Flashman

Flashman, Book 1

By: George MacDonald Fraser

Narrated by: David Case

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of what happened to Flashman, the caddish bully of Tom Brown's Schooldays, after he was expelled in drunken disgrace from Rugby school in the late 1830s. This is the first of George Macdonald Fraser's hilarious satires starring Harry Paget Flashman.

©2012 George MacDonald Fraser (P)2012 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"Hilariously funny." (The New York Times Book Review)

"Great dirty fun!" (Grand Rapids Press)

"The most entertaining anti-hero in a long time.... Moves from one ribald and deliciously corrupt episode to the next.... Wonderful and scandalous." (Publishers Weekly)

Great work of historical fiction.

Fun story with a great narrator. Not thrilled with the Flash character himself, but the story line is great.

Would be great with a diferent narator.

If you could sum up Flashman in three words, what would they be?

Fantastic story with great historical footnotes.

What did you like best about this story?

The story itself.

Would you be willing to try another one of David Case’s performances?

Not likely.

Any additional comments?

David Case was a poor choice for this production. His voice, inflection and accent would be a much better fit for one of the generals.

Thinking about woes in Afghanistan? Perhaps the past IS prologue…

To paraphrase Hegel…”That people don’t learn the lessons of history, IS the Lesson of History!”

This first in a series of “historically accurate”stories, introduces the highly decorated British officer Harry Flashman & is based on his memoirs (published posthumously).

Warrior Hero is a title that usually doesn’t work well with Poltroon. But Harry Flashman is a rake, a master prevaricator, a coward.

This hilarious novel is set primary in Afghanistan during the British adventure there in the 1830s & 40s.

We could have asked our four most recent American presidents to read Flashman & maybe we’d have avoid spending trillions of dollars fighting a war we couldn’t win.

MacDonald was prescient when he wrote this back in 1969… If only the right people had read Flashman & laughed through the adversities facing the British Army.

The Audible reader does a great job capturing the character of Flashman & that pretentious 1840 Victorian zeitgeist.

Great Fun!

Great listen

I’ve read this book before. It’s a great story with humor and satire. Audio performance matches well with the characters. Great read.

The Perfect Antidote to Political Correctness

If you could sum up Flashman in three words, what would they be?

Depraved. Cowardly. Funny.

What did you like best about this story?

To most Americans, the First Afghan War is a little known part of history, and it made me more interested in this period. What happened was horrific. The first part story was infused with comedy, but the second tragic part is pure spell-binding action. Under the circumstances, cowardly as Flashy was, I couldn't blame him for running for his life.

Which character – as performed by David Case – was your favorite?

Harold Flashman

If you could rename Flashman, what would you call it?

Flashman - it's perfect.

Any additional comments?

George McDonald Fraser's had the rare ability to create a likable "hero" who has no heroic virtues and every conceivable vice. He may be selfish, cowardly, and - oh, yes - depraved, but there is wisdom lurking beneath his cynicism. That said, "Flashman" is not for the prudish, the politically correct, or the faint of heart.

Well-researched and hilarious.

this is a very funny book, but at the same time, it is so well-researched that you will find yourself actually learning history from it.

I love this series of Flashman Papers

This was a great introduction to a series of papers about Harry Flashman. Fantastic writing with plenty of adventure, sex, and skullduggery. Not recommended for woke snowflakes!

A character you love to hate, and hate to love.

What a fun read; perfectly read buy David Case with just the right amount of snooty British upper-crust accent.
I read flash man years ago, but I had forgotten what a truly loathsome but appealing character he is. I can't wait to get into book 2 (and 3, and 4, and...)

Brilliant

I have heard about this series for years but somehow never knew they were historically accurate. Flashy is a delight.

One of greatest books ever written

This is one of my favorite books. So much fun and so well tied together. A real pleasure