The later books, from “Mountain Of Light” onwards, have a much less strong narrative thread, and by the time we get to “Flashman and the Tiger” the writing is almost a self parody of the earlier works.

But Flashman as a character is brilliantly nuanced: cynical, amoral, cowardly, venal but completely aware of his own faults and unsparing of the hypocrisies of his peers. I had to wait until Chris Hedges’ “War Is A Force That Gives Us Meaning” to find another writer who so clearly painted the corrosive glamour and cruelty when civilians as well as soldiers take up arms (Cheesemen’s troopers hangings of Pandy’s in the “Great Game” is a short masterpiece).

And he absolutely does not consistently get the better of the women he encounters. Ko Dali’s daughter runs rings around him; the Rani Of Jhansi plays him like a violin.

The rape of Narreeman in “Flashman” is portrayed unsparingly as a vicious, brutal struggle, and Flashman nearly pays for it with his own life twice. He is saved from death (weeks later) twice not by his own skill or courage, and is then dissuaded from cutting Narreeman to pieces by a heroic British sergeant – who later sees through Flashman, but whose courageous defense of a doomed fort ends with Flashman gaining all the honor that the now-dead sergeant deserved.

So the rape is but one in a set of cruel acts carried out by Flashman, and his fellow countrymen, and his friends, and his enemies, throughout the series. One thing Fraser is unsparing on is that all people have a vicious streak a mile wide, and it takes very little to bring it to the surface.

Romantic doltards rhapsodizing about “noble savages” like the professor at the start of “Flashman and the Redskins” leads to Flashman’s greatest fury.

“[W]hen selfish frightened men – in other words, any men, red or white, civilized or savage – come face to face in the middle of a wilderness that both of ‘em want, the Lord alone knows why, then war breaks out, and the weaker goes under.”

Flippanter #60: If your only possible reactions to reading a book are 100% hilarity and approval versus purse-lipped rejection, maybe your grasp of nuance is a little challenged and you would be better off commenting on a simpler blog.

Mrs Tilton has nailed it there.

I won’t go into the whole what-is-wrong-with the PC thing here, as that would take a mini-essay, but suffice it to say that it started out as ridiculous statements of ideology which were completely OTT. If you think that admitting rape is wrong, and/or admitting that rape in the context of a power relationship (as in native and coloniser, employer and employee) is wrong, is simply “PC” fluff to be dismissed, you need help. Professional help.

It’s another fine irony that while Flashman
tangles with many strong and intelligent women
and generally comes out on top, in his marriage
he is subjugated by a halfwit.

“Any woman can manage a clever man, but it takes a very clever woman indeed to manage a fool.”

“Does Flashman’s wife understand what kind of cad Flashman is?

Yes.”

Have to disagree with you there: as I remember it,
Elspeth is consistently presented as a halfwit
who doesn’t understand anything at all. And she
flirts with – and probably sleeps with – other
men, but not to get revenge against Flashman,
just because she likes it and it doesn’t really
occur to her that there’s any reason not to.
It’s another fine irony that while Flashman
tangles with many strong and intelligent women
and generally comes out on top, in his marriage
he is subjugated by a halfwit.

“it’s not just a Martian view of India, China, or New Orleans, it’s a Martian view of Britain.”

Absolutely! From the moment he’s expelled from
Rugby, Flashman is always an outsider wearing a
mask and acting a part, as much in British society
as in his many disguises.

richard:

“James Bond’s been mentioned a couple of times here and I’m surprised the conversation hasn’t veered around to him, because he’s a much more stark example of exactly the same transformation Flashy goes through, and a much more influential one”

I confess I’ve only read a few of the Bond
stories. There’s certainly more ambiguity there
than in the movies. And definitely he is a thug:
he’s a killer, but of course he is licensed to
kill. His thuggishness is serving his nation.
Even those sexual conquests are often planned
to get information or access. And on the whole
it’s accepted that Bond’s nation are the Good Guys.
Flashman’s motives are always pure – pure cowardice,
self-preservation, and lust. And there isn’t
much sense that the British are a whole lot better
than their opponents. GMF’s view of conflict
seems to be roughly in line with Wellington’s
comment after Waterloo:
a victory is the worst disaster in the world,
excepting only a defeat.

Another big
difference is that Flashman invariably goes
native, in dress, language, and customs, while
Bond is always an Englishman (though the best Bond
of course is the Scottish nationalist Sean Connery) whose disguise is minimal.

Ajay, most of Flashman’s adventures he tried desperately to get out of. Many of them he was essentially kidnapped into. A large part of the joke of his “heroism” is that he only goes along with the dangers so he can maintain his image, because he’s vain and self-serving – which makes his inevitable trials all the more amusing. As Magistra said, almost every one of his trials is a reflection of exactly the sort of vices got him into the situation to start with. (And, a lot of the adventures he “chose” came about because he was fleeing someone else, or because he misjudged the natives…)

Does Flashman’s wife understand what kind of cad Flashman is?

Possibly, indeed probably. It’s hard to tell with Elspeth.

Does she understand the world she lives in?

I think she’s willfully blind in addition to being as thick as two short planks.

Does she also cheat on him?

Definitely, repeatedly, and consistently.

Is Fraser consistent throughout the series on these questions?

IIRC, she only starts noticeably cheating on him in the second book – but consistently so (and he more or less knows about it) from then onwards.

And I agree about Flashman not being quite the coward or cad that he thinks he is. Particularly later on in the series. (That’s not remotely to say that he’s a good man).

“Of course Flashy’ll dress up as an Indian and go off to meet this insane native prince who has people burned alive!”, someone or other says.

Theoretically, Flashy could say “No, I refuse. I don’t want to go. The Empire and the Queen can go stuff themselves. I am a colossal coward and I want to go home” and he would survive – at the cost of his reputation. But, in the end, off he goes – terrified though he is – and that’s a pretty good definition of heroism.

The message of a lot of the books isn’t “Many of the people we think of as heroes weren’t really; they were cheating, lying cowards”, but “Many real heroes are very unpleasant people”.