Harry Paget Flashman

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Cover of Flashman (1990s printing)
Cover of Flashman (1990s printing)

Brigadier-General Sir Harry Paget Flashman VC KCB KCIE (5th May 1822 - 1915) is a fictional character originally created by the author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays, first published in 1857. The book is set at Rugby School, where Flashman is a notorious bully who persecutes its eponymous hero, Tom Brown. In Hughes' book, Flashman is finally expelled for drunkenness.

20th century author George MacDonald Fraser had the idea of writing a series of memoirs of the cowardly, bullying Flashman, portraying him as an antihero who cuts a swathe through the Victorian wars and uproars (and the boudoirs and harems) of the 19th century. Flashman - a self-described and unapologetic 'cad' - constantly betrays acquaintances, runs from danger or hides cowering in fear, yet he arrives at the end of each volume with medals, the praise of the mighty, and the love of one or more beautiful and enthusiastic women. Ultimately, Flashman becomes one of the most notable and honoured figures of the Victorian era.

Contents

In Tom Brown's Schooldays he is called only Flashman or Flashy; Fraser gives him his forenames, a lifespan from 1822 to 1915, and a birth date of 5 May.

In the novel Flashman, Flashman mentions that his mother was a relation of the socially prominent Paget family, but that the Flashman family were descended from a grandfather who'd made his fortune in America trading in rum, slaves, and "probably piracy". His father is a dissolute ex-member of parliament, who is "not quite the thing in society." As Flashman says, quoting Greville, "the coarse streak showed through, generation after generation, like dung beneath a rosebush". Flashman's taste in recreational activities etc. reflect his father's heritage, but, we are encouraged to suspect, his ability to pass himself off as a member of the upper crust, and his arrant cowardice, are traits inherited from his aristocratic mother.

The series is a classic use of false documents. The books describe the discovery of the nonagenarian General Flashman's memoirs in a Leicestershire saleroom in 1965. Posing as the editor of the papers, Fraser produces a series of historical novels that give a racy, colourful, mostly pragmatic (or arguably cynical) view of British and American history in the 19th century. Dozens of major and minor characters from history flit in and out of the books, often in an inglorious or hypocritical guise. Other fictional characters, such as Sherlock Holmes, can also be found in the tales, complementing Flashman and sundry figures from Tom Brown's Schooldays and Tom Brown at Oxford.

Fraser's research is extensive and the books illuminate the historical events they depict. The books are heavily annotated, with end notes and appendices, as Fraser (in accordance with the fictional existence of the memoirs) attempts to "confirm" (and in some cases "correct") the elderly Flashman's recollections of events; in many cases, the footnotes serve to aid the reader by indicating that a particularly outlandish character really existed or that an unlikely event actually occurred.

In outline there are some similarities to the Thomas Berger novel (and movie) Little Big Man, in which a 121-year old man recounts his numerous adventures and escapes in the Old West. Mark Twain also wrote a short story, Luck, about a highly decorated English general in the Crimean War who was a total idiot, but whose misadventures always ended in success.

The half-scholarly tone has occasionally led to misunderstandings; when first released in the United States, ten of 34 reviews published took it to be a real, albeit obscure, memoir. Several of these were written by academics - to the delight of The New York Times, which published a selection of the more trusting reviews.[1]

For the purposes of American publication, Fraser created a fictional entry of the 1909 edition of Who's Who. This lists Flashman's laurels as: VC, KCB, KCIE; Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur; Congressional Medal of Honor; San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth, 4th Class; and a lot of heartfelt thanks. In addition, he is listed as a major in the Union Army during the American Civil War in 1862, and a colonel in the Confederate Army the following year. (It is referred to in the narrative of Flashman and the Redskins that Flash did indeed fight on both sides during the American Civil War, changing sides half-way through. Though all conversations with Ulysses S Grant in that book suggest that this was a cover for espionage work.)


Harry Paget Flashman described himself as a large man, six feet and two inches (1.88 metres) tall and close to 13 stone (about 180 pounds or 82 kg). In Flashman and the Tiger, he mentions that one of his grandchildren has black hair and eyes, resembling him in his younger years; his dark colouring frequently enables him to pass (in disguise) for a Pathan. He describes his only two talents as a gift for horsemanship and languages (but sometimes makes it up to four by adding fornication and cricket). He also had the means to impress important people he met, usually with excessive toadying. His other gift was his success with women. The list of his sexual conquests (see below) is long (apparently up to four hundred and seventy eight less than halfway through his life (he mentions in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord that he came to this figure while languishing in a Gwalior dungeon)[citation needed]) and includes several famous women. Despite his natural abilities and imposing figure, Flashman was a coward, running from the danger he constantly found himself in. He was also a bully to his (supposed) inferiors and found joy in creating trouble for people he did not like.

After his expulsion from Rugby for drunkenness (from the original novel by Hughes), Flashman looked for a way to an easy life. He joined the military, picking the fashionable 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons commanded by Lord Cardigan, later of Light Brigade fame, because the 11th had just returned from India and were not likely to go back soon. Flashman threw himself into the social life that the 11th offered and became a leading light of Canterbury society.

A duel over a lady of questionable morals led to his being stationed in Scotland, where he met and deflowered his future wife, Elspeth Morrison. Blackmailed by her family into a shotgun wedding, their marriage caused his forced resignation from the 11th Lights, and he was sent East to make a career. This he did in Afghanistan, unwittingly becoming a hero by being known as the defender and surviving officer of Piper's Fort. When found by the relieving troops, he lay wrapped in the flag and surrounded by dead enemy troops. The fact that he had been trying to surrender the colours rather than defend them was lost to history.

Needless to say, Flashman arrived at the Fort by accident, tried to avoid all suggestions of involvement in the conflict, had to be bullied into holding a musket by his sergeant and had been 'rumbled' for a complete coward. Happily for him, all inconvenient witnesses perished in the battle. This seems to happen in many of the stories.

This incident set the tone for Flashman's life. He spent the next seventy-five years meeting the most famous people of his time and trying to shirk his duty in the most historically important conflicts and events of the 19th century--while being hailed as a hero throughout. Flashman died in 1915.

Despite his self-confessed nature as a coward, Flashman was a dab hand at combat, when forced to it. Almost every book contains one or more incidents where Flashman must fight for his life. He does so quite efficiently.

To date, the following extracts (in publication order) from the Flashman Papers have been published:

Flashman also plays a small part in Fraser's novel Mr American (1980). His father, Harry Buckley Flashman, has a similar cameo appearance 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 confirmed that he plans to write another installment of the Flashman Papers. According to Fraser, he has chosen three possible subjects to write about, though what these are he was not willing to say. This will fuel speculation among fans that he will be writing about Flash's continuing escapades in the American Civil War, the French intervention in Mexico (from which Flashman escapes at the beginning of Flashman on the March), the Franco-Prussian War or the Australian Gold Rush, all of which are mentioned in the canon. However at the Oxford Literary festival in 2006, when asked if he ever planned to document Flashman's adventures in Australia, Fraser replied that "Australia is on Flashman's CV, but I don't think I will get around to writing about it."[citation needed] He estimated that it takes him roughly 3-5 months to research and write a Flashman novel.

Flashman's stories are dominated by his numerous amorous encounters. In Flashman in the Great Game while in prison he compiles a mental list of all the women he has had up to that point in his life, "not counting return engagements" and he places the figure at 478. The women he gets involved with are not window dressing against the backdrop of Flashy's life, but pivotal characters in the unpredictable twists and turns of the books. Several of them are prominent historical personages.

A script for a Flashman film adaptation was written by Frank Muir in 1969, to star John Alderton, and is mentioned in his autobiography A Kentish Lad. A film version of Royal Flash was released in 1975. It was directed by Richard Lester and starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman, Oliver Reed as Otto von Bismarck and Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg. It received moderate acclaim, though most Flashy fans avoid it, as Lester chose to focus on bawdy buffoonery and slapstick and gave short shrift to the historical context of the story.

Fraser has said that further film adaptations of the Flashman books have not been made because he "will not let anyone else have control of the script... and that simply does not happen in Hollywood." He also points to a lack of a suitable British actor to portray Flashman; Errol Flynn was always his favourite for the role: "It wasn't just his looks and his style. He had that shifty quality." However, the suggestion of Daniel Day-Lewis struck a chord with him and he says that although "He's probably getting on a bit," he "might make a Flashman... He's big, he's got presence and he's got style." [2]

As of January 2007, Celtic Films indicate on their website that they have a series of Flashman TV films in development. Picture Palace have announced they are currently developing Flashman at the Charge for TV[1] and that the script has been prepared by George Macdonald Fraser himself. Both companies took an extensive role in developing Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe (TV series). Recent rumours suggest that James Purefoy, (Mark Antony in the recent BBC / HBO series Rome), has provisionally accepted an offer to play Flashman. This is still unconfirmed as of June 2007 .

  • American military historian Raymond M. Saunders created an homage to the Flashman persona in a series of Fenwick Travers novels, set among the US military adventures in the Indian wars, Spanish-American war in Cuba, Boxer Rebellion in China, piracy and Muslim terrorism in the Philippines, and the creation of the Panama Canal. These novels never received the popularity or acclaim of the original Flashman.
  • Peter Bowen's four-book series based on the exploits of Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly is clearly influenced by Flashman. Basing his series loosely on the career of an actual frontier scout, Bowen presents Kelly as a womanizer, heavy drinker, and something of a coward. Like Flashman, Kelly is a victim of his own legend, and is often dragged into exploits against his will by actual historical personages such as U. S. Grant, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Theodore Roosevelt. Eventually he is forced to behave heroically, at times even nobly. Although the novels have a decided comic edge, there is an element of dark tragedy in them, often related to the despoiling of frontiers and the subjugation of native peoples. The books include Yellowstone Kelly: Gentleman and Scout (1987), Kelly Blue (1991), Imperial Kelly (1992) and Kelly and The Three-Toed Horse (2001).
  • Eric Nicol's Dickens of the Mounted, a fictional biography of Francis Jeffrey Dickens, the real life third son of novelist Charles Dickens who joined the North West Mounted Police in 1874, has an alternate and less than flattering take on Flashman - the book itself is something of an homage to the Flashman series.
  • In comics, writer John Ostrander took Flashman as his model for his portrayal of the cowardly villain Captain Boomerang in the Suicide Squad series. In the letters page to the last issue in the series (66), Ostrander acknowledges this influence directly. Noticeably absent in the Captain Boomerang character is Flashman's success with the ladies however.

The Flashman books are littered with references to a vast number of notable historical figures. Although many have but a brief mention, some feature prominently and are portrayed "warts-and-all". They include the following:

  1. ^ Gen. Sir Harry Flashman And Aide Con the Experts, by Alden Whitman, The New York Times, July 29, 1969
  2. ^ Flash man by Saul David, The Daily Telegraph, 16 April 2006
  3. ^ Mitchell, Sandy (2007-04-30). Ciaphas Cain, Hero of the Imperium. The Black Library. ISBN 978-1844164660. 

v • d • e
Flashman novels
Flashman • Royal Flash • Flash for Freedom! • Flashman at the Charge • Flashman in the Great Game • Flashman's Lady • Flashman and the Redskins • Flashman and the Dragon • Flashman and the Mountain of Light • Flashman and the Angel of the Lord • Flashman and the Tiger • Flashman on the March
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Paget_Flashman"
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