George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a Scottish author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven novels and one short-story collection in the Flashman series of novels, as well as non-fiction, short stories, novels and screenplays—including those for the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

film ''

Octopussy ''Octopussy'' is a 1983 spy film and the thirteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. It is the sixth to star Roger Moore as the Secret Intelligence Service, MI6 agent James Bond filmography, J ...

'', ''

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' () is a French historical adventure novel written and published in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is the first of the author's three d'Artagnan Romances. As with some of his other works, he wrote it in col ...

'' (along with both its

sequels A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

) and an adaptation of his own novel '' Royal Flash''.

Biography

Fraser was born in

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

, England, on 2 April 1925, son of medical doctor William Fraser and nurse Annie Struth, née Donaldson. Both his parents were Scottish. It was his father who passed on to Fraser his love of reading, and a passion for his Scottish heritage. Fraser was educated at Carlisle Grammar School and Glasgow Academy; he later described himself as a poor student due to "sheer laziness". This meant that he was unable to follow his father's wishes and study medicine.

War service

In 1943, during World War II, Fraser enlisted in the

Border Regiment The Border Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 34th (Cumberland) Regiment of Foot and the 55th (Westmorland) Regiment of Foot. After service in ...

and served in the

Burma campaign The Burma campaign was a series of battles fought in the British colony of British rule in Burma, Burma as part of the South-East Asian theatre of World War II. It primarily involved forces of the Allies of World War II, Allies (mainly from ...

, as recounted in his memoir '' Quartered Safe Out Here'' (1993). After completing his Officer Cadet Training Unit (OCTU) course, Fraser was granted a commission into the Gordon Highlanders. He served with them in the Middle East and North Africa immediately after the war, notably in Tripoli. In 1947, Fraser decided against remaining with the army and took up his

demobilisation Demobilization or demobilisation (see spelling differences) is the process of standing down a nation's armed forces from combat-ready status. This may be as a result of victory in war, or because a crisis has been peacefully resolved and milita ...

. He wrote semi-autobiographical stories and anecdotes of his time with the Gordon Highlanders in the "McAuslan" series.

Journalism

After his discharge, Fraser returned to the United Kingdom. Through his father he got a job as a trainee reporter on the ''Carlisle Journal'' and married another journalist, Kathleen Hetherington. They travelled to Canada, working on newspapers there, before returning to Scotland. Starting in 1953, Fraser worked for many years as a journalist at the '' Glasgow Herald'' newspaper, where he was deputy editor from 1964 until 1969. He briefly held the title of acting editor.

Novelist and screenwriter

In 1966, Fraser got the idea to turn Flashman, a fictional coward and bully originally created by

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 1822 – 22 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had atte ...

in '' Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), into a "hero", and he wrote a novel around the character's exploits. The book proved popular and sale of the film rights enabled Fraser to become a full-time writer. He moved to the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

where he could pay less tax. He also says he found the island "simpler a nicer place to live... more like the Britain I knew and loved as a child." There was a series of further Flashman novels, presented as packets of memoirs written by the nonagenarian Flashman looking back on his days as a hero of the British Army during the 19th century. The series is notable for the accuracy of its historical settings and praise it received from critics. For example, P. G. Wodehouse said of ''Flashman'', "If ever there was a time when I felt that ' watcher-of-the-skies-when-a-new-planet' stuff, it was when I read the first Flashman." The first ''Flashman'' sequel was '' Royal Flash''. It was published in 1970, the same year that Fraser published ''The General Danced at Dawn'', a series of short stories which fictionalised his post-war military experience as the adventures of "Dand" MacNeill in a Scottish Highland regiment. The following year Fraser published a third Flashman, '' Flash for Freedom!'', as well as a non-fiction work, ''

The Steel Bonnets ''The Steel Bonnets'' (London: Barrie & Jenkins) is a 1971 historical non-fiction book by George MacDonald Fraser about the Border Reivers. Fraser researched the book with his wife.George MacDonald Fraser, ''The Light's On at Signpost'', HarperCo ...

'' (1971), a history of the Border Reivers of the Anglo-Scottish Border. The film rights to ''Flashman'' were bought by

Richard Lester Richard Lester Liebman (born January 19, 1932) is an American retired film director, who spent the majority of his professional life in the United Kingdom. He is known for the fast-paced, flamboyant directing he brought to his comedy films, mo ...

, who was unable to get the film funded but hired Fraser to write the screenplay for ''

'' in Christmas 1972. This would be turned into two films, ''The Three Musketeers'' and '' The Four Musketeers'', both popular at the box office, and it launched Fraser as a screenwriter. Following '' Flashman at the Charge'' (1973), Fraser wrote the screenplay for the movie '' Royal Flash'' (1975), also directed by Richard Lester. It was not a success at the box office. There was another collection of Dand McNeill stories, ''McAuslan in the Rough'' (1974), then '' Flashman in the Great Game'' (1975) and ''

Flashman's Lady ''Flashman's Lady'' is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman novels. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book descr ...

'' (1977). He was hired to rewrite ''

The Prince and the Pauper ''The Prince and the Pauper'' is a novel by American author Mark Twain. It was first published in 1881 in Canada, before its 1882 publication in the United States. The novel represents Twain's first attempt at historical fiction. The plot conce ...

'' (1977) and '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978). The latter was directed by

Guy Hamilton Mervyn Ian Guy Hamilton (16 September 1922 – 20 April 2016) was an English film director. He directed 22 films from the 1950s to the 1980s, including four James Bond films. Early life Hamilton was born in Paris on 16 September 1922, son of ...

who arranged for Fraser to do some work on the script for ''Superman'' (1978). He did some uncredited work on the film ''Ashanti'' and wrote an unused script for ''Tai Pan'' to star Steve McQueen. He also wrote a biopic of General Stilwell for Martin Ritt which was not filmed. Fraser tried a more serious historical novel with '' Mr American'' (1980), although Flashman still appeared in it. '' Flashman and the Redskins'' (1982) was a traditional Flashman and '' The Pyrates'' (1983) was a comic novel about pirates. He was one of several writers who worked on the James Bond film ''

'' (1983).

Richard Fleischer Richard Owen Fleischer (; December 8, 1916 – March 25, 2006) was an American film director. His career spanned more than four decades, beginning at the height of the Golden Age of Hollywood and lasting through the American New Wave. He was the ...

arranged for him to do work on the script for ''

Red Sonja Red Sonja is a sword-and-sorcery character created by writer Roy Thomas and artist Barry Windsor-Smith for Marvel Comics in 1973, partially inspired by Robert E. Howard's character Red Sonya of Rogatino. A warrior from the Hyborian Age of Ear ...

'' (1985). After '' Flashman and the Dragon'' (1985) he was reunited with Lester on '' The Return of the Musketeers'' (1988) then released a final volume of McAuslan stories, '' The Sheikh and the Dustbin'' (1988) and did another history, '' The Hollywood History of the World'' (1988). When that film book came out he was reportedly working on a science fiction film ''Colossus'' and adapting Conan Doyle's ''The Lost World'' for TV but neither project was filmed. Following '' Flashman and the Mountain of Light'' (1990), Fraser wrote a version of The Lone Ranger for

John Landis John David Landis (born August 3, 1950) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for directing comedy films such as ''The Kentucky Fried Movie'' (1977), ''Animal House, National Lampoon's Animal House'' (1978), The Blues Brothers (f ...

which ended up not being filmed. He did his memoirs of his experiences during World War II, '' Quartered Safe Out Here'' (1992). He wrote a short novel about the

Border Reivers Border Reivers were Cattle raiding, raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border. They included both Scotland, Scottish and England, English people, and they raided the entire border country without regard to their victims' nationality.Hay, D. "E ...

of the 16th century, '' The Candlemass Road'' (1993), then '' Flashman and the Angel of the Lord'' (1994) and '' Black Ajax'' (1997), a novel about Tom Molineaux, which featured Flashman's father as a support character. '' Flashman and the Tiger'' (1999) consisted of three different Flashman stories. '' The Light's on at Signpost'' (2002) was a second volume of memoirs, focusing on Fraser's adventures in Hollywood and his criticisms of modern-day Britain. The latter could also be found in '' Flashman on the March'' (2005), the final Flashman, and ''

The Reavers ''The Reavers'' is a 2007 comic novel from George MacDonald Fraser set during the Elizabethan Era The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Histo ...

'' (2007), a comic novel about the Border Reivers in the style of ''The Pyrates''. Following his death a novel was discovered amongst his papers, '' Captain in Calico''. This was published in 2015.

Honours

Fraser was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(OBE) in the 1999 Birthday Honours for services to literature. A traditionalist, he was an Honorary Member of the British Weights and Measures Association, which opposes compulsory conversion to the metric system.

Family

Fraser married Kathleen Hetherington in 1949. They had three children, Simon (Sie), Caroline, and Nicholas. He had eight grandchildren. He was a supporter of Glasgow football team Partick Thistle. Fraser died in Douglas on 2 January 2008 from cancer, aged 82.

Works

Flashman novels

The Flashman series constitute Fraser's major works. There are 12 books in the series: # '' Flashman'' (1969) # '' Royal Flash'' (1970) # '' Flash for Freedom!'' (1971) # '' Flashman at the Charge'' (1973) # '' Flashman in the Great Game'' (1975) # ''

'' (1977) # '' Flashman and the Redskins'' (1982) # '' Flashman and the Dragon'' (1985) # '' Flashman and the Mountain of Light'' (1990) # '' Flashman and the Angel of the Lord'' (1994) # '' Flashman and the Tiger'' (1999) # '' Flashman on the March'' (2005)

Short stories

The "Dand MacNeill" or "McAuslan" stories is a series of semi-autobiographical short stories based on the author's experiences in the Gordon Highlanders, in North Africa and Scotland, soon after World War II. Some of the stories were originally

byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably '' Reader's ...

d "by Dand MacNeill", a play on the regimental motto BYDAND, meaning standfast: *'' The General Danced at Dawn'' (1970) *'' McAuslan in the Rough'' (1974) *'' The Sheikh and the Dustbin'' (1988) *''The Complete McAuslan'' (2000) (All the stories in the three volumes, with a new introduction.)

History

*''

'' (1971), a history of the

of the Anglo-Scottish Border. *'' The Hollywood History of the World: From One Million Years B.C. to Apocalypse Now'' (1988, revised 1996) The book discusses how Hollywood deals with history. It concludes that the standard of historical analysis in most movies is far better than one might imagine. The text is illustrated by comparative images of figures from history and the actors who portrayed them in film.

Memoirs

*'' Quartered Safe Out Here'' (1992), a memoir of his experiences as an infantryman in the Border Regiment during the

of World War II *'' The Light's on at Signpost'' (2002), a memoir of the author's days writing in Hollywood, interspersed with criticism of

political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

and

New Labour New Labour is the political philosophy that dominated the history of the British Labour Party from the mid-late 1990s to 2010 under the leadership of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. The term originated in a conference slogan first used by the ...

Other novels

*'' Mr American'' (1980), a novel about a mysterious American in England. *'' The Pyrates'' (1983), a tongue-in-cheek novel incorporating all the possible

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

film plots into one. *'' Black Ajax'' (1997), a novel about Tom Molineaux, a 19th-century black prizefighter in England. (As in ''Mr American'', this novel is also connected to the Flashman series—in this case Sir Harry Flashman's father plays a minor role.) *'' The Candlemass Road'' (1993), a short novel about the

of the 16th century. *''

'' (2007), a comic novel of the

, loosely based on the ''Candlemass Road'', in the style of his earlier novel ''The Pyrates.'' *'' Captain in Calico'' (2015), a novel posthumously issued.

Screenplays

Fraser wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for: * ''

'' (1973) * '' The Four Musketeers'' (1974) * '' Royal Flash'' (1975, adapted from his novel) * ''

'' (1977) * '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (uncredited, 1978) * ''

'' (1983) * ''

'' (1985) * '' The Return of the Musketeers'' (1989) * Some script-doctor work on '' Ashanti'' (1979) and ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David Newman (screenwriter), David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment i ...

'' (1980)

Unproduced screenplays

Fraser also wrote the following scripts which were never filmed: * Adaptation of '' The General Danced at Dawn'' commissioned in 1972 * ''Prince of Thieves'' from the

Alexandre Dumas Alexandre Dumas (born Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas , was a French novelist and playwright. His works have been translated into many languages and he is one of the mos ...

' version of the

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

story * '' Bulldog Drummond'' – adaptation of the novels commissioned by Thorn EMI in 1985 for producer Tim Burrill * ''Hannah'' – adaptation of novel about the life of Helena Rubenstein with director

Jack Clayton Jack Isaac Clayton (1 March 1921 – 26 February 1995) was an English film director and producer, known for his skill directing literary adaptations. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for his feature-length debut, Room a ...

* ''Thirteen Against the Bank'' – true story about a man who leaned how to beat the bank at

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

* Adaptation of the William Tel story set against the background of the Battle of Mortgarten * '' The Lone Ranger'' with director

, circa 1990 * ''Out of Time'' – adaptation of a novel ''The Ice People'' about the discovery of a man and a woman from an ancient civilisation trapped in ice – for producer Pierre Spengler, circa 1985 * ''Berry and Co'' based on a story by

Dornford Yates Cecil William Mercer (7 August 1885 – 5 March 1960), known by his pen name Dornford Yates, was an English writer and novelist whose novels and short stories, some humorous (the ''Berry'' books), some Thriller (genre), thrillers (the ''Chandos ...

for director Lindsay Anderson * ''Stortebekker'' for director

Wolfgang Petersen Wolfgang Petersen (14 March 1941 – 12 August 2022) was a German film and television director, screenwriter, and producer. His international breakthrough was the 1981 war film (1981), which earned him Academy Award nominations for Best Directo ...

about the medieval German pirate Klaus Störtebeker * '' Quentin Durward'' from the novel by

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

*''Stillwell'', a biopic of Joe Stillwell for director Martin Ritt at MGM (early 1980s) * Adaptation of the

James Clavell James Clavell (born Charles Edmund Dumaresq Clavell; 10 October 1921 – 7 September 1994) was a British and American writer, screenwriter, director, and World War II veteran and prisoner of war. Clavell is best known for his ''Asian Saga'' nov ...

novel '' Tai-Pan'', intended to star

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

(not used when the movie was made in 1986) – also a sequel *Adaptation of ''

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may inclu ...

'' for Dino de Laurentiis and director

, circa 1985

Select articles

*"Long before the decay of lying", ''Chicago Tribune'' (1963) hicago, Ill9 Nov 1969: p6.

Radio

Fraser adapted ''The Candlemass Road'', ''Flash for Freedom'' and ''Flashman at the Charge'' for BBC radio plays. Fraser was also a staunch critic of

and enlarged upon his views on this matter (and others) on the BBC radio show, "Desert Island Discs."

Popular culture

Fraser's '' Flashman at the Charge'' (1973) was serialised in the April and June 1973 issues of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

''. The climactic sequence of '' Flashman in the Great Game'' (1975) was also excerpted there. There is a ''Flashman Pub'' in

named after the main character in his Flashman series of books. There was another one in South Africa and a number of Flashman appreciation societies in North America.