- Hardcover: 256 pages
- Publisher: Barrie & Jenkins; First Edition edition (April 1969)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0257667997
- ISBN-13: 978-0257667997
- Product Dimensions: 20.8 x 14.4 x 2.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,235,229 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Flashman (Flashman 01)
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Product Description
Review
'The Flashman Papers do what all great sagas do – winning new admirers along the way but never, ever betraying old ones. It is an immense achievement.' Sunday Telegraph
‘Not so much a march as a full-blooded charge, fortified by the usual lashings of salty sex, meticulously choreographed battle scenes and hilariously spineless acts of self preservation by Flashman.’ Sunday Times
‘Not only are the Flashman books extremely funny, but they give meticulous care to authenticity. You can, between the guffaws, learn from them.’ Washington Post
‘A first-rate historical novelist’ Kingsley Amis
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.Book Description
Flashman and the Great Game takes our man into the world of Kim, as he spies for the British, dallies with a luscious maharani and - despite spectacular acts of spinelessness - not only survives the bloodbath of the Indian Mutiny but emerges with a Victoria Cross and a knighthood.Impossible to put down and some of the greatest comic writing of the last 100 years.
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
62 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A friend of mine last year had to spend some time in the delightful town of Kabul. Prior to his departure I managed to secure a copy of this book for him; I hoped that he would see the funny side of me giving him a story which involved one of the greatest military defeats ever retreating from the very place he was being sent to.
I knew though that I was also giving him the start of the most enjoyable series of books I had ever read, and that if he gleaned even half as much enjoyment from it as I had, then he would have his stay brightened considerably.
For those of you who have never heard of Harry Flashman before, he is the bully and cad from Tom Brown's Schooldays (and incidentally the only character worth remembering amongst the various hypocritical do-gooding manly little Christians that are otherwise described). The story starts where his exit from Rugby in Tom Brown had ended, his being expelled for drunkenness. He consequently joins the army, not with a view to doing any valuable service but as an occupation he could loaf and skive to his hearts content (not that much has changed at Horse Guards since). With a constant eye for the ladies his tale makes an interesting one (especially as he was such a nasty piece of work) even before he was posted to Afghanistan. When he arrives in India we discover, as he does, that he has a talent for horse-riding and languages as well as with the ladies, and so makes an interesting correspondent for us as readers, as he can be shifted to wherever the action is with relative ease. The fact that when the author does so he tends to either be chasing skirt, or running away like the coward he is (directly into trouble more often than not), again makes the whole thing more interesting.
I do believe that although there are no redeeming qualities about Flashman's character we are dragged into liking him due to his honesty as a writer (for these papers are his recollections) and his bucket loads of style. He's also damnably funny.
I recommend this book to all who love life being lived at full throttle (even if the gear selected is usually reverse), also all those who wish to learn about the Empire as it truly was. Go on, treat yourself today, buy a Flashman!
27 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I've read them all, several times over the last 35 years or so. I've just started reading them all again and they are still bone achingly funny, accurate from a historic point of view, and just unputdownable. They are laugh out loud in bed and wife asking what you are laughing at books. Just buy them if you have even the slightest interest in Victorian history and the history of the British Empire.
58 of 62 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The first and possibly best of the Flashman tales. If you've not read and Flashman books then you've not lived. You've certainly not read anything like them. He's the original anti-hero. You've no doubt watched heroic action films and thought "why doesn't he just shoot the guy in the back right now and run for it?...I would" - well Flashman would too and a whole lot worse, if it gets him off the hook or into bed with his many lovers.
It's a unique blend of historical research, incredible adventures, philandering, thieving, bullying and above all - brilliant story-telling shot through with a breath of refreshing cynicism. Utterly brilliant stuff. I just wish George McDonald Fraser could write some more.
One caveat - GMF tells it like it is. If people in 1820 used a certain word for slaves then he uses it too. If you are a bit PC you might not like it.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Flashman the bully after Rugby School
Tom Brown's School Days (Thomas Hughes) is a long moralising tale based on the author's own experiences at the famous Public School. Read more
Published 12 days ago by HK Hand
An acquired taste, perhaps
One accepts that Flashman is unlikeable -- that's the point. But I just had a lot of trouble giving a damn about a rapist. Read more
Published 20 days ago by Chris Cope
One of the best audiobooks I've ever listened too
I listen to a lot of audiobooks and this is one of the best I've heard. The narration and story are both top class.
Published 24 days ago by La Matchett
Getting to know Flashman
The Flashman series was recomended to me by a friend, im glad he did. You cant imagine that you will ever like this guy 'Flashman', the ultimate coward hailed a hero. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Pops
True lies
This is the first Flashman adventure. The book's conceit is that the manuscript was found in Leicestershire in the 1960's and that it is the previously unpublished autobiography of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Stephen Hudson
Bravo Old Flashy!
Harry Flashman, the well-known bully featured extensively in Tom Brown's Schooldays, is that one person we love to hate-ostentatious, cruel, and lacking totally in human... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Joe C. Blackburn
A wonderful entertaining and informative read
Through Flashman the late George Macdonald Fraser has provided a painless way to learn great chunks of British 19th Century Imperial history. Read more
Published 5 months ago by stormymonday
Brilliant Historical Fiction
George MacDonald Fraser's anti-hero, a cad, liar, coward, cheat, tumbles through the 19th Century touching on its major events, gathering an unearned reputation of valor, and... Read more
Published 6 months ago by South Western
Can't believe I missed these books all thes years...
For some reason I gathered the impression years ago that the Flashman novels were a silly ripoff idea. Read more
Published 10 months ago by schlockhorror
Superb
Buy it. If you don't like it, you've not lost too much. If like me you love it, the Flashman books will provide you with hours and hours of laughter
Published 10 months ago by C. Chute
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