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'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
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Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown’s schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents – horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all.
When Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., the celebrated Victorian soldier, scoundrel, amorist and self-confessed poltroon’s memoirs first came to light thirty years ago, the world was finally illuminated about what became of the celebrated cowardly bully from Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Now, in addition to the other famous adventures of Flash Harry contained in the Flashman Papers, come three new episodes in the career of this eminent if disreputable adventurer. The title piece touches on two of the most spectacular military actions of the century and sees Flashman pitted against one of the greatest villains of the day, and observing, with his usual jaundiced eye, two of its most famous heroes.
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In 'The road to Charing Cross' (some 200 pages) Flashman meets the son of his old chum Rudi Starnberg (from 'Royal Flash') and is coerced into a cunning plot to assasinate the Emperor Franz-Jozef. 'The subleties of baccarat' (60 pages) has very little action but centers on a card game in which one of the participants cheated...or did he? There's a nice twist at the end with a starring role for Elspeth. And finally, in 'Flashman and the Tiger' (45 pages) our unlikely hero has to confront the (in)famous Jack 'Tiger' Moran.
Flashman himself is his usual cowardly self, and fires off one-liners that'll have you laughing no end, but I agree with earlier reviewers that this is perhaps one of the lesser Flashman-novels. Some characters (think of Sherlock Holmes) seem to thrive best in short stories, I find that Flashman doesn't.
However, I cannot help but repeat (ad nauseam, if I look at my reviews of other Flashman-novels) that this is still prime entertainment, and even if I live to Flashman's own ripe age (allegedly he died when he was over 90 years old) I will always remember him, galloping away - and not always on horseback, mind you - to boldly go where no poltroon has gone before!
In this book we do not have a narrative of one episode, but several shorter ones. They are as entertaining and informative as ever, but have a faint air of being "filler" and of going over old ground. One does not get one's teeth into the people and situations as one usually can. Nonetheless the book is well worth reading. The high spot for me was the brief encounter when Flashman crosses paths with Sherlock Holmes under most unusual circumstances. The great detective does not emerge with his reputation enhanced.
This book might be more suited to Flashman devotees (of which I am one) - newcomers might like to start the series elsewhere, preferably with the first novel, simply titled "Flashman". The death of the author has sadly robbed us of future Flashman volumes but there are plenty to read and re-read.
The three stories in this volume are interesting enough but dont grab me, they do add a bit more to the character of Flashman but it was soo frustrating to have Flashman actually in the Zulu wars for the first time that I am aware of and yet we see so little of it. Normally in his other great books set in India or Afghanistan there is a lot of historical detail and a bigger context. This time it felt like just a glimpse of a great possibility.
Still a fan though, read it and see what you think.
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