Flashman

Flashman, Book 1

De: George MacDonald Fraser

Narrado por: David Case

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

Reseñas de la Crítica

"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)

The making of Flashy

Fantastic book read by a real pro. David Case's reading of any Flashman book is spot on! If you love Flashman this book is for you. It's the origins of Flashman's I'll deserved laurels and reputation. You will love it.

Brilliant David Case reading

David Case is always brilliant with whatever he reads. Also a great story. Highly recommended

Flashmaniacs Rejoice!!!

Would you consider the audio edition of Flashman to be better than the print version?

Far superior, the audio edition is perfect for people unfamiliar with British military history or many of the historical figures of Flashman's age.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Flashman?

Flashman's duel of honor, ( in which he fixes the outcome) which sets the ball rolling for his "heroics" in Afghanistan. He becomes the talk of military society and his gentlemenly conduct lauded when in reality his dishonesty saved his bacon from the fire.... the beginning of many such hilarious situations our protagonist finds himself in.

Have you listened to any of David Case’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to many of his performances, and this one is just as excellent. Great voices in Mr. Cases repitoire.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Not just this audio Flashman but all in the "Flashman Papers" series!!!! Please bring us Flashman's Lady and Flashman in the Great Game and convert abridged into unabridged format.

Any additional comments?

The Flashman papers will take you on a rollicking adventure through the annals of British Military history through the eyes of a cowardly, bullying, lechering, and most of all hilarious British officer in the 19th Century. You are in for a treat!!!

Fabulous

What made the experience of listening to Flashman the most enjoyable?

A joy to listen to and laugh aloud. An easy way to absorb 19th century British history

Who was your favorite character and why?

Harry Flashman, of course

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

the above

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

it made me roar with laughter at it's complete politically in correctness

Any additional comments?

as Harry would say: 'health and saftey be damned'

Superb! The stuff Hero's are really made off

Learning history and the fine art of sound realism in a beautifully narrated epic novel.that P.G.Wodehouse would have loved to write.

My favorite series

Refreshing in this time of unlimited “political correctness” to hear a hilarious tale of how it is or was

Meet Harry Paget Flashman, cad and coward!

He was known only as Flashman (the cowardly bully and Tom Brown's antagonist) in Thomas Hughes 1857 British classic Tom Brown's Schooldays. In the12 volume The Flashman Papers he identifies himself as Harry Paget Flashman. This book is the first of the 12 volumes. Books 5, 6, and 12 are not available in audio format, but the other 9 are. All 12 are available in Kindle format. During the next year I plan to review all 9 of the audio books that are available. This review is lengthy because I am providing background helpful to those not familiar with this offbeat and fun series.

British author George MacDonald Fraser released the 12 novels starting in 1969 and ending in 2005 three years before his death. The idea of each book is that it is taken from the surviving papers of Harry Flashman who died in 1915 at the approximate age of 90. So the books in the series are all written in the first person of Harry Flashman.

A lot of different words could be used to describe Harry Flashman. The ones I like most are "cad" because of the way he viewed and treated the fairer sex, "coward" for the way he acted running away when he perceived any type of threat, and "lucky" because he was always perceived as heroic even when he was most cowardly. This book and this series are best viewed as extreme, but excellent, British satire. The novels in the series have a huge loyal following, especially in Great Britain but also elsewhere including the US. When my wife and I lived in England in the mid-1990's The Flashman Papers were hugely popular.

This novel, Flashman, should be listened to first, but before that listen to the 1857 British classic Tom Brown's Schooldays where schoolboy Flashman is a relatively minor character and antagonist of Tom Brown. Flashman (this novel) starts with Harry Flashman being ejected from Rugby Public School for behavior associated with excessive alcohol use. He then begins his long military career as a lieutenant.

Very few readers/listeners to The Flashman Papers are neutral about the novels. They either love them or hate them. In his papers Harry Flashman is brutally honest about himself. He is also historically accurate.

It is likely too early to call The Flashman Papers British literary classics, but many of the readers do make that claim. There novels are fun reads! I certainly recommend them. Following military man Harry Flashman as he travels to his assignments around the 19th century British empire is indeed great fun.

Warning, The Flashman Papers are crude, sexist, and generally politically incorrect.

Finally, the voice of Brit narrator David Case is always pitch perfect.

Its Aubrey/Maturin meets Jeeves and Wooster

Any additional comments?

Don't know how this series flew under my radar for so long! Caught a reference to it in Charlie Wilson's War (also great) and checked it out. Fans of Wodehouse and Patrick O'Brian will enjoy very much. David Case (who was also Frederick Davidson) narrates impeccably. No waste of a credit here.

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.