(The 4th book in the series, not the 1st, is my Number One listing) Flashman himself is amoral, ruthless and driven largely by his lust for loot and sex.Īnd therein lies the genius of Fraser’s writing: the reader is permitted to feel THEIR OWN outrage over the atrocities depicted in the novels. In the case of Harry Flashman, however, the adventures are much more detailed because Fraser used an entire series of novels.

The two books are similar in approach since they both depict a main character who gets caught up in a series of historical adventures involving Great Events and Great Figures with the events being looked at in a critical light and the figures largely lampooned. The historical and philosophical themes explored are not for the squeamish nor the simple-mindedly outraged.įraser’s first Harry Flashman novel appeared in 1969, the same year as the American novel Little Big Man. The series lasted 12 novels, concluding with the novel Flashman on the March, published in 2005.George MacDonald Fraser’s series of novels about his infamous anti-hero Harry Paget Flashman are thought-provoking, educational, thrilling and most especially – gloriously dark-humored.Ĭollectively referred to as The Flashman Papers, the books are DEFINITELY for adults only and not just because of the raucous sexual escapades of the main character. George MacDonald Fraser began his Flashman Papers series in 1969 with the novel Flashman.

Flashman is a ladies’ man who hits on virtually every female character he comes across, although he doesn’t always succeed. He ends up being involved with several historical events during the 19th century all around the world from Britain to India, the Middle East, the U.S., Africa and Europe. Harry Flashman is a cowardly British soldier who has been expelled from school and has joined the military. The lead character of the series (Harry Flashman) was created by Fraser, but based on a character called Flashman that was created by Thomas Hughes for his novel Tom Brown’s School Days. The Flashman Papers is a series of historical fiction novels by British author George MacDonald Fraser.

Flashman books in order