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Harry Paget Flashman

Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character originally created by the author Thomas Hughes, in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's School Days first published in 1857.

In Tom Brown's School Days, set at Rugby School, Flashman is the notorious school bully, who persecutes the book's hero Tom Brown . Flashman is finally expelled for drunkenness.

George MacDonald Fraser had the conceit of writing a series of further fictional adventures of this coward and bully as he cuts a swathe through the wars and uproars (and the boudoirs and harems) of the 19th century. Though Flashman constantly betrays his friends, runs from danger, or hides cowering in fear, he arrives at the end of each book with medals, praise from the mighty, and the love of one or more beautiful and enthusiastic women. Flashman becomes one of the most notable and honored figures of the Victorian era. Fraser gives Flashman's life as 1822 to 1915.

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 1966. Posing as the editor of the papers, Fraser produces a series of historical novels that give a racy, colorful, and decidedly 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.

In fact, 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.

To date the following extracts from the Flashman Papers have been published:

Flashman also plays a small part in Fraser's novel Mr American. His father has a similar cameo appearance in Black Ajax.

External links

  • The Flashman Society http://www.harryflashman.org/ , Fraser's web page that continues the pretense that he is merely editing Flashman's papers.
  • The Royal Flashman Society of Upper Canada http://www.pangloss.ca/flashman/


Last updated: 02-09-2005 08:42:45
Last updated: 05-06-2005 01:27:49