# Flashman on the March **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2008, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620 "2008-12-04T03:05:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2008, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/21 "2008-12-05T18:15:40Z")
Eric Nicol wrote _Dickens of the Mounted_, a fictional autobiography of Charles Dickens’ son Francis (some people have apparently believed it is authentic). In the book, Dickens encounters Harry Flashman. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/22 "2008-12-06T00:57:48Z")
> [@Baldwin](#): > > I agree about the books. I don’t want to see somebody else try and write Flashman. It’s not just the character; the books have their own charm as fascinating historical novels too, often bringing to life near-forgotten misadventures in Britain’s checkered 19th century Imperial career. Not many people can write this stuff as well as Fraser did. No-one at the moment, perhaps. I remain confident that, in the fullness of time, a suitable author will appear and someone will say “Hey, you know what? I reckon that guy could write more Flashman novels!” I mean, Sebastian Faulks has just written a James Bond novel (in the Ian Fleming style and era) that is, IMHO, as good as anything Ian Fleming ever wrote. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/23 "2008-12-06T03:14:09Z")
I once read a book filled with Philip Marlowe short stories written by various authors in Raymond Chandler style, and they were actually pretty good. Sherlock Holmes stories have been written by others. I have mixed feelings about it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2008, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/24 "2008-12-06T03:28:10Z")
The guy who began writing Nero Wolfe isn’t as good as Rex Stout, but he’s better than nothin’. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/25 "2008-12-15T15:41:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Anybody know if Fraser left any notes, half-plotted novels, outlines ot the like behind? That would certainly make another author’s job easier. Although it didn’t help Brian Herbert, assuming the rumour that Frank left notes is true. I would like to see more Flashman novels as I have read them all now, but I don’t know if anyone could pull it off. A film would be fantastic though, although as stated earlier would offend almost everybody. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/26 "2008-12-15T19:38:01Z")
> [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](#): > > A film would be fantastic though, although as stated earlier would offend almost everybody. There _is_ a film, the largely forgotten early 70’s _Royal Flash_, with Malcolm McDowell as Flashy and Oliver Reed as Bismarck: don’t know if its on DVD, though. It has its moments, but it really ain’t that good, going for bawdy farce rather than historical adventure with an unscrupulous bastard as hero. McDowell usually gives good villain, but he just ain’t Flashy: looks nothing like him, and plays him as just a comic Don Juan with a penchant for pratfalls. A difficult part to play, I suspect, but Flashman needs to look big, tough and hearty, with a bluff, manly exterior and a heart of pure blackness. I still think Timothy Dalton could nail it, although he’s a bit old for Young Flash now. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/27 "2008-12-16T13:59:53Z")
No more movies, please - the fun of the books is in the reading, not the plots. I’m okay without the Civil War book, too - Fraser already gave us \*two \*set in the runup to it, and dropped enough hints elsewhere about what happened later. But I would have liked to have seen Flashy in Khartoum, saving the bacon of that glory-hunting fool Gordon while singlehandedly foiling the Mahdi, betwixt rogering a few of his wives and Mrs. Gordon too. ( **Dio** , who the bloody hell is Lisbeth? Do you perhaps mean _Elspeth_?) ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/28 "2008-12-16T14:11:28Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > No more movies, please - the fun of the books is in the reading, not the plots. > > I’m okay without the Civil War book, too - Fraser already gave us \*two \*set in the runup to it, and dropped enough hints elsewhere about what happened later. But I would have liked to have seen Flashy in Khartoum, saving the bacon of that glory-hunting fool Gordon while singlehandedly foiling the Mahdi, betwixt rogering a few of his wives and Mrs. Gordon too. > > ( **Dio** , who the bloody hell is Lisbeth? Do you perhaps mean _Elspeth_?) Unfortunately, as history records, Gordon was, regrettably, on the business end of a Mahdist’s spear and thus deceased, so it’s a bit hard for Flashy to save him under those circumstances. 😉 On the other hand, there were plenty of exciting things going on in that part of the world in the latter part of the 19th Century. I’d like to think Flashman was in some way involved with Stanley’s (mis)Adventures searching for Livingstone; but as has been said one of the great things about the series are the adventures Fraser only hinted at… ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/29 "2008-12-16T15:01:56Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I’m okay without the Civil War book, too - Not me. I’m pissed. I would gladly have foregone **March** and **Angel of the Lord** for the true and complete story of Flashy during The War of Northern Agression. I’m sure Harry was outside Ford’s Theater one particular night… ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/30 "2008-12-16T15:23:46Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > ( **Dio** , who the bloody hell is Lisbeth? Do you perhaps mean _Elspeth_?) Elspeth, yes. Flashy’s wife. My bad. Thanks for the correction. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/31 "2008-12-16T15:51:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I would gladly have foregone **March** and **Angel of the Lord** for the true and complete story of Flashy during The War of Northern Agression. You mean _Flash for Freedom!_, not _March_, right? Flashy just might have been holed up in the barn with Booth and Herold, come to think of it … somehow after escaping that convict ship bound for Botany Bay … ---
**Author:** ![Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/46a35a/32.png) [@Walker\_in\_Eternity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walker_in_Eternity)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/32 "2008-12-16T16:09:36Z")
> [@Scissorjack](#): > > There _is_ a film, the largely forgotten early 70’s _Royal Flash_, with Malcolm McDowell as Flashy and Oliver Reed as Bismarck: don’t know if its on DVD, though. It has its moments, but it really ain’t that good, going for bawdy farce rather than historical adventure with an unscrupulous bastard as hero. McDowell usually gives good villain, but he just ain’t Flashy: looks nothing like him, and plays him as just a comic Don Juan with a penchant for pratfalls. A difficult part to play, I suspect, but Flashman needs to look big, tough and hearty, with a bluff, manly exterior and a heart of pure blackness. I still think Timothy Dalton could nail it, although he’s a bit old for Young Flash now. I haven’t seen it. Given your discription I won’t put it on my Christmas list (assuming it even exists on DVD). Maybe **ElvisL1ves** has a point, given the way that good books are butchered these days it may be best to keep the books and forego the movie. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/33 "2008-12-16T16:19:15Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > You mean _Flash for Freedom!_, not _March_, right? Nope. We need **Freedom** to set things up. But I was bored to tears by **Angel**. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/34 "2008-12-16T16:20:08Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Flashy just might have been holed up in the barn with Booth and Herold, come to think of it … somehow after escaping that convict ship bound for Botany Bay … Flashman breaks Booth’s leg to cover his escape. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/35 "2008-12-16T18:31:44Z")
Oh, btw … _Black Ajax_ was a fine read for a sports fan, and essentially a straight biography of the real Tom Molineaux as well as a finely-researched sports history, too. But _Mr. American_ is not worth your time - Fraser obviously didn’t outline it, didn’t have a story in mind, he just kept writing to see how it would turn out, but never found out. The characters and situation are too unreal to read straight, and not unreal enough to read as entertainment. Sorry, George. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2008, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/36 "2008-12-16T19:10:48Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh, btw … _Black Ajax_ was a fine read for a sports fan, and essentially a straight biography of the real Tom Molineaux as well as a finely-researched sports history, too. It was also an absolutely stunning exercise in sheer prose craftsmanship, too: it’s told as a series of first-person interviews between an unnamed researcher and various people involved with Molineaux, interspersed with journalistic accounts and sporting accounts. I lost count of the number of completely different narrative voices its told in, including William Hazlitt, and yet Fraser never drops a ball once: as a display of sheer writing technique it’s utterly breathtaking, and had it been by a “literary” author, would have won every ficition award going. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/37 "2008-12-17T02:39:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Oh, btw … _Black Ajax_ was a fine read for a sports fan, and essentially a straight biography of the real Tom Molineaux as well as a finely-researched sports history, too. > > But _Mr. American_ is not worth your time - Fraser obviously didn’t outline it, didn’t have a story in mind, he just kept writing to see how it would turn out, but never found out. The characters and situation are too unreal to read straight, and not unreal enough to read as entertainment. Sorry, George. I thoroughly enjoyed both of those. Even though I’m not a sports fan at all, I thought _Black Ajax_ very readable. But I liked _Mr. American_ the better of the two. I do agree the plot sort of petered out, but it was a good read while it lasted. The period setting I found very interesting, not to mention the cameo by an ancient Flashman himself. EDIT: For those of you who have not read it, Flashman’s father takes a turn in _Black Ajax_. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/38 "2008-12-17T10:32:05Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I’ve thought that S.M. Stirling would be a good choice to pick up the Flashman series. He’s a fan of the character. You did read On the Oceans of Eternity, didn’t you? Marine Cpl. Kyle Cooper? ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/39 "2008-12-17T14:08:12Z")
That was supposed to be Private Kyle Hook, not what I wrote above. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2008, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620/40 "2008-12-21T00:18:08Z")
I read _Flashman and the Tiger_ out of order; indeed skipped to the Zulu War stuff. A bit of the octogenarian Flashman, with satire of a famous “Historical” character, Reputed to be an ancestor of Mr. Spock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flashman-on-the-march/475620.md?page=1)