''Flashman'' is a 1969 novel by
George MacDonald Fraser
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 Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...
. It is the first of the
Flashman novels.
Plot introduction
Presented within the frame of the discovery of the supposedly historical Flashman Papers, this book chronicles the subsequent career of the bully Flashman from ''
Tom Brown's School Days
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1 ...
''. The book begins with a fictional note explaining that the Flashman Papers were discovered in 1965 during a sale of household furniture in
Ashby Ashby may refer to:
People
* Ashby (surname)
* Alan la Zouche, 1st Baron la Zouche of Ashby (1267–1314), governor of Rockingham Castle and steward of Rockingham Forest, England
* Walter Ashby Plecker (1861–1947), American physician and public ...
,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...
.
The papers are attributed to
Harry Paget Flashman
Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in a ...
, the bully featured in
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 ...
's novel, who becomes a well-known Victorian military hero (in Fraser's fictional England). The papers were supposedly written between 1900 and 1905. The subsequent publishing of these papers, of which ''Flashman'' is the first installment, contrasts the public image of a (fictional) hero with his own more scandalous account of his life as an amoral and cowardly bully.
''Flashman'' begins with the eponymous hero's own account of his expulsion from
Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby union: 15 players per side
*** American flag rugby
*** Beach rugby
*** Mini rugby
*** Rugby sevens, 7 players per side
*** Rugby tens, 10 players per side
*** Snow rugby
*** Tou ...
and ends with his fame as "the Hector of Afghanistan". It details his life from 1839 to 1842 and his travels to
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, and
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
.
It also contains a number of notes by the author,
in the guise of a mere editor of the papers, providing additional historical glosses on the events described. The history in these books is largely accurate; most of the prominent figures Flashman meets were real people.
Plot summary
Flashman's expulsion from Rugby for drunkenness leads him to join the British Army in what he hopes will be a
sinecure
A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...
. He joins the
11th Regiment of Light Dragoons
The 11th Hussars (Prince Albert's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army established in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 10th Royal Hussars (Pri ...
commanded by
Lord Cardigan
Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England that was created by Charles II in 1661 for Thomas Brudenell, 1st Baron Brudenell, and the title has been held since 1868 by the Marquesses of Ailesbury. Since that time, it has been used ...
, to whom he
toadies in his best style. After an affair with a fellow-officer's lover, he is challenged to a duel but wins after promising a large sum of money to the pistol loader to give his opponent a blank load in his gun. He does not kill his opponent but instead
delopes and accidentally shoots the top off a bottle thirty yards away, an action that gives him instant fame and the respect of the
Duke of Wellington
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
.
Once the reason for fighting emerges, the army stations Flashman in Scotland. He is quartered with the family of textile industrialist Morrison and soon enough takes advantage of one of the daughters, Elspeth. After a forced marriage, Flashman is required to resign the Hussars due to marrying below his station. He is given another option, to make his reputation in India.
By showing off his language and riding skills in India, Flashman is assigned to the staff of Major General
William George Keith Elphinstone
Major-General William George Keith Elphinstone CB (26 January 1782 – 23 April 1842) was a Scottish officer of the British Army during the 19th century, remembered for service in the highest and lowest actions of the British Army. Elphinstone ...
, who is to command the garrison at the worst frontier of the British Empire at that time,
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. Upon arrival, he is instructed to undertake various diplomatic missions and thereby increases his knowledge of the contemporary Afghan political situation, local culture and language. During one early diplomatic mission, Flashman makes an enemy of the terrifying Gul Shah and, characteristically, takes false credit for slaying assassins sent by Gul to kill him: in reality he attempted to flee in fear while his companion bravely fought and died to protect him from the assassins.
Meanwhile in Kabul, senior British commanders and diplomats appear unaware or unwilling to accept that the situation in the country is worsening. For his part, Flashman accurately observes the deteriorating situation during his various assignments in the country: his reports are generally ignored.
He is back in Kabul to observe a mob storming the house of Sir
Alexander Burnes
Captain Sir Alexander Burnes (16 May 1805 – 2 November 1841) was a Scottish explorer, military officer and diplomat associated with the Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and expl ...
, one of the senior British political officers. Burnes, his brother and his staff are slain in the street while the ill-led British army does nothing, remaining in their encampment outside of Kabul. Flashman again attempts to flee in midst of the confusion but is captured and tortured by Gul Shah, only to be rescued and then subsequently used as a diplomatic envoy by the duplicitous Afghan leader
Akbar Khan.
This tale sets the tone for Flashman's proceeding adventures, including the disastrous
1842 retreat from Kabul
The 1842 retreat from Kabul was the retreat of the British and East India Company forces from Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War. An uprising in Kabul forced the then-commander, Major-General William Elphinstone, to fall back to the Britis ...
and the
Battle of Jellalabad
The Battle of Jalalabad in 1842 was an Afghan siege of the isolated British outpost at Jalalabad, about east of Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The siege was lifted after five months when a British counterattack routed the Afghans, dri ...
, in the
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War () was fought between the British Empire and the Emirate of Kabul from 1838 to 1842. The British initially successfully invaded the country taking sides in a succession dispute between emir Dost Mohammad Khan ( Bara ...
. Despite being captured, tortured and escaping death numerous times, hiding and shirking his duty as much as possible, he comes through it with a hero's reputation; although his triumph is tempered when he realises his wife might have been unfaithful while he was away.
Characters
Fictional characters
*
Harry Paget Flashman
Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in a ...
- The hero or
anti-hero
An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero or two words anti hero) or anti-heroine is a character in a narrative (in literature, film, TV, etc.) who may lack some conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism and morality. Al ...
,
*Elspeth Morrison - His adoring and possibly unfaithful wife,
*Henry Buckley Flashman - His father,
*John Morrison - His father-in-law,
*Judy - His father's mistress and (briefly) Flashman's lover,
*Bernier - The man he insults and duels with,
*Josette - Bernier's lover, with whom Flashman has an affair,
*Fetnab - Flashman's language and sexual tutor in India,
*Sher Afzul - A
Ghilzai
The Ghiljī (, ; ) also spelled Khilji, Khalji, or Ghilzai and Ghilzay (), are one of the largest Pashtun tribes. Their traditional homeland is Ghazni and Qalati Ghilji in Afghanistan but they have also settled in other regions throughout the ...
Khan to whom Flashman is sent as an emissary,
*Narreeman - An Afghan dancer whom Flashman rapes,
*Gul Shah - Sher Afzul's nephew, Narreeman's lover and later husband, and Flashman's torturer,
*Hudson - Flashman's sergeant on the retreat from Kabul who comes to realise Flashman is a coward but dies before he can expose him.
Historical characters
*
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 ...
- The author of ''
Tom Brown's Schooldays
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 18 ...
''.
*
Thomas Arnold
Thomas Arnold (13 June 1795 – 12 June 1842) was an English educator and historian. He was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement. As headmaster of Rugby School from 1828 to 1841, he introduced several reforms that were widel ...
- The headmaster of Rugby School.
*
Lord Cardigan
Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England that was created by Charles II in 1661 for Thomas Brudenell, 1st Baron Brudenell, and the title has been held since 1868 by the Marquesses of Ailesbury. Since that time, it has been used ...
- Flashman's original commanding officer, whom he describes as "amusing, frightening, vindictive, charming, and downright dangerous" and "too stupid ever to be afraid".
*Captain John Reynolds - embroiled in "The Black Bottle Affair" with
Lord Cardigan
Earl of Cardigan is a title in the Peerage of England that was created by Charles II in 1661 for Thomas Brudenell, 1st Baron Brudenell, and the title has been held since 1868 by the Marquesses of Ailesbury. Since that time, it has been used ...
.
*
Lord Auckland
Baron Auckland is a title in both the Peerage of Ireland and the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in 1789 when the prominent politician and financial expert William Eden was made Baron Auckland in the Peerage of Ireland. In 1 ...
-
Governor-General of India
The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
.
*
Sir Robert Henry Sale - Commander at the
Battle of Jellalabad
The Battle of Jalalabad in 1842 was an Afghan siege of the isolated British outpost at Jalalabad, about east of Kabul during the First Anglo-Afghan War. The siege was lifted after five months when a British counterattack routed the Afghans, dri ...
.
*
Lady Sale - Sir Robert's wife, and celebrated diarist.
*
Paolo Di Avitabile - Governor of
Peshawar
Peshawar is the capital and List of cities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by population, largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is the sixth most populous city of Pakistan, with a district p ...
, Flashman said of him "the Sikhs and Afghans were more scared of him than the devil himself".
*
Willoughby Cotton
Lieutenant-General Sir Willoughby Cotton (1783 – 4 May 1860) was an English soldier in the British Army.
Family
Willoughby Cotton was born in 1783, to Vice-Admiral Rowland Cotton and Elizabeth Aston. They also had a daughter, Sydney Arabe ...
- Former army commander at Kabul.
*
Alexander Burnes
Captain Sir Alexander Burnes (16 May 1805 – 2 November 1841) was a Scottish explorer, military officer and diplomat associated with the Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and expl ...
- Political agent at Kabul, Flashman is present at his assassination.
*
General John Nicholson.
*
Colin Mackenzie
Colonel Colin Mackenzie (1754–8 May 1821) was a Scottish army officer in the British East India Company who later became the first Surveyor General of India. He was a collector of antiquities and an orientalist and an indologist. He sur ...
- army officer who is depicted as one of the few competent British officers in Afghanistan.
*
George Broadfoot
Major George Broadfoot CB (21 March 1807 – 21 December 1845) was a Scottish army officer in the Madras Army of the East India Company.
Biography Early life
Broadfoot was born in Kirkwall, Orkney, the eldest surviving son of Reverend William Br ...
- reckoned to be one of the bravest officers amongst the British in Kabul.
*
William Hay Macnaghten
Sir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet (24 August 179323 December 1841), was a British civil servant in India, who played a major part in the First Anglo-Afghan War.
Life
William was the second son of Sir Francis Macnaghten, 1st Baronet, judg ...
- Head political agent at Kabul, Flashman is present at his assassination.
*
General Elphinstone - Commander of the Kabul army, whom Flashman describes as "the greatest military idiot of our own or any other day".
*
Akbar Khan - Led the revolt in Kabul and held Flashman hostage; Flashman "was impressed by the obvious latent strength of the man" but also says "he was something of a dandy".
*
William Nott (1782 – 1845), a British military leader in India.
*
Henry Havelock
Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Sir Henry Havelock (5 April 1795 – 24 November 1857) was a British general who is particularly associated with India and his recapture of Siege of Cawnpore, Cawnpore during the Indian Rebellion of ...
- army officer who meets Flashman at the Siege of Jalalabad.
*
Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough
Edward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough (8 September 1790 – 22 December 1871), was a British Tory politician. He was four times President of the Board of Control and also served as Governor-General of India between 1842 and 1844.
Background an ...
-
Governor-General of India
The governor-general of India (1833 to 1950, from 1858 to 1947 the viceroy and governor-general of India, commonly shortened to viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom in their capacity as the emperor o ...
, whom Flashman found to be rather long-winded.
*
Duke of Wellington
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...
- goes with Flashman to visit the Queen and shakes his hand.
*
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...
- Flashman describes her as "rather plump, and pretty enough beneath the neck".
*
Prince Albert
Prince Albert most commonly refers to:
*Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria
*Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco
Prince Albert may also refer to:
Royalty
* Alb ...
- who has "hellish-looking whiskers" according to Flashman.
*
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was an English historian, poet, and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster General between 184 ...
- present when Flashman meets the Queen.
Background
George MacDonald Fraser
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 Harry Paget Flashman, Flashman. Over the course of his career he wrote eleven n ...
was a journalist who dreamt of becoming a novelist. He wrote a straight historical novel in the mid-1950s which no one would publish (this was published posthumously as ''
Captain in Calico'') and came to feel that he would achieve success only if he did something in a more comical vein. In 1966 he came up with the idea of basing a novel around Harry Flashman from ''
Tom Brown's School Days
''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is a novel by Thomas Hughes, published in 1 ...
'' - "I thought he was a good character gone to waste. He only appears for a few minutes in the book."
Fraser later said he was inspired to put pen to paper by two events: going on a recent trip to Borneo and Malaya during the
Indonesian Confrontation
Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to:
* Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia
** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago
** Indonesian ...
which re-ignited his interest in Asia and soldiering, and having just completed a stint as acting editor of his paper, which re-enforced his determination to get out of journalism. He told his wife "I'll write us out of this".
When Fraser was deputy editor at the ''Glasgow Herald'' he typically finished his day at midnight. "When you do that you read til three or four in the morning anyway," he recalled. "I wrote instead, and did research."
Fraser wrote the book after work in nightly bursts, taking ninety hours all up with no advance plotting or revisions. Half way through he broke his arm and could not type; he might have given up but his wife read it, was enthusiastic, and encouraged him to continue. He took two years to find a publisher, before it was taken up by Herbert Jenkins.
Reception
When the book was published in America, several reviewers thought it was a true story. "The trouble was, these weren't idiots," Fraser said. "They were university professors and people."
Reviews were generally positive and the book sold well. "It just went whoof," said Fraser.
By 1970 the book had sold out two hard back runs of 10,000 each and over 200,000 copies in paperback. This success – notably the sale of the film rights – enabled Fraser to leave journalism and become a full-time writer. It also compelled him to move 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 ...
to avoid income tax.
Proposed film version
Film rights were sold to Bob Booker and George Foster's Cinema Organization company, and initial plans called for a movie to be directed 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 ...
. In August 1969 it was announced the script would be written by
Charles Wood with filming to start early the following year.
Lester admired the book greatly, saying "it was an extraordinary period of British history and it was a marvellously interesting premise... There were lots of things in it that made sense to me—about soldiering, about the military, about the economics of military politics. And I also had various notions about the Victorian ethic and the Protestant, John Foster Dulles ethic and the relationship of one to the other."
Lester obtained funds from
United Artists
United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
and
John Alderton
John Alderton (born 27 November 1940) is an English retired actor. He is best known for his roles in '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', '' Thomas & Sarah'', '' Wodehouse Playhouse'', '' Little Miss'' (original television series), '' Please Sir!'', '' ...
was cast as Flashman.
Frank Muir
Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wr ...
, who worked on the script, said that because Alderton was not known in America he had to do a screen test but United Artists approved him.
In February 1970 it was reported
Joan Collins
Dame Joan Henrietta Collins (born 23 May 1933) is an English actress, author and columnist. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Awards, a People's Choice Award, two Soap Opera Digest Awards and a Primetime Emm ...
was in talks with Lester to play a role.
Lester was scouting locations in Spain to stand in for Afghanistan and was about to start casting when there was a change of management at United Artists and the film was cancelled. Muir later wrote "I think the unfortunate loser was John Alderton. If ever it was a case of the right actor finding the right part and then losing it through no fault of his own with was John."
The British film industry was in crisis at the time due to the withdrawal of American finance. By March 1970 the project was cancelled.
Lester said it "came about at the time when the film industry began to collapse within itself. A sort of implosion. It’s a very expensive project, a period film where at one point 13,000 of the British Army have to retreat in January from Kabul into India, being attacked by hordes of Afghans. It’s not the sort of thing that you can do on a shoestring... To do it properly it would be a very expensive film; and I don’t think one should do it improperly. "
Lester later said, "it came in that very bad year for United Artists when they wrote off 90 million and cancelled nearly everything." After the failure of ''The Bed Sitting Room'' Lester did not make a film for five years.
In August 1971
Stanley Baker
Sir William Stanley Baker (28 February 192828 June 1976) was a Welsh actor and film producer. Known for his rugged appearance and intense, grounded screen persona, he was one of the top British male film stars of the late 1950s, and later a pro ...
was attached as producer with Lester still to direct. However, the film was not made.
Lester admired Fraser's writing and later hired the author to write the screenplay for ''
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 ...
'' (1973). This launched Fraser's scriptwriting career and he and Lester collaborated on the one film (to date) made from a Flashman novel, ''
Royal Flash
''Royal Flash'' is a 1970 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the second of the Flashman novels. It was made into the film '' Royal Flash'' in 1975 and remains the only Flashman novel to be filmed.
Plot summary
''Royal Flash'' is set duri ...
'' (1975). ''Diabolique'' magazine argued that ''Flashman'' would have been a better introduction to the character.
In 2015,
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
reported that
20th Century Fox
20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...
was developing a movie adaptation of the ''Flashman'' novels, with
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...
and
Peter Chernin
Peter Chernin (born May 29, 1951) is an American film and television producer, businessman and investor. He is the chairman and CEO of The Chernin Group (TCG), which he founded in 2010. TCG manages, operates and invests in businesses in the media ...
producing.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flashman (Novel)
1969 British novels
Flashman novels
Novels about the Great Game
Novels set in Afghanistan
Barrie & Jenkins books
First Anglo-Afghan War
Novels about rape