Flashman Papers Books In Order

Publication Order of Flashman Papers Books

Chronological Order of Flashman Papers Books

George McDonald Fraser was born on 2 April 1925 in Carlisle to parents of Scottish heritage. Fraser’s father was a medical practitioner while his mother served as a nurse. Frazer’s father passed his passion for reading to Fraser. George Frazer attended Carlisle Grammar School and later on Glasgow Academy. Due to his sheer laziness, Frazer performed poorly academically. This in turn meant that he was not able to follow his father’s career path. In the year 1943, Frazer was enlisted with the Border Regiment. Thus he served in the Burma Campaign. After successfully completing his Officer Cadet Training course, he was awarded a commission into Gordon Highlanders. While working with Gordon Highlanders, Frazer served with the Highlanders in North Africa and the Middle East after the end of World War II. After he was discharged from the army, Frazer went back to England.

Through his father’s connections, he was able to land a job as a trainee reporter for the Carlisle Journal. While working for the Carlisle Journal, George Frazer married, Kathleen Hetherington, another journalist. The two travelled to Canada, after they secured work with one of the local newspapers. It did not take long before, they eventually returned to Scotland, where Frazer began working for the Glasgow Herald newspaper as a journalist. In the year 1966, Frazer was inspired to convert a fictional bully and coward, Flashman who was originally created by one of the most celebrated author’s Thomas Hughes. This time around, Frazer decided to convert Flashman into a hero. The first book in the series proved to be a success story and by selling the film rights, Frazer McDonald became a full time writer. When he realized that he was paying so much to the government, Frazer decided to relocate to the Isle of Man where he could pay less tax.

Flashman

Taking another author’s creation and transforming the protagonist into one of the most celebrated characters is an exceptional coup. Flashman is the first installment in one of the finest historical comic series to be ever written. The Flashman series was written over a span of 30 years and features Flashman, who one of the most decorated heroes. There is hardly anyone important that Flashman does not meet. This installment heavily ridicules, morality and the Victorian society. As a character Flashman is a coward, a cheat, a bully, a scoundrel and a lecher. Flashman normally pays for his odd behaviors by appearing at every military disaster that Britain has ever been as well as those of America. This installment together with the other books in the Flashman series is not only heavily footnoted but also historically accurate.

The author introduces the reader to Flashman, a character who has been stolen and borrowed from one of the most famous, Victorian England’s hero novels, the Tom Brown School Days. In this novel, the Flashman appears as not only the worst villain but also the greatest bully of young kid such as Tom Brown. Thus, after successfully convincing his father to pay up the cavalry’s commission, the Flashman begins to move from one problem to another. He eventually winds up in India, Afghanistan; where he is taken to Britain’s first ever war in Afghanistan. In the year 1830, England as a nation has decided to do change the regime by setting up a king in Kabul. To ensure a peaceful transition and stability, the King is given English gold and British troops. However, England sends Lord Elphinstone, one of its worse generals to take command.

Nonetheless, everything falls to ashes and the British army eventually decides to retreat from Afghanistan during the winter. Due to the cold weather and the lack of transport, the gruesome journey from Afghanistan to India leads to one of the biggest disasters that Britain has ever faced as it is only one man out of an entire army, who is able to return to India. Thousands die in the snowy roads and passes.

Royal Flash

Royal Flash is one of the best books in the Flashman series. People who have read various books are going to easily recognize the book’s plot. However, the books author, McDonald Frazer is fully aware of this and thus alludes to this particular book in an exceedingly funny way. Thus, the Royal Flash is the only book in the Flashman series, which is absolutely fictional. In this book, Harry Flashman has ended up becoming one of the most loved people in Britain, due to his bravery in the Punjab and Afghanistan. However, this time around, Flashman is forced once gain into the shadows by being recruited by a wicked foreigner who wants to see him dead. The foreigner sends Flashman into a mission where he is expected to alter the map of the world and also Europe’s powers. However, a psychopathic killer who is more than determined to kill him, especially when Flashman does something which is not expected of him or out of the mission plan guards Flashman.

Royal Flash is completely fictional. Apart from the historical characters and Schleswig-Holstein’s question, none of this novel is real. Even the book’s setting is entirely fictional. Nonetheless, this presents Flashman with the opportunity of being in something entirely different from all the other books in this series. Unlike the other books, you will never be able to predict how Flash was going to get out eventually. Despite the fact that Flashman is going to survive his ordeal, the story is going to take a different turn and thus the result is an amusing and gripping story that is filled with spineless, lustful and self-serving acts, which Flashman is best at.

The characters in the Royal Flash novel are exceedingly interesting. The protagonist Flashman is not only devious but also toadying as usual, as he is more than determined to survive a meeting between him and his age’s foremost politician before all know him. All in all, the author McDonald Fraser has done an excellent job was again especially when writing about his characters. Nonetheless, the action is this installment is somehow limited because it is not a war novel. Instead, the Royal Flash is a political thriller in which Flashman tries to survive his latest dilemma and come out from hiding in one piece.

2 Responses to “Flashman Papers”

1. Stevie: 1 year ago

   Should I read the Flashman books in publication order or chronological order?
   Thankyou v’much!!

   Reply
   • Graeme: 1 year ago

     I would say publication order. I believe the books jump around a bit chronologically so if you were to read the true chronological order, you would practically have to read a portion of one book then jump to another etc. I’ve spoken to some people who said that publication was better.

     Reply