The Flashman Papers

Harry Paget Flashman was a fictional character created by George MacDonald Fraser as the protagonist in a series of 12 historical novels, covering the period 1839-1894. The novels are based on the "discovery" of Flashman's memoirs, and the books were published during the period 1969-2005. Flashman is an unapologetic antihero, who described himself as "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward—and oh yes, a toady." The history of the novels is accurate, and Flashman provides amusement, so I enjoy these novels. The following is the complete list of the novels, taken from Wikipedia; I have them all, and I am working my way through them.

Volumes of the Flashman Papers

The following extracts (in publication order) from the Flashman Papers have been published:

- Flashman (1969): 1839-1842. Lord Cardigan; the First Anglo-Afghan War (the retreat from Kabul, the last stand at Gandamak and the siege of Jellalabad).
- Royal Flash (1970): 1843, 1847-1848. A pastiche of The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope, set in the fictional German state of Strackenz. Lola Montez; Otto von Bismarck; bare-knuckle boxing; the Schleswig-Holstein Question; the Revolutions of 1848.
- Flash for Freedom! (1971): 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground Railroad.
- Flashman at the Charge (1973): 1854-1855. The Crimean War; the Charge of the Light Brigade; Russian invasion of Central Asia.
- Flashman in the Great Game (1975): 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny, the Rani of Jhansi, the Cawnpore Massacre, the siege of Lucknow. Flashman was required to perform heroically in this conflict and was awarded the Victoria Cross and a knighthood. But the publication of Tom Brown's Schooldays with its portrayal of Flashman as a coward and bully spoiled his satisfaction.
- Flashman's Lady (1977): 1843-1845. The first "hat trick" in cricket; "White Rajah" James Brooke and the pirates of Borneo; Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar. Parts are written as if drawn from the diary of his wife Elspeth, and edited by her slightly puritanical and much offended sister, Grizel Morrison de Rothschild.
- Flashman and the Redskins (1982): 1849-1850, 1875-1876. The Wild West: the Forty-Niners, the Apaches, and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
- Flashman and the Dragon (1985): 1860. China: the Taiping Rebellion and the Peking Expedition.
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light (1990): 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh War; the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
- Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (1994): 1858-1859. United States: John Brown and the Harper's Ferry Raid.
- Flashman and the Tiger (1999) incorporating:
-- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin; assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Josef.
-- The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VII; the Royal Baccarat Scandal.
- Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War; Oscar Wilde; Colonel Sebastian "Tiger Jack" Moran; Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson.
- Flashman on the March (2005): 1868. Escape from Mexico at the end of the French occupation; British invasion of Abyssinia to rescue hostages.

Flashman also plays a small part in Fraser's novel Mr American (1980). His father, Harry Buckley Flashman, appears in Black Ajax (1997). At one point, it is also mentioned that a member of the Flashman family was present at the Battle of Culloden, 1746. Fraser has confirmed that Flashman died in 1915 but the circumstances of his death have never been related.

In early 2006 Fraser said that he planned to write another installment of the Flashman Papers. Fraser said he had chosen three possible subjects to write about, though what these are he was not willing to say. At the Oxford Literary festival in 2006, Fraser estimated that it took him roughly three to five months to research and write a Flashman novel.

Fraser died of cancer on 2 January 2008.

Flashman Papers in chronological order:

Flashman: 1839-1842. the First Anglo-Afghan War.
Flashman's Lady: 1843-1845. Borneo, Madagascar.
Flashman and the Mountain of Light: 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh War.
Royal Flash: 1847-1848. the Revolutions of 1848.
Flash for Freedom!: 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground Railroad.
Flashman and the Redskins Part I: 1849-1850, The Wild West: the Forty-Niners,
Flashman at the Charge: 1854-1855. The Crimean War; the Charge of the Light Brigade.
Flashman in the Great Game: 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny.
Flashman and the Angel of the Lord: 1858-1859. the Harper's Ferry Raid.
Flashman and the Dragon: 1860. the Peking Expedition.
Flashman on the March: 1868. British invasion of Abyssinia to rescue hostages.
Flashman and the Redskins Part II: 1875-1876. the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Flashman and the Tiger
The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin; Emperor Franz Josef.
The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VII; the Royal Baccarat Scandal.
Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War.