For starters, Harry Flashman is expelled from school as a drunken bully. After seducing his father's mistress, he begins a secret life that leads f...
read full description
reviews
May 12, 2008
Douglas
rated it: 
The Flashman books (all twelve of them) would be a guilty pleasure if they were not so jam-packed with Victorian historical detail that would make them a good foundation for a history of the mid to late British Empire.
The protagonist, the classic anti-hero Harry Flashman, is a scoundrel, a bully, a coward, a liar, and a rake. And he frankly admits all of the above in this series of 'memoirs.' Flashman himself is a character from the Thomas Hughes novel, 'Tom Brown's School Days,' p More...
The protagonist, the classic anti-hero Harry Flashman, is a scoundrel, a bully, a coward, a liar, and a rake. And he frankly admits all of the above in this series of 'memoirs.' Flashman himself is a character from the Thomas Hughes novel, 'Tom Brown's School Days,' p More...
0 comments
like
(15 people liked it)
Sep 07, 2011
Raegan
rated it:
Meet Harry Flashman, decorated hero of the Victorian age. He also happens to be a liar, a lecher, a bully, and a sniveling coward, and that is what makes these comic historical novels so funny.He is also gloriously un-PC, which seems to ruffle some dainty feathers these days. Great stuff.
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Jul 28, 2011
Sally
rated it: 
A magnificent read about an appalling man. You get a good feel for Flashman's character early on. With his unflinching and intelligent take on the people and situations surrounding him you feel very much a part of the action. It is extremely well written and a very entertaining book.
Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it's pretty poignant too. I was laughing till I snorted in public at the description of one military leader's incompetence; then very swifly nearly in tears as More...
Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it's pretty poignant too. I was laughing till I snorted in public at the description of one military leader's incompetence; then very swifly nearly in tears as More...
Mar 29, 2008
Lena
rated it: 
Let me begin this review by saying that my star rating has less to do with the quality of the book and more with the fact that it was a bad match for my reading tastes.
I became interested in the Flashman books after hearing them described as a much-loved series of historically accurate, comic fiction. Though title character Harry Flashman is a self-described coward and cad, he does have a certain charm as he describes how he repeatedly finds himself in the middle of one British mi More...
I became interested in the Flashman books after hearing them described as a much-loved series of historically accurate, comic fiction. Though title character Harry Flashman is a self-described coward and cad, he does have a certain charm as he describes how he repeatedly finds himself in the middle of one British mi More...
2 comments
like
(4 people liked it)
Dec 17, 2009
George
rated it:
The first book in what is almost certainly the finest series of historical comic novels ever written. Over the series, written over a 30 year period, Harry Flashman becomes one of Victorian England's most decorated military heros while in actuality he's its most craven coward. There's scarcely anyone of importance in history that he doesn't eventually meet. The books heavily satirize Victorian society and morality. Flashman himself is not only a coward, but is also a bully, a scoundrel, a cheat,
More...
0 comments
like
(6 people liked it)
Aug 29, 2011
Célia
rated it: 
Flashman – A Odisseia de um Cobarde foi originalmente publicado em 1969 e deu início a uma série de sucesso, com um total de 12 livros, da autoria do escritor inglês George MacDonald Fraser. A personagem que dá título a este livro, e que percorre toda a série, é Henry Flashman, que apareceu no livro Tom Brown’s Schooldays (1857), de Thomas Hughes, no qual Flashman era o bully da personagem principal. Em Flashman – A Odisseia de um Cobarde, o autor utiliza a técnica literária dos falsos documento
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 29, 2008
James
rated it:
Flashman is the Victorian anti-hero, a true scoundrel without a shred of morality. In the first book alone, he commits pretty much every sin: drunkenness, lechery, sloth, murder, rape, cowardice, toadyism, and more besides. If he has a single redeeming feature, it is that he is utterly honest with his desires and failings. Truthfully, he is a two-dimensional character in almost every respect. Why, then, is this book so immensely entertaining?
It is because Fraser's masterful and keen More...
It is because Fraser's masterful and keen More...
Sep 09, 2007
Sam
rated it:
I really enjoyed Flashman, but I have mixed feelings about talking about it. Flashman is satire that cuts to the bone, with a protagonist that you don't want to like, but find yourself caught up in his life regardless. I think of Harry Flashman as a kind of anti-Forrest Gump. The books are a first-person narrative, a tell-all memoir by one of England's greatest heroes. The memoirs (fictional, of course) were written in 1910 or so, when Flashman was 80 years old. 'Flashy' as his friends call
More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Feb 04, 2012
Allen
rated it:
What a cynical, sardonic tale! This novel uses the old conceit of being a memoir by Harry Flashman, a purported 19th century British soldier, "discovered" by the author Fraser from a manuscript in an old trunk. Supposedly written in his elder years, Flashman, an utterly despicable character, cowardly, racist, lazy, utterly selfish, can now indulge in complete honesty about his youthful exploits that made him a hero of the British empire. The notion that Flashman is being completely hon
More...
Jan 29, 2012
Ensiform
rated it:
The first of the Flashman Papers, in which our hero joins the army and serves in Afghanistan. This chronicle covers 1839-42: we see Flashy undergoing the pathetic retreat from Kabul under the dithering General Elphinstone, and unwillingly making a last stand at Piper’s Fort.
Although no stranger to Flashy’s exploits, of course, I had never actually read this, the first exploit that cemented his reputation. Here we see a Flashy that is perhaps more cowardly than in the later books; he More...
Although no stranger to Flashy’s exploits, of course, I had never actually read this, the first exploit that cemented his reputation. Here we see a Flashy that is perhaps more cowardly than in the later books; he More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jul 28, 2011
A magnificent read about an appalling man. You get a good feel for Flashman's character early on. With his unflinching and intelligent take on the people and situations surrounding him. It is extremely well written and a very entertaining book.
Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it's pretty poignant too. I was laughing till I snorted in public at the description of one military leader's incompetence, then very swiftly nearly in tears as the full impact of it was realised.
The voices More...
Given the current situation in Afghanistan, it's pretty poignant too. I was laughing till I snorted in public at the description of one military leader's incompetence, then very swiftly nearly in tears as the full impact of it was realised.
The voices More...
May 16, 2011
Drush76
rated it:
"FLASHMAN" (1969) Book Review
Forty-one years ago, an old literary character was re-introduced to many readers, thanks to a former Scottish journalist named George MacDonald Fraser. The author took a character from a famous Victorian novel and created a series of novels that placed said character in a series of historical events throughout the middle and second half of the 19th century. <lj-cut>
The 1857 novel, ”TOM BROWN’S SCHOOLDAYS”, told the story of a you More...
Forty-one years ago, an old literary character was re-introduced to many readers, thanks to a former Scottish journalist named George MacDonald Fraser. The author took a character from a famous Victorian novel and created a series of novels that placed said character in a series of historical events throughout the middle and second half of the 19th century. <lj-cut>
The 1857 novel, ”TOM BROWN’S SCHOOLDAYS”, told the story of a you More...
Oct 02, 2010
Noble
rated it:
I'm going to review the whole series here, instead of saying more or less the same thing for each of the books I've read.
Flashman, the character, is an asshole. Really, he doesn't have many redeeming qualities. I shall list those which come to mind:
He seems to genuinely love his wife, in his own way (he cheats on her, or tries to, pretty much constantly, but he also has ample reason to believe she does the same and knows about his own infidelities; still, his thoughts seem to g More...
Flashman, the character, is an asshole. Really, he doesn't have many redeeming qualities. I shall list those which come to mind:
He seems to genuinely love his wife, in his own way (he cheats on her, or tries to, pretty much constantly, but he also has ample reason to believe she does the same and knows about his own infidelities; still, his thoughts seem to g More...
3 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 09, 2010
Andy
rated it:
When I began writing my own fiction (at www.lordlikely.com), I often received comments that what I was doing was very Flashman-esque. To my shame, I actually had no idea what anyone was talking about, as I hadn't heard of the series, so naturally I had to check it out.
And I was very glad I did! While I understand why comparisons between Flashman and Likely were drawn (Victorian setting, roguish lead character) Flashman is in another league altogether. In fact, it orbits all other lea More...
And I was very glad I did! While I understand why comparisons between Flashman and Likely were drawn (Victorian setting, roguish lead character) Flashman is in another league altogether. In fact, it orbits all other lea More...
Jul 09, 2010
I’ve been trying for years to interest people in the Flashman books. This probably won’t work either.
Here’s the pitch. They’re adventure novels, reasonably accurate historically (don’t skip the footnotes), and funny as anything I’ve read. Harry Flashman–cad, liar, bully, coward, and, especially, lecher–finds himself, to his dismay, in just about every military disaster of the Nineteenth Century. He flees Afghanistan, fights on both sides of the Civil War, survives Little Big Horn, ch More...
Here’s the pitch. They’re adventure novels, reasonably accurate historically (don’t skip the footnotes), and funny as anything I’ve read. Harry Flashman–cad, liar, bully, coward, and, especially, lecher–finds himself, to his dismay, in just about every military disaster of the Nineteenth Century. He flees Afghanistan, fights on both sides of the Civil War, survives Little Big Horn, ch More...
Jun 13, 2010
Mark
rated it:
Here's "the novel that started it all..." as the cover breathlessly blurbs. Flashman entertains as it informs, this time about Britain's disastrous retreat from Kabul in the winter of 1842.
As the first in the series, it naturally covers a lot of background on Flashman 's origins, including his expulsion from Rugby for drunkenness, his enlistment in the army and his marriage in Scotland to Elspeth Morrison. The marriage leads to his reassignment to India. The Earl of C More...
As the first in the series, it naturally covers a lot of background on Flashman 's origins, including his expulsion from Rugby for drunkenness, his enlistment in the army and his marriage in Scotland to Elspeth Morrison. The marriage leads to his reassignment to India. The Earl of C More...
Dec 01, 2010
Max
rated it:
Harry Flashman is a liar, a lech, a coward, a bully, and quickly becomes a decorated hero of Britain. In this first book of the Flashman papers, a historical fiction satire, Fraser uses Flashman to chronicle the downfall of the British Empire. How did a nation that once controlled much of the globe devolve into a foppish class of cads? Flashman is a giant metaphor for the behavior of the Crown and her military in the 19th century theater. This first novel finds Harry Flashman rogering his father
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 25, 2010
Joseph
rated it:
I first started reading these books some twenty years ago. They weren't new at the time, and they were on the bookshelf at Forbidden Planet, on 12th Street, in New York City, which I found odd, as it did not appear to be a science fiction or fantasy title.
Having lucked into the series, perhaps due to my interest in Victorian and Steampunk fiction (though Space:1889, by GDW), I find myself exceptionally lucky. The books star Harry Flashman, military hero, veteran of countless wars More...
Having lucked into the series, perhaps due to my interest in Victorian and Steampunk fiction (though Space:1889, by GDW), I find myself exceptionally lucky. The books star Harry Flashman, military hero, veteran of countless wars More...
Jul 13, 2009
Bruce
rated it:
This is the first of a series of novels published beginning in 1969, all featuring Harry Flashman, a relatively minor and altogether craven character in Thomas Hughes’ Tom Brown’s Schooldays. This novel somewhat comically chronicles Flashman’s exploits in the British army, primarily in Afghanistan in 1849. The book raised several issues of interest to me.
First, there is the question of genre. One might legitimately describe the book as historical fiction. And, equally, it could b More...
First, there is the question of genre. One might legitimately describe the book as historical fiction. And, equally, it could b More...
0 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Jan 20, 2012
Emma
rated it:
If you want swashbuckling adventure, and dastardly escapades then this is definitely the book for you. Presenting itself as the recently discovered memoirs of Harry Flashman, the bully from 'Tom Brown's Schooldays', this first in the series sees Flashman ending up in Kabal as a military officer just in time for the deathly retreat from that city. Even though this is meant to be a fairly light hearted adventure story I found the devastating death toll on the retreat from Kabal chilling. Flashman'
More...
Jul 24, 2011
David
rated it:
First entry in George MacDonald Frase's Flashman series, in which he (re)introduces us to Harry Flashman: a totally reprehensible anti-hero, who (through the entire series) cheats, lies and connives his way through Victorian society and the great events of the era: in this case, the disastrous retreat from Kabul.
By all accounts, the history of the books are actually pretty accurate: most of the people Flashman meets and interacts with were real personages of note, and the novels contai More...
By all accounts, the history of the books are actually pretty accurate: most of the people Flashman meets and interacts with were real personages of note, and the novels contai More...
Nov 22, 2010
Benjamin
rated it:
I caught the name of this series of books on a podcast I was listening to late one night last week. Sounded interesting, so off to the library next door I went.
Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser is a helluva book. For some reason I’d imagined it would be in the SciFi/Fantasy section (probably wouldn’t have gone looking for it otherwise), but I found it in the general literature section. Technically, it’s historical fiction, as the events and characters come from the British Empire of More...
Flashman, by George MacDonald Fraser is a helluva book. For some reason I’d imagined it would be in the SciFi/Fantasy section (probably wouldn’t have gone looking for it otherwise), but I found it in the general literature section. Technically, it’s historical fiction, as the events and characters come from the British Empire of More...
Mar 07, 2011
Alex
rated it:
It's hard to explain why I enjoyed this book so much. The thing it has going against it is fairly obvious: the protagonist and narrator, Harry Paget Flashman, is a bully, liar, coward, cad, toady, racist, mysoginist, and, oh yeah, a rapist (just the once, if that mitigates it somewhat). But the reasons to love the book (and even admire the "hero") outweigh my natural tendency to be repulsed by such a, well, repulsive main character. The writing is topnotch. It's as fine an adventure st
More...
Jun 21, 2009
Frederick
rated it:
Imagine Blake Edwards channeling Rudyard Kipling in a letter to Penthouse and you might have an idea of what this book is like. The protagonist is the embodiment of everything detestable in the English character and otherwise thoroughly unlikeable in that he is a bigot, a coward and completely amoral. Nevertheless, this story of his first adventures is great historical fiction and a real page-burner as "Flashy" lies, cheats, schemes and whores his way through 1840's Britain on his way
More...
Feb 06, 2011
Louise
rated it:
Flashman was picked as the February book for the NeoGAF bookclub. I thought I would like the adventures of Flashy based on the first few pages. Who wouldn't like a story that starts off with being expelled from Rugby school for drunkenness?
Unfortunately, after reading 1/3 of the book, I can't continue. Flashy is an unapologetic ass! I'm usually fine with antiheros, but this one takes it too far. Flashy's treatment of women is awful and while this could be the norm for his time and More...
Unfortunately, after reading 1/3 of the book, I can't continue. Flashy is an unapologetic ass! I'm usually fine with antiheros, but this one takes it too far. Flashy's treatment of women is awful and while this could be the norm for his time and More...
6 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Aug 15, 2011
Jeremy
rated it:
After a number of very strong recommendations (as well as a loaned copy) from a colleague, I set to work on the first volume of the Flashman papers. I must say that I was not disappointed. This is one of those books that will trick you into learning your Victorian British history under the guise of being entertained by the exploits of one Harry Flashman, who can only be described as the wrong man in the right place at the right time. If ever the untimely and heroic deaths of others aided and
More...
Oct 18, 2010
Michele
rated it:
I can't believe I've been missing out on this historical fiction series by Fraser. Historically accurate to a point, the character of Flashman is hysterical. Cowardly but gifted with a healthy dose of pragmatism and damned good luck, Flashman is a dilettante English prig who joins the mighty British military after being kicked out of prep school in the mid-1800s.
He summarily finds himself packed down to India and then, in a series of ironic events, up in Kabul smack dab in the midd More...
He summarily finds himself packed down to India and then, in a series of ironic events, up in Kabul smack dab in the midd More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Apr 04, 2011
Tobias
rated it:
I actually started out hating this book.
I rather enjoyed the style - a very personal first-person narrative - but the problem was that the character was just far too dislikeable. But the more I read on, the more I realized that that was the point.
This first novel in a series deal with the creation of the caddish, roguelike Flashman.
After the first few chapters, I began to ease into the style. In doing this, I found myself not expecting much from Flashman - expecting him to act in More...
I rather enjoyed the style - a very personal first-person narrative - but the problem was that the character was just far too dislikeable. But the more I read on, the more I realized that that was the point.
This first novel in a series deal with the creation of the caddish, roguelike Flashman.
After the first few chapters, I began to ease into the style. In doing this, I found myself not expecting much from Flashman - expecting him to act in More...
Mar 24, 2011
Adam
rated it:
"These stories will be completely truthful; I am breaking the habit of eighty years. Why shouldn't I?
When a man is as old as I am, and knows himself for what he is, he doesn't care much. I'm not ashamed, you see; never was.
So I can look at the picture above my desk, of the young officer; tall and handsome as I was in those days, and say that it is the portrait of a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat.
since many of the stories are discreditable to me, you can rest assure More...
When a man is as old as I am, and knows himself for what he is, he doesn't care much. I'm not ashamed, you see; never was.
So I can look at the picture above my desk, of the young officer; tall and handsome as I was in those days, and say that it is the portrait of a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat.
since many of the stories are discreditable to me, you can rest assure More...
Oct 17, 2011
Douglas
rated it:
Harry Flashman is a bad, bad person. There’s no two ways about it. But he’s an especially effective anti-hero. Not to suggest that Flashman is a work of the same caliber, but if Julien Sorel in The Red and the Black is an anti-hero for his naked ambition, he isn’t himself such an unsympathetic person. Flashman, on the other hand, ought to be wholly unsympathetic. His intentions and thoughts are never commendable. His actions are despicable. His moral failure really is absolute. And yet it’s impo
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
