Customer Reviews

Flashman and the Redskins

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I usually enjoy the Flashman books more or less depending on my engagement with their historical content, and generally I'm not big on westerns. But this was like one of the great Hollywood films in the way it captured the majesty and adventure of the West, with humor and satire sprinkled throughout. In 1849, Flashy participates in the Gold Rush; 27 years later, he returns in time to become the sole white survivor of Custer's Last Stand. The greatest chase of the entire Flashman series occurs about halfway through, with a murderous Apache war party pursuing Sir Harry across the New Mexican desert. Reading it, I literally couldn't breathe; when it was over, I choked up over Fraser's sheer storytelling brilliance. What a writer!

"I never did learn to speak Apache properly. Mind you, it ain't easy, mainly because the red brutes seldom stand still long enough - and if you've any sense, you don't either, or you're liable to find yourself studying their system of vowel pronunciation while hanging head-down over a slow fire or riding for dear life across the Jornada del Muerto with them howling at your heels and trying to stick lances in your liver."

- Sir Harry Flashman, VC, KCB

Thus begins FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS, the seventh packet of the Flashman Papers, which were discovered in a Leicestershire, England saleroom in 1966 and edited by George MacDonald Fraser (also, the longest and funniest book in the series). This packet follows chronologically on the heels of FLASH FOR FREEDOM! It is divided into two parts: the first takes place in 1849, the second in 1876.

In the first part, we find Harry fleeing American justice, and possibly being hanged for murder, by trying to secure a berth aboard a fast ship bound for England from New Orleans by blackmailing his Latin quoting nemesis, Captain John Charity Spring, M.A., "Oriel man, slaver, homicidal lunatic." Barely escaping capture, he and Spring hide out in a New Orleans brothel. From here is where our lovable rogue begins his trip west enroute to the goldfields of California. Along the way he discovers the charms of a mulatto prostitute, encounters blood thirsty scalp hunters, and barely escapes with his hair from savage Apache warriors.

The second half of FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS finds Sir Harry back in America in 1876 with his beautiful wife Elspeth chattering empty-headedly by his side. Taking advantage of an opportunity to make some easy money, and hoping to charm his way into the arms of yet another beautiful woman, he leaves Elspeth to enjoy the society of Philadelphia while he embarks on a trip by river boat up the Missouri to scout the territory around Bismark, North Dakota. Little does Flashy know what is in store for him on this supposedly safe trip. I won't spoil the fun, but suffice it to say, "Custer's Last Stand" has never been written in more frighteningly entertaining prose as the deadly action swirls dangerously around our trembling anti-hero and his rumbling bowels.

This is one of George MacDonald Fraser's best. Unfortunately for us Flashman-iacs, Mr. Fraser passed away on January 3, 2008. I, for one, will miss this great novelist's knowledge of history, writing skill and terrific sense of humor. As Capt. Spring would have said about GMF's style, "castigat ridendo mores" (laughter succeeds where lecturing won't).

_Flashman and the Redskins_ is essentially two stories, tied together with the common thread of the American West. As Harry Flashman - cad, womanizer, cheat, theif and coward (and also a Knight of the Bath, recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and Victoria Cross) - winds his way through the West, readers are treated to a veritable "Who's Who" of the time.

The first half of the book is about the "opening of the West," as Harry travels the Oregon and Santa Fe trails to California as a '49er. Along the way he makes the acquaintance of such larger-than-life personalities as Kit Carson, Gallatin, Mangas Colorado and Geronimo. The second half of the book Harry returns West, to meet the likes of Geo. Custer, Spotted Tail, Crazy Horse, Anson Mills, Wild Bill Hickock (and a surprise for both Flashman and the reader.)

The history, of course, is impeccable. Fraser takes readers across the West from Independence, MO to Santa Fe, north to Ft. Laramie, from Ft. Robinson, the Little Big Horn, and finally, Deadwood. Quite an adventure, indeed. In the middle of it all is Harry Flashman, ever the scoundrel; and this book will not disappoint, as Harry is more devilish than usual. It was a pretty involved and lengthy read, but with so much material (and so many personalities) to cover, it was very much worthwhile.

I have read this book over fifty times and each time I find something new and interesting. The author writes with real understanding and love of his material, particularly the Indians and both their views and how they were viewed, his characters especially the female ones, seem to have real personalities and insights, and his hero, Harry Flashman, while cynical and manipulative, starts to develop into maturity, and becomes less a "pantaloon" himself .

Harry Flashman, Victorian England's unlikely hero, the unknown "ace of cads," is up to his old tricks. He travels to the American west with a traveling bordello, goes on a scalp-hunting party, marries an Apache chief's daughter and rides out with Kit Carson in '49. Then it's back to the West in '79 so he can attend the massacre at Little Bighorn and almost be scalped by Frank Standing Bear, who turns out to have a very reasonable grudge against our anti-hero. Whew! As always, Fraser is a raconteur of humor and wit and a historian of astonishing erudition. His depth of research is commendable, and would be even if he didn't use it to make every nuance of historical events more human and understandable. This book, while light reading, is hilarious and instructive: it's a towering achievement.

Those familiar with the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser will vastly enjoy this offering which spans the anti-hero's escapades across the American west in 1849, and again in 1876. Fraser proves himself the master of comedic dialogue, both internal (as Flashy ponders his latest predicament) and with various notables of the period. The terrified Flashman's conversation with the Apache chief Mangas Colorado is one jewel that stands out among the many in this work.

In addition to his comedic genius, Fraser should not be disregarded as an historian. Like the rest of the Flashman series, this work does not shy away from historical controversies (such as what happened from the time Custer split his command at the Little Bighorn). Fraser's conclusions are well-researched and just as plausible (perhaps more so) than any more "serious" historical work.

Fraser is at the top of his form, here. I feel genuinely sorry for anyone who cannot have access to all of the Flashman books, but this one is certainly a "must."

This book is one of Fraser's best in the Flashman series, especially for American readers. It is superbly crafted, moving from where the story ended in Royal Flash, with Flashman in America, through his travels to the American West in 1840's, then jumping several decades to Custer's ill fated Souix campaign. Fraser's research of the West is typically perfect, and the story is tight, fun and suspenseful. In typical Fraser fashion, Flashman mentions past and future adventures, spicing the true Flashman fans' craving for other books in the series.

The seventh entry in the Flashman series is two books in one. The book picks up where Flash for Freedom! (Flashman) ended. It's 1849 and Flash is in New Orleans, on the run from the law. He reacquaints himself with Susie Wilnick, a local madam who is moving her brothel west to join the flood of Forty Niners heading to California. Flash marries - again - but even at great personal risk he cannot help his roving eyes...and hands and so forth.

He leaves Susie along the west (and in order to take his leave, he commits a deed that is shameful even by Harry Flashman's standards.) He then begins a wild trip across the Old West, even living with Apaches for awhile (where he weds yet again). Along the way, the reader meets many historical characters including Spotted Tail, John Joel Glanton, Mangas Coloradas, Geronimo, and Kit Carson. One of the more interesting historical bits involves Bent's Fort and its mysterious destruction. Harry was there and resolves the mystery.

As always Fraser deflates the mythology surrounding historical figures. This characteristic debunking is a bit odd because Fraser believed the mythology about his own army and his own war, the Indian 17th Division of the British Army fighting in Burma during the last months of World War Two (See his war memoir Quartered Safe Out Here: A Harrowing Tale of World War II).

Flashman manages to escape the Apaches and returns to England. In Part Two, Elspeth, his `real' English wife convinces Harry to return to the States, which introduces us to even more historical figures and eventually lands Harry right in the midst of the Battle of the Little Big Horn. I found the first part more entertaining and the ending was more than a bit of stretch.

Fraser is a marvelous story teller and as he spins out his entertaining tales one also picks up a good deal of history. The reader should exercise caution in accepting Fraser's history. His version tends to be based on older sources and he eschewed more modern works (and certainly rejected modern viewpoints). Enjoy it for what it is: well-told speculations on historical mysteries. While some will be offended by Flashman's views on women, Indians, Africans, and other people of color, in fairness, he also did not generally hold other white men in high regard, perhaps because Harry knew what a scoundrel he was himself.

A great delight of the Flashman series is to watch George MacDonald Fraser place Harry Flashman, his ubiquitous anti-hero, in great historical events and then to see this loathsome yet endearing character emerge as a hero. In FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS, Fraser achieves this daunting feat twice, once in each novella that makes up this fine book.

In the first novella, "The Forty-Niner", Fraser shows Flashman escaping from New Orleans, where there is a warrant for his arrest (See, FLASH FOR FREEDOM!) and traveling on the Santa Fe Trail during the 1849 gold rush. Then, in "The Seventy-Sixer", Fraser shows Flashman's adventure in the Dacotah Territory and his amazing escape from the Battle--a skirmish, really, the soldier Flash repeatedly says--of the Little Bighorn.

Flashman fans who look to these novels for striking descriptions of events as they might have occurred will not be disappointed in this book. In "The Forty-Niner", Fraser captures the danger and innocence of wagon train travel, as well as the brutal fringes of early western American life, where massacre was a risk faced by all. And in "The Seventy-Sixer," Fraser paints a plausible (and historically accurate) picture of Custer, while showing the aggressive blunders that led to the destruction of his Seventh Cavalry. (How many of you know that Custer was actually attacking a small city of Sioux?)

In my opinion, Fraser also does a great job with his Indians in both novellas, communicating lots of information about the Indian way of life, especially among the Apache and Sioux. Here, thanks for these eye-opening portrayals goes to the disillusioned Flashman, who sees Fraser's Indian characters and tribes without sentimentality or hatred. There's good and bad (as well as a drive to survive) in us all, Flashman might say.

I must declare, however, that the connection between these novellas--a dastardly act by Flashy in "The Forty-Niners" that produces its equivalent reciprocating act in "The Seventy-Sixers"--was a wee bit farfetched. But, who cares? The novellas in FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS were a delight throughout. Highly recommended!

Meet Harry Flashman, one of the most lovable,
despicable rogues you'll ever encounter, a man who
has absolutely no virtues or conscience. This is a
man who would betray his friends at the drop of a
hat, provided that the betrayal it was useful, a
man who invented the "love them and leave them"
philosophy, a man who will say or do anything to
escape with his own hide.

But he is also a man who is destined to be where
the action is - so in his various adventures, he
meets Abraham Lincoln, is involved in the famous
charge of the light brigade, becomes friends (of a
sort) with Bismarck. But through his eyes, we see
history just a bit different.

There are seven volumes so far in George Frasier's
series, but the one I think you'll enjoy best is
Flashman and the Redskins. Set in the old West,
the novel tells of Flashman's encounters with men
like Will Bill Hickock, Geronomo, Kit Carson,
Crazy Horse, and George Custer. The culmination of
his adventures is the most famous of the Western
battles - Custer's defeat at the Little Big Horn.

But Flashman doesn't spend all his time fighting
Indians. He would much rather be in the arms of a
beautiful woman. And he succeeds in this endeavor,
not once, but several times during the course of
the novel. First, we meet Susie, the madam of a
brothel he happens to encounter on his way west.
Of course, he can't remain faithful to her for
long, not with all those other women (the "sluts"
as he calls them) that are so available. Finally
he must abandon his new "family" to continue his
journey, but that doesn't end his womanizing. When
he is captured by the Apaches, he saves his life
by seducing the chief's daughter! And we don't
want to miss the mysterious Mrs. Candy who takes
him on his last journey west.

But the joy of this book is not just the marvelous
adventures Flashman has, nor is it the great character Fraser
has created (a man you love to hate). This is a book where the
language is equal to the story. As Flashman describes his near
brushes with death, we can feel his fear, fear that he is able
to cover up when others are around.

This is a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, but
you'd best hold on tight, or you'll fall off laughing.

(NOTE: Since one of Flashman's characteristics is his amorous
nature, there are several rather ribald passages. They are not
pornographic or vulgar, but they are suggestive. I found them
quite funny, but if they bother you, just skip a few paragraphs
and you'll be in safe territory again.)