Anyone Read Flashman?

[ShrinkyLink]

I just picked this up, having read George R. R. Martin praise the series on his website. I'm having a little trouble getting into it. Anyone here ever read any of these books?

 

[Wombat]

Ah yes, Sir Harry Flashman, Victorian cad, bounder, liar, cheat, womanizer, coward, the man who only has (according to his own count) two virtues -- he sits well on a horse and he picks up languages at the drop of a hat. This is a great series! Through improbable circumstance and some lovely sleight of hand, as well as a lot of research into military disasters of the mid-19th century, author Fraser gets Flashy into almost every major pickle possible -- the Second Afghan War, the rise of Otto von Bismark, the Battle of the Little Big Horn, dozens of Victorian "little wars", with great acid wit, much aplomb, and a good dash of verve.

Harry is an absolutely horrible person.

He is one of my favourite literary characters

Yeah, I've read about 6 of this series ... as well as The Pyrates!

 

[Dioltach]

Read the whole series, up to and including Flashman on the March, and still eagerly awaiting his memoires about the American Civil War. I can also recommend Mr American, a brilliant book that, although technically not a Flashman novel, does feature General Flashman, aged 90, chasing maids down the stairs of the King's country seat.

 

[MonsterMash]

I've read most of the series (except the last one or two) and I like them as a satire of typical adventure fiction as Flashman is so obviously only heroic if forced into it by circumstances.

 

[Joshua Randall]

I adore the Flashman books. Not only is Sir Harry a great character, the historical detail in the books is astounding. I've been inspired to pick up and read a lot of first-person accounts of the real events that Flashman took part in. Any novel that inspires you to read history books has got to be good, eh?

I think one of the authorial winks to the reader in the Flashman books is that Flashman isn't really as big a coward as he says he is. When his back is against the wall, Flashman can and does behave heroically -- it's not that he's immune to fear; far from it -- it's that he takes action despite being pee-your-pants scared.

 

[Dioltach]

I actually thought something similar when I was reading Flashman on the March; at a certain point Flashman, his horse having gone lame while being pursued by enemies, opts to shoot it out rather than run. But on closer consideration I reckon that this is just a more mature Flashman, one who knows (from vast experience) that running away isn't always the safest option in the long term.

Flashman is, however, still a true coward; the list of times he abandons his friends and allies if there's a glimmer of hope for himself is just about endless. It's not simply that he's afraid -- he lies, cowers, betrays and cheats to save his own skin.

Which, I suppose, is why we all love him so much: he's free from any sense of moral conduct and proprietry, and he's totally honest about it.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Incidentally, my favorite Flashman book, and the one I recommend that newcomers start with, is Flashman in the Great Game. To me, it has the best mix of intrigue, war, and wacky-Flashy hijinks.

 

[Dioltach]

Yes, Great Game is one of the best, though I think At the Charge, Mountain of Light and Dragon are at least as good in terms of intrigue, romantic adventures and terror.

 

[Pielorinho]

Interesting--only last night I asked my wife if she'd picked up anything fun from the library, and she handed me Flashman At the Charge. I'd never heard of him before, but he's pretty entertaining so far!

Daniel

 

[KenM]

I read a few of them. Very good stuff. There was also a movie made of Royal Flash in the 1970's. GMF also wrote the screenplay for the Micheal York 3 musketters movies.