Customer Reviews

Flashman's Lady (1970s)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The author brings several worlds to vivid life, in this novel that links several stories into a seamless whole. I personally think that Frasier missed his calling: he should have been a sportswriter. The cricket game, with poor idiot Elspeth as the prize, is told so well that I've re-read it several times. Each of the worlds he creates, Frasier fills with such colorful characters that they are three-dimensional. The cricket game brings us Deadlius Tighe, esq., a classic scoundrel; Singapore is personified in Catchick Moses; and British imperial/missionary zeal in James Brooke. (The depiction of Brooke inspired me to read everything that I could find on this fighting seaman and colonizer.) Best of all is a villan equal to Flashy himself: Sulemann Usman. The novel gives the reader the wide world, and does it in such a way as to make it seem real, as in the eyes of a 19th century mind. A keeper that brings genuine enjoyment with every re-reading. -Lloyd A. Conway

Harry Flashman - despicable poltroon or modest unreliable narrator, depending on your literary whim - shows himself eclipsed by a bolder rogue and a genuine hero in the first half of this too-long novel. The bolder rogue kidnaps Harry's wife, and the genuine hero, the authentic White Rajah of Sarawak, rescues her... almost.

By far the most entertaining portion of this sixth Flashman novel is the first quarter, which features a hilarious account of cricket as played in Jolly Old England in the middle of the 19th C. Harry, naturally, is a cricket phenom, whose skill is exceeded only by his skullduggery. Then Harry find himself once more en route to hellish adventures in the colonies. His travelogue description of Singapore is worth the price of a ticket there, and in Singapore, he encounters James Brooke, the White Rajah, the Hotspur character who overshadows him for another quarter of the text.

The second half of the book is effectively another novel, one that seems thin and anticlimactic after the first. Harry gets himself imprisoned in the clutches of a madwoman-queen. Finally he escapes. Ho hum. But another side of our Flashman is revealed; he actually risks his skin to save his addlepated little wifey. How will we ever be certain again that he's as much of a coward as he boasts?

Author GM Fraser introduces an innovation in this volume; part of the story is told by Mrs. Flashman, in the form of pages from her diary. She's not the narrator her husband is.

Except for the cricket chapters, this is a less amusing Flash than the others I've read. If you're plowing your way through the life story of England's most meretricious hero, you have every right to skip an episode now and then.

The more I think about it tonight, the more uncomfortable I find myself getting over the question of whether one should laugh or vomit at Harry's racism and sexism. I begin to think I'm obliged to do both, or else give the series up.

In the 1966 screen adaptation of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) advises his daughter Meg (Susannah York):

"If (God) suffers us to come to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand to our tackle as best we can. And, yes Meg, then we can clamor like champions, if we have the spittle for it. But it's God's part, not our own, to bring ourselves to such a pass. Our natural business lies in escaping."

One of the most endearing qualities of author George MacDonald Fraser's anti-heroic protagonist, Harry Flashman, is his natural cowardice, which he freely admits with a certain degree of pride. Flashy is an expert at escaping; More would have been impressed.

In that volume of his memoirs entitled FLASHMAN'S LADY, Flashy is still young in the mid-1840s. His talent for a prudent and precipitous departure has yet to mature, as evidenced by his delayed response when beset by thugs in a dodgy section of Singapore:

"I'm not proud of what happened in the next moment. Of course, I was very young and thoughtless, and my great days of instant flight and evasion were still ahead of me, but even so, with ... my native cowardice to boot, my reaction was inexcusable ... in my youthful folly and ignorance, I absolutely stood there gaping ..."

The larger portion of this book's plot involves the kidnapping of Flashy's beautiful but scatterbrained wife, Elspeth, by a certain Don Solomon Haslam, a moneyed and mannered member of English high society who's not what he seems. Harry's determination to stay out of harm's way is severely taxed as he pursues Elspeth's rescue into the pirate-infested interior of Borneo, and later into Madagascar, where Flashy finds himself the slave of that island's mad and despotic queen, Ranavalona.

A chief attraction of Fraser's Flashman series is the knowledge it gives the reader about historical and factual, but arcane, events and places. In FLASHMAN'S LADY, the reader is apprised of the private war against the pirates of the East Indies by the eccentric English imperialist, James Brooke, and the reign of terror perpetuated by that female Caligula of the period, Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar. Indeed, the author's research into the latter has prompted me to place a non-fiction history of the subject on my Wish List.

Deep down, I think, Flashy's personal appeal is based on the realization that he's Everyman, whether one would wish to admit it or not. Our natural preference is to escape, and it's only through blundering circumstance, good luck, or an odd quirk of fate that any one of us might, like Harry himself, be perceived a hero by our fellows.

Flashy - after, incidentally, pulling a hat trick on the three most celebrated cricketers of his time - accepts a "friendly" wager in a single-wicket match against Don Solomon, a foreign-born Eton-educated socialite. The tie score results in he and Elspeth accompanying Solomon on a cruise to the Far East, where Solomon's true colors are revealed, and he absconds with Elspeth. Flashman must fight, however unwillingly, to get her back - until they both end up in the hands of the bloodthirsty queen of Madagascar, Ranavalona I. This is a fine entry in the series, possibly a little more heavy on the humor this time around than the adventure. The first half of the book is all cricket and social intrigue; a more thorough look at Madagascar might have been in order, tho' perhaps Fraser was dealing with limited intelligence on that subject. Another minor quibble: At the book's opening, our hero is caught in a damned-if-he-does-damned-if-he-don't trap that pushed him again into adventure (lose the cricket match and see Elspeth go on a cruise with Solomon, or win and be beaten by crooked bookies?). And, as in Flash For Freedom, the dilemma that prompted him into action, when he returns (in that case, cheating at cards), is completely forgotten. I would have liked to see some closure in the matter of the threatening bookie, at least. All that aside, this is, of course, another witty, well-researched adventure. Bravo!

This is a deeply moral book in that for the first and last time the scrapes that Flashman gets into are the result of beastliness of someone other than himself. I hope that Mr. Fraser is as good a historian as he is a novelist, as most of my knowledge of Victorian history comes from his books. Particularly worth savouring are his narratives about the White Raja and Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar; splendid, gripping stuff and all the more memorable for the author's wonderful gift for character portrayal.

Flashman's Lady
That I give Flashman's Lady only four stars is misleading as I am judging it against other books in the Flashman series and not on an absolute scale where it would deservedly receive a full five. Flashman's Lady is George Macdonald Fraser's sixth book in the series, but third chronologically as it fills in gaps from 1842 to 1846.

Flashman's Lady includes three tales all centering to some degree around his beloved wife Elspeth (don't worry, that doesn't keep Flashy from straying). Flash first encounters Tom Brown in London, which leads to Flash's involvement in cricket matches involving some of the great names of the sport (or so I am informed). Elspeth attracts unwanted but not unwonted male attention (unwanted by Flash anyway) that leads to a cruise to Singapore where Elspeth is kidnapped. Flash follows the trail to Borneo with the great pirate fighter James Brooke, the White Raja of Sarawak. Harrowing battles on the Batang Lupar River leave Harry and Elspeth captive on board ship in the Indian Ocean. Harry `escapes' into slavery and the not-so-tender mercies of Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar. The reader is treated to the oddities and savagery of that island; a land that is outwardly European-influenced, but Ranavalona has kicked out all whites. Ranavalona's portrayal is doubtless distorted by Harry's pro-imperial Victorian views, but it makes for fascinating fun. (Elspeth also lands there, but is mostly out of sight.)

The book was edited by one of Elspeth's sisters, who kindly excised the swear words, but left in the blood and gore, all the naughty bits. It also contains brief notes from Elspeth's own journal.

Flashman's Lady will not disappoint fans of Flashman (and if you have not read it, then go buy the original Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)) and some will argue it's the best in the series. In my estimation, the book slips to four stars on the Flashman Scale only because adding the Madagascar adventure seems contrived. Ending the book with the adventures in Borneo would have been tidier. One speculates that Fraser wanted to write a tale involving Ranavalona, but lacked enough material for a full book. Too much Flashman, not much of a beef, is it? Let's hope the rumor that Fraser is working on another Flashman book proves true.

The reader should also try out Fraser's McAuslan stories (McAuslan in the Rough or The General Danced at Dawn) for a whimsical look at post-war life in a World War Two regiment of Scottish Highlanders.

Note: Flashman's Lady ends with Flash being summoned to India where he gets thoroughly mixed up in the first Anglo-Sikh war, a story that is told in Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman), the ninth book published in the series.

Sir Harry Paget Flashman the adventuresome British soldier returns to action in "Flashman's Lady." The thrilling novel is the sixth in the popular series penned by G.M. Fraser.
the Plot:
Part One-The action takes place on the cricket field at Lord's and other posh London venues for the British sport. Harry Flashman plays a one man game against Soloman Haslam. Haslam has been toying with the affections of Elspeth the blonde beauty who is married to Flashman. Both Flashy and Elspeth are serial adulterers! Flash is jealous of Solomon! Harry loses a bet with Haslam which result in he, his wife Elspeth and his father in law (whom Flashman detests) to journey to Singapore where Haslam has a large estate. Their time spent on Haslam's lavish estate is described in detail with Fraser's pen describing the exotic sights and sounds of Malaysia.
Part Two-Flashman is hit on the head and wakes up learning that Elspeth has been kidnapped by pirates. Haslam turns out to be a Muslim pirate who is in love with Elspeth. Haslam flees with Mrs. Flashman. Harry joins forces with Harry Brooke a British born aristocrat. Brooke, Flashman and a troop of soldiers seek to find Elspeth and defeat the Borneo pirates. Scenes in the jungles of Borneo are vividly described. Elspeth is rescued.
Part II-Harry is taken prisoner on the island of Madagascar becoming a slave. he is forced to become the male toy boy of the wicked queen of the island. We learn of various tortures the horrible queen inflicts on both her enemies and subject. Harry and Elspeth (who being held captive ) manage to escape after a dangerous flight to the coast. The Flashmans are rescued by British and French naval personnel. The battle scenes are bloody and realistic.
The novel is narrated in the first person by Flashman as in the other books in the series. However, in this novel we also are privy to the thoughts of Elspeth as we are allowed to read her diary. Elspeth is much more prim and proper than is Harry!
I was unable to understand the pages devoted to the esoteric English game of cricket being a benighted American. Fraser delights in using slang when describing parts of the female anatomy. Some readers will find his use of the "N" word to be offensive.
This is a good light novel of adventure managing to convey a good deal of information about life in 1844-45 during the Victorian era. If you read one of the Flashman novels you will become "hooked." An excellent series on the nineteenth century version of James Bond 007!

I've enjoyed the entire Flashman series by the late George MacDonald Fraser. Flashman is, as always, a charming rogue and reluctant hero and entirely fun to read. The way Fraser mixes his characters with historical is wondrous and always leaves me wondering where the fiction ends and the history begins. I always find myself Googling the characters and events in the books so I can learn more about them. Mr. Fraser may have done more for my learning about history than most of my high school history teachers.

Flashman's Lady starts with a cricket match and then leads to Flashman pursuing his wife and the pirate who kidnapped her around the world. He's in and out of one peril after another and we even get to see some of the events from his wife's point of view. As I said before, I've loved every installment of this series but this one is my favorite.

This is one of the best, and most underappreciated, book in the Flashman series. The two main criticisms are that the book is really three books and the beginning part is slow. However, many of the Flashman books have several parts. Flash for Freedom transitions from Africa to the United States. Only the first half of Flashman at the Charge deals with the Crimea. This book's transitions are logical.

While the beginning is slow, it is informative on the British 19th century sporting scene. The cricket game is fun (and I know nothing about the sport). Flashman's welshing and wenching creates some suspense.

Now that the book's drawbacks have been addressed, let's look at its advantages. To me this is the funniest book in the series, with all sorts of eccentric characters. The campaign with Brooke in Borneo is the best sustained action sequence. The escape from Madagascar is one of the best chases, only surpassed by the chase on the Jornada del Muerto (Redskins) and perhaps the escape in Russia (Charge). The ending at the beach is exciting, romantic, and funny.

If you like the Flashman series you will definitely like this entry.

Our intrepid hero, Harry Flashman, is back for volume six of the Flashman Papers, a narrative of the life and times of one of the most ne'er-do-well wastrels to ever grace the pages of a published autobiography.

Heretofore, the adventures of Flashman have been presented in chronological order. With this installment, however, a previous "gap", between the years 1842-1845 is "filled in" by the contents hereof, which consists of adventures in Borneo and Madagascar.

As in the previous Flashman novels, our Harry is revealed as the premier coward and opportunist of his era; faults which he quite willingly admits and even boasts of. Much as a prior day Forrest Gump, he has a way of finding himself among the most powerful and famous personages of his era, as he takes part in the great events of the period.

I was somewhat put off by the first 100 pages of this work, which dealt to a great degree with the sport of cricket. Only passingly familiar with the game, the blizzard of cricket terms and descriptions of cricket action left me at something of a loss. Much can be discerned through context, but some simply flew over my head. In any event, after the cricket action we're back to standard Flashman fare, as he undergoes numerous adventures in an attempt to rescue his silly wife, Elspeth, who has been kidnapped by pirates of the South China Sea with stops in Singapore, Borneo and Madagascar. He does so not so much as a result of the love he holds for his wife, as much as the embarrassment and ruin he would suffer should he fail to do so.

Aside from uproarious fun and games, the Flashman series is set against historical events and actually serves as an educational experience. On to volume seven of the Flashman Papers.