#harry flashman

[coupleofdays]

Many years ago I heard an amusing theory on a podcast that Boba Fett is actually completely incompetent, but has managed to gain a reputation as a fearsome bounty hunter because of his cool-looking armor and being lucky enough to always end up in the right place at the right time. This was of course based entirely on his appearances in the original trilogy films. The one part of the theory I remember was that when all the other bounty hunters had parked their ships in the landing bay of Vader's Star Destroyer, Boba had by accident parked his in the garbage hold, and was lucky that Solo decided to sneak away when the garbage was jettisoned. And eventually, his luck ran out on Tatooine, leading to an embarrasing end.

I still like this theory, despite the many other canon sources opposing it. I guess I have a fondness for characters who are secretly more or less incompetent, but manages to get reputations of competence through sheer luck. Guys like Harry Flashman, Jacques Clouseau, or Ciaphas Cain. Probably has something to do with my own occasional bouts of impostor syndrome.

[werewolfetone]

We should put horatio hornblower and jack aubrey and harry flashman and richard sharpe in some sort of gladiatorial match together I think

[krinsbez]

Random Crossover Thought

So, as i continue to explore Battletech lore in the most dilettante manner possible (going through it's TvTropes page), I have discovered that there is a Mech called the Flashman.

As I am currently making my way through the Flashman books by George MacDonald Fraser, I am now left wondering what a Battletech version of Harry Flashman would be like.

Granted, WH40K has done that gag first, but it's still a solid idea!

[rlyehtaxidermist]

web fantasy fiction authors were the only ones brave enough to ask questions like "would someone read hundreds of thousands of words of completely unironic harry flashman?" and unfortunately the answer turned out to be yes

[doctgirlfriend]

The Doctor Recommends: Flashman

“When danger called, he did not hesitate. He ran like hell! – George MacDonald Fraser Harry Flashman, a fictional character expelled from Rugby for drunkenness in the 1857 novel Tom Brown’s Schooldays, was “rediscovered” in a cache of manuscripts following his death in 1915. The papers describe his career in the British military, from the First Afghan War to the Crimean War, the Sepoy Mutiny,…

[jakecosmosaller]

Flashman Novels

Flashman Novels Review of the Flashman  Novels George MacDonald Fraser The Flashman novels are a series of historical fiction books written by George MacDonald Fraser, following the adventures of Harry Paget Flashman, a fictional British army officer. The series spans from the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, covering various historical events and figures.  The Flashman novels are…

[kaijudirector]

Heads up for all you fans of a certain Harry Flashman. I can’t help but think this, plus The 1968 Charge of the Light Brigade movie, is the adaptation of Flashman at the Charge we never got.

[assortedantics]

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Clarke Gable as Harry Flashman!

[lorcanaloser]

You'd think now that I'm pushing tcoaal stuff and going all in on problematic content is more and more tolerated I'd feel comfortable talking about my actual favourite book series but man I straight up have no defense for the Flashman papers if an anti came at me about the shit Harry did I can only sigh and nod.

[movienation]

Movie Review: A Portuguese Adventurer/Explorer tells his tale, and tries to get the World to Believe Him -- "Pilgrimage"

Fernão Mendes Pinto was a 16th century Portuguese explorer, adventurer, memoirist and fabulist whose life reads like a conflation of the quests of Cabeza de Vaca or Marco Polo and the picaresque invented misadventures of Baron Munchausen or Harry Flashman. He sailed from Portugal to become one of the first Europeans to experience Japan, with colorful stops at kingdoms, islands and royal courts…

[leam1983]

On Biological Math

Living with several people, no matter if they're just roommates or parts of a polyamorous unit, means that you quickly have to get acquainted to certain realities of the human condition that you might've previously kept to yourself. When one of your partners has a few decades on you, it's even stranger.

Enter Walter George. Mister George is, as I've stated on numerous other occasions, an unrepentant foodie, a gourmand, and I'd go so far as to call him a glutton in denial. Going for seconds or thirds is a regular dining ritual of his, as is later complaining of "something that's not going down right". Heartburn, as it were.

This also comes with bathroom-related concessions. I keep myself regular out of civility and Sarah's metabolism never really came down from her teenage high, but Walter's initiated me to the realm of dire existential dread resulting from the lack of proper peristaltic activity over several days. I don't exactly know how often I've heard horror stories related to shortened intestinal tracts, bypasses, colostomies or even just IB syndrome over the past five years, to be honest.

All this to say that my mind flashed to a certain Markiplier tweet when the man of my life left the porcelain throne looking like Harry Flashman about to blow a series of coincidences out of proportion, grinned his widest grin and announced that he had, in fact, done his business as you'd expect - after several days spent eating like he'd never left our first seasonal buffet table and complaining every evening.

It's only to loved ones or family members that you absolutely can declare "I pooped" like it's some sort of grandiose feat. The deeper the love, the more you regress closer to your early childhood and start seeking validation for the simplest things.

If you don't know who Henry Paget Flashman is, take Shaft, make the guy a Caucasian soldier during the height of the British Victorian Empire, make him as incompetent as Richard Blackadder and Basil Fawlty combined, but keep his skill at earning dalliances intact, enriching it with a solid dose of servile ass-kissing. You get a thorough skewering of Victoriana, as bitingly funny and self-deprecating as only the English can get.

As for me, I briefly set my controller down, mimed a golf clap and then went back to indulge Sarah's desire to backseat-game through The Callisto Protocol.

[gatorstims]

A Harry Flashman (Royal flash) stimboard for @micktravis ! With pocket watches, jewels, clothing, and royalty themes!

⚜️ 👑 ⚜️ | 👑 ⚜️ 👑 | ⚜️ 👑 ⚜️

[cccovers]

Cover for the book Flashman at the Charge (1974 edition) by Frank Frazetta.

Reprinted in Schwermetall #63 (April 1985).

[catsquishy]

Harry Flashman (Royal Flash) Stimboard for anon!

🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 | 👑 | 🇬🇧 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧

[blackswaneuroparedux]

The advantage to being a wicked bastard is that everyone pesters the Lord on your behalf; if volume of prayers from my saintly enemies means anything, I'll be saved when the Archbishop of Canterbury is damned. It's a comforting thought.

- Sir Harry Paget Flashman, VC, KCB, KCIE

A guilty pleasure to read the legendary comic adventures of the colonial rogue Harry Flashman. Read the Flashman Papers series before they get cancelled.

**George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman at the charge

[claudia1829things]

"FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" (1999) Book Review

"FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" (1999) Book Review Out of all the books featured in George MacDonald Fraser's The Flashman Papers, only one featured more than one tale. This turned out to be "FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER", first published in 1999. Instead of one novel, the book contained three novellas featuring an aging Harry Flashman between the ages of 56 and 72.

As I had stated earlier, "FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" featured three novellas - "The Road to Charing Cross", "The Subtleties of Baccarat", and "Flashman and the Tiger". The first story deals with Flashman involved in a plot to thwart the assassination of Austria's Emperor Franz Josef. The second involves the infamous Tranby Croft Scandal, which involved the Prince of Wales (the future Edward VII) and someone close to Flashman. And the third story featured Flashman's encounters with the villainous Tiger Jack Moran during the Anglo-Zulu War, and later in London of the 1890s. Let us begin . . . shall we?

"The Road to Charing Cross" The longest novella in the book, "The Road to Charing Cross" begins in 1878, when Flashman is invited by the famous journalist, Henri Blowitz, to help get a copy of the Treaty of Berlin. During his trip to Germany, Flashman will a beautiful member of the French Secret Service named Caprice. Five years later in 1883, Flashy is invited by Blowitz to journey on the inaugural trip of the Orient Express. Flashman accepts the invitation as an excuse to avoid being sent to the Sudan. During the train journey, he is introduced to Princess Kralta of Germany, who has expressed interest in him of the romantic nature. As it turns out, Kralta's interest in Flashman is nothing more than a ruse devised by his old nemesis from , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in order to get the British Army officer to help prevent Emperor Franz Josef from being assassinated and prevent a major European war. One of Flashman's colleagues in this plot turns out to be Willem von Starnberg, the son of Rudi von Starnberg, another former nemesis from the 1970 novel. In the end, it turns out that von Starnberg has other plans of his own. For me, "The Road to Charing Cross" turned out to be the best of three novellas. Regardless of its length, I thought it was a well-written adventure set during the political upheavals of Central Europe. Fraser did an excellent job in re-creating the first rail journey of the Orient Express. He must have did his homework in researching this piece of history. And the sequence featuring Flashman's efforts to save the Austrian emperor and his own hide were truly outstanding. His characterizations of Princess Kralta, Henri Blowitz, and Emperor Franz Josef were first-rate. Fraser's pièce de résistance turned out to be Willem von Starnberg, the son of Flashman's old nemesis, Rudi von Starnberg. Dear old Willy turned out to be a chip off the old block . . . and a lot more. He possessed Rudi's wit, joie de vivre and ruthlessness. Did "The Road to Charing Cross" have any flaws? Well . . . it had one. And that flaw had a lot to do with the character of Willem von Starnberg. Although Willem was well written by Fraser, the latter described him as being half-German (Prussian) and half-Hungarian. Which meant according to this story, Rudi von Starnberg was Austrian. Apparently, George MacDonald Fraser seemed incapable of determining Rudi's nationality. Fraser described him as an Austrian in "ROYAL FLASH", as a Hungarian in the 1975 movie adaptation of the novel, and as a German in this story. Whatever. Despite this major flaw, "The Road to Charing Cross" is still an excellent story. "The Subtleties of Baccarat" This novella finds Sir Harry Flashman and his wife, Elspeth, Lady Flashman; visiting Tranby Croft, the estate of one Sir Arthur Wilson in early September 1890. Sir Arthur is hosting a house party in honor of his royal visitor, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. During the house party, both Flashman and Elspeth witness a baccarat game, which was considered illegal in Britain. The legalities were brushed aside, due to the Prince of Wales' love of the game. During the days between September 8 and 9, several guests claimed that one of the players, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, cheating. Guests informed the Prince of Wales, who confronted Gordon-Cumming. To the very end, the latter claimed that he was innocent and even sued the Prince of Wales and a few others for defamation of character. Alas, the label of cheat stuck and Gordon-Cummings became a social pariah. But "The Subtleties of Baccarat" did not end with Gordon-Cumming's downfall. Instead, it ended with a surprising revelation that left Flashman in total shock. "The Subtleties of Baccarat" was an interesting little tale. But I cannot say that I would ever love it. At least most of the story. The problem is that I am not a card player. And I found it difficult to follow the card games, while the scandal unfolded. It was not until Flashman learned the truth about the scandal from the surprising figure of Elspeth that the story truly became interesting to me. If I must be honest, Elspeth's revelations on what really happened during the baccarat games not only shocked me, but made me become an even bigger fan of Lady Flashman. The novella had a surprising, yet satisfying finale to an otherwise bearable story. "Flashman and the Tiger" The book derived its title from its third novella set in both 1879 and 1894. "Flashman and the Tiger" is mainly about Flashman's encounters with a character named Tiger Jack Moran, who had been originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his SHERLOCK HOLMES stories. Flashman first meets Moran during the Zulu War, when both experience the retreat from the Battle of Isandlwana and the defense of Rorke's Drift. The pair does not meet again until fifteen years later, when Flashman discovers that Moran is blackmailing his granddaughter, Selina, in order to sleep with her. Moran turns out to be the same cabin boy who had propositioned Flashy aboard Captain John Charity Spring's ship, the Balliol College, and traded to King Gezo as a white slave in the 1971 novel, "FLASH FOR FREEDOM!". Moran spent years seeking revenge against the Balliol College's surviving crewmen. He found his opportunity to seek revenge against Flashman, when he learned that the latter's engaged granddaughter was a mistress of the Prince of Wales. The story ended with Moran's arrest and Flashman's brief, yet humorous encounter with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson. This novella was a problem for me. One, I found the addition of Flashman's experiences during the Zulu War unnecessary. Fraser could have used the Zulu War as a major novel, instead of adding this useless scene that really had little to do with the main narrative. What made the use of this topic even more unnecessary was that Flashman's first encounter with Moran occurred in 1848, aboard Captain Charity Spring's ship. It was this encounter that had a much bigger impact on the story. I have the deep suspicion that Fraser may have used this story as an excuse to indulge in a little Imperial flag waving.  After all, "Flashman and the Tiger" did not focus on the Battle of Isandlwana, in which the British suffered one of their worst defeats at the hands of the Zulu. Instead, it focused on the following battle at Rorke's Drift, in which the British managed to repel several attacks by the enemy. My second problem with this novella was the fact that Fraser used Tiger Jack Moran, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as supporting characters. I found that rather cheap. I found it bad enough that Fraser used Sir Anthony Hope's novel, "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA" as a premise for his 1970 novel, "ROYAL FLASH" and a historical character as Flashman's illegitimate son in "FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS".  Using literary characters created by another author as supporting characters in one's own story? Hmmm . . . cheap. Finally, Fraser must have done a piss poor job in researching the love life of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII.  The latter's mistresses had usually been sexually experienced women who were either married society women, actresses or high-priced prostitutes. I do not recall the Prince of Wales ever taking the virginity of a 19 year-old debutante . . . especially one who was engaged.  Yet, we are supposed to believe that Flashman's unmarried granddaughter was one of Bertie the Bounder's mistresses. The only redeeming trait of this story was Fraser's description of the Isandlwana retreat and the Defense of Rorke's Drift. Apparently, he saved all of his top-notch research for this particular sequence. "FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" was not a bad piece of literature from George MacDonald Fraser's pen. It possessed a first-rate novella, "The Road to Charing Cross", and a mildly entertaining story with a juicy, surprise ending in "The Subtleties of Baccarat". The book's only misstep . . . at least for me . . . proved to be the last story, "Flashman and Tiger".