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Flashman on the MarchSeptember 30, 2005
FLASHMAN ON THE MARCH by George MacDonald Fraser (HarperCollins, 2005) The release of a new Flashman book is always an occasion as far as I’m concerned, so when I spied George MacDonald Fraser’s FLASHMAN ON THE MARCH on a bookshelf during my recent visit to England, I snatched it down, rushed back to my hotel, and commenced reading at once. Harry Flashman, as is well known, is the famous Victorian soldier, adventurer, and hero… and infamous bully, coward, cad, rake, and general n’eer do well. MacDonald’s long series of “Flashman Papers” chronicles the ‘true story’ of his career. This time around it is the British invasion of Ethiopia in 1867-8, in which Harry played his usual crucial if little known role. Great fun, as always, and surprisingly good history. If you have never read a Flashman book… well, I don’t know whether to pity you, or envy you because you have so much enjoyable reading ahead of you. This book isn’t the one to start with, however. For that, you want FLASHMAN, the first volume in the series. |
