Customer Reviews

Royal Flash (Flashman)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What can I say? The second of the Flashman series of books, this is a thoroughly enjoyable romp through Germany and England in the late 1840s. This is not the best of the bunch (I found "Flashman and the Redskins" and "Flashman at the Charge" to be stronger), but great fun, nonetheless (as well as hard to put down). Difficult as it is to believe, there appears to be a greater emphasis on "rogering" here than in the other books.

If you've read (and enjoyed) other Flashman books, then you know what to expect: go ahead and read this, you won't be disappointed. If you haven't read "Flashman" yet -- what are you waiting for? This is great fun, you won't be sorry. [If you're really easily offended by bad behavior in novels, then you may want to look elsewhere.]

Oh, yes, and there are footnotes, so it must all be true.

I stumbled upon what looks to be an addictive series of
books following the rise, fall and sidestep of the ne'er do
well 19th Century Englishman named Flashman. A self-
professed coward and rake, he nevertheless finds himself
embroiled in some of the most significant events of his time.
This particular episode is basically Woody Allen meets the
Prisoner of Zenda, with a splash of Lady Chatterly thrown in
for good measure. Whether read for the ribald and entertaining takes on history, or just the humourous escapades, Royal
Flash is time well spent.

" 'I have every confidence in de Gautet,' says Bismarck. 'With a sabre he can split a fly on the wing.'

I was listening to them appalled; these two monsters calmly discussing the best means of giving me a slashed head. If there is one thing I can't endure, it is pain, and the thought of cold steel slicing into my skull nearly made me swoon." - Flashman commenting on a casual conversation between Otto von Bismarck and Rudi von Starnberg (ROYAL FLASH)

Once again, Harry finds himself at the mercy of his tormentors. Having been tricked by a vengeful Lola Montez to travel from England to Munich, the capital of Bavaria, Flashy finds himself the center of a plot by Prussian Count Otto von Bismarck to annex the provinces of Schleswig and Holstein, claimed by both Denmark and Germany, thus unifying a fragmented confederation of German states into what will eventually become modern day Germany. In order to do this, old nemesis Otto forces our cowardly and unwilling anti-hero to assume the identity of Danish Prince Carl Gustav, who bears an uncanny resemblance (sans capital hair and mustaches) to himself. The only things missing to make the disguise perfect are two "schlager" scars on his head. A schlager is a long sword with a large handguard that was used by German university students to inflict fashionable scars on each other's face or head when dueling. Anyway, our lovable rogue assumes the role of the imprisoned prince and through bluff and fear for his life weds the beautiful Irma, Duches of Strackenz, and...well, I won't give the good stuff away. If the plot of this, the second packet of the "Flashman Papers", sounds suspiciously like Anthony Hope's Victorian adventure novel THE PRISONER OF ZENDA, it's because Hope took the idea for his literary romance from Flashy's "real-life experiences."

This is a rollicking good adventure and one true Flashmaniacs will enjoy reading again and again. I highly recommend ROYAL FLASH, but suggest readers unfamiliar with the humorously faint-hearted exploits of Harry Flashman, Esq. first read FLASHMAN (Packet # 1 of the "Flashman Papers").

Although the Flashman novels have been extolled by, well, practically everybody, it is mostly because of their action-packed plots, meticulous attention to detail, and, of course, the remarkable, hilarious narrator, Harry Flashman. Not often, though, do you find comments having to do with the novels' literary worthiness, or if you will, God forbid, High Art. Well, it's perhaps past time to talk about this a little bit, and probably the best place to start would be with Royal Flash.

The word--the literary word--is satire. As in, making fun of the stodgy Victorian adventure novel, the likes of which always contain a brave, hearty, God-fearing, noble little hero, vanquishing his enemies, and making a stoic and haughty England proud in the process. Others have noted that the plot of Royal Flash borrows liberally from the Victorian adventure, The Prisoner of Zenda. Of course it does. What they fail to take into account, however, is the fact that Royal Flash turns it on its head.

Whereas Rudolf, of Zenda, willingly takes the place of the captured king, for God and glory and all that is right, Flashman is commandeered into his adventure, threatened with jail and public humiliation after being discovered in flagrante with a fat German baroness. Where Rudolf manfully and indeed eagerly faces his enemies with, "steel," so that he can, "take a slap at 'em," Flashman cowers fearfully behind whatever he can find, or runs away without a thought. Where Rudolf leashes his growing affection for and chastely kisses the hand of the Princess Flavia, Flashman bulls the duchess Irma all over the castle for ten days after hoisting her up on his shoulder and singing an English sea ditty. Where Rudolf refuses to visit Strelsau later in life, so that he may maintain the dignity of his honorable relationship, Flashman returns to Strackenz so that he can steal every royal jewel he can get his hands on.

This is characteristic of all the Flashman novels. The selfless, brave souls found in novels by Doyle, P. C. Wren, Hope and Stevenson, are to Flashman, "vicious little sneaks," and, "toadies." And Flashman himself is as far from the Victorian "ideal" as a human being can get.

Here is another delightful little tidbit in the underappreciated novella, Flashman and the Tiger. Flashman, in disguise as a passed-out, drunken stumblebum, is accosted by the venerable Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Watson. Holmes, after some brief study, declares Flashman to be a German seaman, probably engaged in, "menial tasks," shipboard, and whose whiskers, "compensate for the ravages which drink and evil living have stamped on his countenance." This is not only hilarious because the man of logic, Sherlock Holmes, manages to get practically every detail wrong, it is also that he manages to get one right, which is his merciless depiction of Flashman's ignoble character. (Mr. Fraser is clearly not above poking fun at his own creation.)

Flashman, in his narrative, refers to the icon of Victorian literature, Sherlock Holmes, as a, "conceited ass," and possibly, "some kind of maniac," and to Watson as an, "oaf." This is classic Flashman, perfectly in tune with his irreverent personality, but beyond that, it is a perfect example of Fraser's irreverence as well, and only one of the dozens of playful little jabs that Mr. Fraser routinely takes at the Victorian hero throughout his novels.

But make no mistake: these are jabs, made in jest rather than scorn. Obviously, Mr. Fraser loves Victorian adventure stories as much as anybody. Indeed, he has proved it by spending the better part of his life perfecting them--all the while gleefully skewering them at the same time. Maybe he isn't Shakespeare, but there is definitely a certain kind of genius at work here.

Perhaps it is unfair to give Royal Flash only 4 stars, but I had to distinguish its rating from the first Flashman book, which I would have given 5+ stars.

The Royal Flash takes Harry Flashman from the comforts of home to Munich - at the invite of Lola Montez! Flashy, what are you thinking? (By the way, Lola Montez is an historical figure - and quite a beauty.) Once in Bavaria he meets his old nemesis Otto Bismarck, who entangles Harry in the intrigues of 1840's Germany, Denmark, and the Schleswig-Holstein Question.

I preferred the more military setting of Afghanistan because it gave full rein to a display of Flashy's physical cowardice, rather than just his moral cowardice. And then he takes an at times some almost un-caddish attitude toward the sweet flower of Strackenz! And I just find an historical war setting more interesting than the political.

Highly recommended, if just slightly less so than the original Flashman.

I was only recently introduced to the Flashman series and of course I read the first novel called "Flashman." I found this book to be very entertaining because it related to actual events in history. Starting with Flashmans expultion from Rugby Public School (private school in British terms) and described in detail in "Tom Brown's School Days." Flashman is a real person and his description of his early service in the British Army with Lord Cardigan's Hussars (made famous by the charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War) and his service in India and Afganistan. His decriptions of the disasterous conduct of the war in Afganistan and his candidness in describing himself as a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief and a coward. For students of this period in British History, it gives some insight into the British class system and the attitudes of officer class in the British Army and the landed gentry in general. I found the book great reading and just couldn't put it down until I had finished it.

After reading the first book in this series, I was hesitent to read number two. Hesitent because I was afraid it would fall short of its excellent forerunner. But, it is just as good. Flashman is just as much of a cowardly, weak-kneed, lilylivered, lying, braggart, womanizer as he was in the first book. Thankfuly, the good times and adventure roll! We even learn a little about German history. It is hard to imagine a series as well done as this. Braavo Flashy! A scoundrel for all seasons!

It takes you some time into this story before you realize that Fraser has brilliantly presented a new version of the Prisoner of Zenda story (in itself a classic), but with the marvellous touch that he 'once talked about his adventures to that young feller-me-lad Hope in '92' or whenever it was i.e. implying that Anthony Hope stole the idea for the Prisoner of Zenda from him! The cheek! This story really is all action and entertainment. What great films these stories would make! Fraser writes effortlessly and convincingly about the days when Germany was not a united country, but consisted of many different states with different traditions and heads of state. Flashman is of course a pretty convincing liar and cad, but you can't help hoping that he will win out in the end. The joke is, of course, that he always does.

One bloody narrow escape after another! Flashman, Aubrey/Maturin, Jack Bauer! It must be atavistic, the thrill I feel from them, hormonally encrypted by my neanderthal evolution! Plus Flashman comes with 'entremeses' of lechery between the entrees of fish and foul!

If you are so much as considering RoyaL Flash, you should - you must - have read the first of the series, titled simply Flashman. If you haven't, I'll tell you only that Harry Flashman is the most cynical craven con-man to slither through historical fiction since the picaresque adventures of Lazarillo de Tormes. Wny it's almost plausible that such a scoundrel might have skulked in the crevices of history, playing a necessary but unrecorded role! And you may be sure that nearly all the historical allusions and settings of the Flashman books are quite authentic. In Royal Flash, our anti-hero's opponent is none other than Otto von Bismark; I'm dead certain that anyone who read RF before the age of 25 would never be able to conceptualize Bismark other than as portrayed by George MacDonald Fraser.

This second book of the Flashman Papers takes a good thirty pages to build up speed, but then it's.... one bloody narrow escape after another, as our Harry lucks out against the blondest blue-eyed beasts all Germany can muster, without ever being forced to act courageously.

Read it! You know you can't resist! If you've come this far, you're doomed to read them all.

Talk about swashbuckling, this book(and series)has it in droves. Flashman may be fictional but, he is a real hero. He isn't doing it for queen and country though, he's in it for a quick buck and a roll in the hay with a maiden or two, or three... Written in memoir form it is not the usual autobiographcal self-glorification you would expect. No one is more critical of him than Flash, himself. He's a self serving coward and proud of it. A hero by default, Harry tells it warts and all. Booze, broads, and stealing the crown jewels. Anytime you think he has escaped unscathed he blunders into an even bigger mess. I promise you will enjoy this.