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Mar 08, 2010

Manny rated it:

Last week I finally got around to reading Les Trois Mousquetaires, and this week, more or less by accident, I read Royal Flash. They're both excellent historical thrillers, and it's interesting to compare them. MacDonald Fraser is following very much in Dumas's footsteps. He takes real historical events from the mid-19th century, and recasts them so that history is no longer an inevitable unfolding of grand themes, but rather a haphazard collection of accidents, more often than not turning on wh More...

8 comments like (9 people liked it)

Jul 18, 2008

Paul rated it:

Flashman's character is becoming more cohesive in this book. I felt that in the 1st book Fraser didn't quite know how to handle his creation, and Flashman fluctuated between being a cad and an outright unlikeable bastard. This time he's a coward, sure, and a bully if he sees the chance, and of course if you put a skirt on a hay bale then he'd probably sleep with it, but he still never dips below likeable scoundrel.

A few slow points where Fraser dips a bit too far into the history as More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jan 29, 2012

Ensiform rated it:

In this sequel, Harry Flashman is lulled into a drama of espionage and political maneuverings by, of
course, a woman. Said woman is Lola Montez, doxy about town and paramour to princes and politicos; and the political plotter is none other than Otto von Bismarck. This is one of the least realistic of the series, as the reader is given to understand that Flashman is the perfect double of Prince Carl Gustaf of Denmark.

Fraser escapes trying his audience’s credulity with this premise More...

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Aug 06, 2011

Dave rated it:

George MacDonald Fraser picks up in “Royal Flash” where he left off in “Flashman”. Fraser artfully blends historical figures into his stories along with a fictional character he stole, um, I mean pays homage to, in this delightful series. After covering the years 1839 – 1842 and his service in the first Anglo-Afghan War, “Royal Flash” cover 1842 – 1843 and then 1847 – 1848 in this second installment of “The Flashman Papers”.

Fraser inserts Otto von Bismarck as Flashman’s major nemesis More...

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Apr 29, 2011

Julie rated it:

I have read a number of Flashman books before this one and usually in a series you get ones that are stellar and ones that just don't have that same spark.

I felt so-so about this one. It just didn't seem to have the same sparkle.

My forever favourite is still Flashman at the Charge. It was also the first one I ever read, and it was a revelation.

I adore the Flashman character even when I dislike him.

He is a character I at once love/hate. He's such a More...

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Nov 09, 2009

Fuzzy rated it:

I had harsh words for the character of Flashman after I read the first book in George MacDonald Fraser's series. But there was something that compelled me to seek out more of his (mis)adventures and so I picked up Royal Flash from the library. Maybe it's that the novel is a pastiche of one of my childhood favorites, The Prisoner of Zenda, or that Flashman is less a victim of his own worst instincts than of the machinations of others. Regardless, I found him less loathsome and more the likable (t More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 18, 2011

Brendon rated it:

Flashman novels are my 'go to' books when I want to kick back and have a warm literary bath. Royal Flash, the 2nd in GMcDFraser's excellent series is, as to be expected, a fantastic romp through the mid-19th century. What is different with this novel is that GMcDFraser has used Anthony Hope's The Prisoner Of Zenda as the basis for Frashy's adventure.
Notable 'real' people Flashman meets include Bismarck and Lola Montez. Lola is another of the endless steam of larger than life characters the More...

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Mar 11, 2011

Strey rated it:

I approached this with some trepidation. "It's a pastiche" they said. "Not really a 'Flashy' story at all." "A bit weak." Hmmm. In the end I loved it - up to the mark with typical Harry antics & historical background. The Zenda parallel is there, but only in part & cleverly wound into the overall (almost disturbing!) tale. Read the classic 'Prisoner of Zenda' straight after & in truth, felt it lacked the Flashy touch!! Don't be put off - but as ever suspend your dis More...

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Jul 30, 2011

James rated it:

A splendid confection. The second installment in the purported memoirs of bigoted, cowardly and thoroughly likeable cad Harry Flashman, Royal Flash, like Flashman before it, is highly derivative of Little Big Man, but note-perfect and a ripping yarn. In this installment, the plot of which is lifted wholesale from The Prisoner of Zenda, Flashman becomes embroiled in an elaborate impersonation scheme involving Lola Montez and Otto von Bismarck. There are cameo appearances by Marx, Wagner and Br More...

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Jan 09, 2012

Natacha rated it:

"Royal Flash" é o volume que dá continuação à vida inacreditável de Flashman, uma figura mítica do século XIX londrino. Flashman é um cobarde convicto que, vítima de uma sucessão de mal-entendidos acaba por regressar a casa, depois de combater na guerra do Afeganistão, como um herói nacional, com direito a ser recebido pela rainha e tudo. :) É desta forma que acaba o primeiro volume de memórias de Flashman, intitulado "Flashman, A Odisseia de Um Cobarde" escrito pelo próprio More...

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Jul 28, 2011

Sally rated it:

It took me a long while to get into Royal Flash. It's written from the perspective of Harry Flashman, a cowardly, selfish, mysoginistic bully who is perfectly happy to take credit for anything he hasn't earned and driven largely by his lust. A classic anti-hero and not an easy character for me to relate to at all.

However it was highly recommended and I enjoyed the way the tawdry historical references (of the sort you never find in school history books) were woven so intrinsically into the story, More...

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Aug 16, 2010

Linda rated it:

The bully of Tom Brown's Schooldays grows up (more or less!) to become an absolute rotter who admits to only two talents: the ability to ride anything with hooves and a tail, and the ability to learn any language. He frequently refers to his days with the pansies at school and manages to weave in a number of other well-known tales as well (in this case, the Prisoner of Zenda). Somehow you can't help liking the bastard - and his own special kind of karma comes back to get him in the end.

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Jul 31, 2011

Ruth rated it:

c1970. Wonderfully fun book. Featuring Lola Montez, and Otto von Bismarck as major characters, and fictionalizes elements of the Schleswig-Holstein Question, 1843, 1847 and 1848. It made great supplementary reading to the boring "true" history that I was studying at the time. From Wikipedia comes the interesting fact that "The map of the Duchy of Strackenz in the book is an inverted outline of the Isle of Man which became the author's residence the year the book was first publishe

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May 17, 2009

Smokinjbc rated it:

Harry Flashman is still rotten to the core but takes you on quite a trip as he carouses his way through England and Europe. Several laugh out loud moments as he impersonates a Danish prince on his wedding night (the prince's, not Flashman's) and tries to escape the clutches of Bismarck. Especially entertaining was his description of fox hunting and his "education" in how to pull off an impressive scam.

My favorite lines are:

(speaking of Bismarck)

" More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2012

Rob rated it:

There is a good adventure story in here, but Flashman is just slightly too much of a dick to hook me in to it. And the chunks of history sit awkwardly in the cartoony tone. Some bits were fun when I remembered to imagine them in Rik Mayall's voice.

I'd stick with the original, wondeful, Prisoner of Zenda, or even Doctor Who and the Androids of Tara, which is The Prisoner of Zenda but with robots.

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Dec 22, 2010

Max rated it:

In what feels like far too familiar ground, Fraser sends off Flashman in a case of royal identity swapping and folly. Frequently it reads like a Marx brothers farce, teetering dangerously on the ridiculous. However, Flashman's nasty turns and ruthlessly coward sense of self preservation carries us through what would otherwise be a paint-by-numbers adventure.

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Jan 11, 2012

Tamara added it

Jolly and really swashbuckley, with the identity switches and running about in ruined castles as so on. The Marx cameo doesn't quite make up for the lack imperial criticism though, so I thought it was a bit weaker than the first one, but maybe thats because i've never read the Prisoner of Zenda and didn't know until the appendix it was even riffing off on it.

3 comments like

Jun 11, 2009

Stanley rated it:

Every Flashman book is a dangerous, rowdy romp through history with one of her Majesty the Queen's most famous, daring and self-serving cowards! James Bond has nothing on Harry Flashman, except for courage and the Astin-Martin. Be careful, once you meet Harry S. Flashman, you will follow him to the very last book's last page. FYI - there are many books.

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Jun 11, 2009

Stanley rated it:

Every Flashman book is a dangerous, rowdy romp through history with one of her Majesty the Queen's most famous, daring and self-serving cowards! James Bond has nothing on Harry Flashman, except for courage and the Astin-Martin. Be careful, once you meet Harry S. Flashman, you will follow him to the very last book's last page. FYI - there are many books.

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Aug 04, 2011

Jansen rated it:

Flashman. Victorian adventurer and hero extraordinaire, but an unwitting one. The self-admitting coward once again finds himself in the most ridiculously impossible of plots. Amazing how he comes away from this one alive. Enjoyable doesn't begin to describe this chapter of Flashman's life.

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Aug 23, 2009

Matthew rated it:

The second book in the Flashman series finds Harry in Germany, a pawn in the scheme of Otto Von Bismarck to wrest control of the province of Schleswig away from Denmark to form part of the German empire. This madcap adventure is rife with kidnapping, swordplay, double-crosses and shagging. Flashman, as fate would have it, is the doppelganger of the Prince of Denmark and secretly replaces him in a devious attempt by Bismarck to foment unrest and thus give the Prussian army a pretext for interveni More...

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Feb 13, 2011

Bettie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Mar 02, 2011

Lance rated it:

Not as good as the first Flashman book. Maybe it deserves three stars, but it's basically a reprisal of The Prisoner of Zenda, though not as good. Still, it's worth reading if you're going to read the rest of the series.

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May 24, 2011

Malrubius rated it:

Audiobook. Read this about 20 years ago. Lacks the culture clash and introductions of characters that makes the first Flashman great. Still, a fun read. Great funny writing. Flawless narration.

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Aug 18, 2009

Laura rated it:

The writing was as witty and quick as in the first Flash book, but I preferred this. I think Flash feels more rounded as a character here, and while he is still a coward, liar, womaniser etc, he is just that little bit less of a villain, so easier to read.

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Jul 28, 2008

Benjamin rated it:

I read the last Flashman first, and then the first Flashman second. If you look at my review of the first Flashman, you will see that I thought it was the high point, and that the books were going to gradually descend towards “Flashman on the March” (which was an enjoyable book, just a little formulaic). I was therefore pleasantly surprised by Royal Flash, which I thought was better than the original. It was good for some laugh-out-loud moments, a history lesson, and good nighttime reading. More...

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Aug 08, 2011

Richard rated it:

Great anti-hero true cad with the ladies ends up at the center of some of the greatest military faiures in british history about to soil himself but survives to a ripe old age

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Apr 24, 2009

Ute rated it:

i liked this book:

"it is very difficult to not like a lovely idiot."
"I was leering fondly down at her."
"she looked radiantly stupid, as ever."

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Apr 30, 2011

Joel rated it:

Yes Flashman is at his best and more importantly worst yet again. This time his greed takes him to Germany where Otto van Bismark has a dastardly plan to ensure the unification of the German states and Flashman must very reluctantly play his part in his sinister scheme.

Flashman impersonating a Royal....who would have thought it were possible. The improbability of the story only adds to the hilarious and preposterous situations Flashman finds himself in. Yes it's all pretty hard More...

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Apr 25, 2010

Karla (Mossy Love Grotto) marked it as to-read

Arrgh, now I wish I still had the movie version with Malcolm MacDowell, Oliver Reed, and Alan Bates in religion-revealing pants. It was hilarious.

2 comments like

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