Flashman!!!

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Anybody up for a thread about the life and time of one of England's biggest heroes of the Victorian Age, Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., etc.???

Why don't I start with a couple of Quotes:

"But she is respectable, my lord," I said. "I assure you she is from an excellent family; her father--"
"Owns a factory," he cut in. "Haw-haw. It will not do. My dear sir, did you not think of your position? Of the wegiment? Could I answer, sir, if I were asked: 'And who is Mr Fwashman's wife' 'Oh, her father is a Gwasgow weaver, don't you know?'"
...Lord Cardigan to Fwashman in "Flashman" by George McDonald Fraser

"You honour me with the recollection, milord," says I, wondering what would happen if I smashed him between the eyes. "But I--"
"Yaas," says he, turning languidly back to Elspeth. "No doubt your husband has many duties--in the ordinance, is it not, or some such thing? Haw-haw. But you must come down, my dear, with one of your fwiends, for a good wong stay, what? The faiwest bwossoms bwoom best in countwy air, don't ye know? Haw-haw."
...Lord Cardigan about 16 years later to Wady Fwashman in "Flashman at the Charge" by George McDonald Fraser

What a glorious time it was...

 

[Agelastus]

Good books. Those this household owns used to be my grandfather's, though. Show's how long he's been writing them!

I've always found the footnotes, historical and otherwise, to be the most interesting part, though (and the occasional afterwords.)

In the same vein, have you ever read "The Pyrates" by the same author?

 

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The Pyrates is indeed a grand read, although IMHO not as good as the Flashman series. On a recent trip to Scotland I paged through a copy of Fraser's non-fiction book about the Anglo-Scottish border reivers and came so, so close to buying it...simply because I've enjoyed all of his fiction so much. Is there in existence a more consistently enjoyable (anti-)hero than Sir Harry?

 

[grumbler]

Also look for his more autobiographical "The General Danced at Dawn" and "MacAuslin (sp?) in the Rough." Both most enjoyable, though the Flashman series still takes the cake. Too bad the movie sucked.

 

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Pyrates & Mr. American

Pyrates was fun, but was very daft, much more like a half baked Terry Gilliam project that was a lot of fun but never quite jelled. I think the problem was that every character was so one dimensional and never developed. Besides, none of the characters was all that likeable. That's in stark contrast to Flashman, who, inspite of thinking with his smaller head most of the time, does learn and grow wiser over the course of the series. Because of that, the reader actually gets to like him and root for him.

The book I found equal in quality, though very different in tone, was "Mr. American." It's much more the staid English novel, but with a mysterious American from out West who arrives in England a few years before ww1 with a pile of money. The quality of the writing is every bit as good as the Flashman series, though I might not have enjoyed it so much without the cameo appearance of General Flashman himself.

I'm thinking about reading "Black Ajax," which has Flashman's guv'nor involved with a famous black boxer in the early years of the 19th Century.

 

[Sir James]

I was very disappointed with 'Black Ajax' - my guess is that it was written a while ago and discarded, but published on the understanding that it would sell a few copies due to the author's name.

'Quartered Safe Out Here', his memories of the Burma campaign, is excellent - interesting and moving. The three McAulsan books are seriously funny.

 

[Daztek]

i guess most of you must have seen the hornblower series on telly?

those books just about topped my best read list as a kid and to see them faithfully rendered on TV is like a dream come true. cos they are faithfully done, their authenticity, characterisation, good storylines and humour knock the opposition about like skittles

cheers