and superstition in the lives of the characters and the underlying realities of life at the race track.
