Paperback, 304 pages
Published Feb. 1, 1999 by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
The first instalment of the Flashman Papers sees the fag-roasting rotter from Tom Brown's Schooldays commence his military career as a reluctant secret agent in Afghanistan. Expelled from Rugby for drunkenness, and none too welcome at home after seducing his father's mistress, the young Flashman embarks on a military career with Lord Cardigan's Hussars. En route to Afghanistan, our hero hones his skills as a soldier, duellist, imposter, coward and amorist (mastering all 97 ways of Hindu love-making during a brief sojourn in Calcutta), before being pressed into reluctant service as a secret agent. His Afghan adventures culminate in a starring role in that great historic disaster, the Retreat from Kabul.
I found it amusing. But, I can see how some would justifiably find it extremely offensive. If you like Tom Sharpe's Riotous Assembly or any of his other stories (Wilf, The Throwback, etc.) then you'll likely enjoy this book.
Not my kind of book, I am sure I did not give it a chance, Just in the first few pages I hated the protagonist. And I am sure he would have never been punished enough.
A faux-autobigraphy of an unapologetically thuggish, cowardly, narcissistic, hilarious ne'er-do-well. The whole series is wonderful; so far, this first installment is still the best I've read. Near the end of his life MacDonald Fraser lamented that it would be impossible to write a critically acclaimed, beloved book about a character like Flashy today. He was right, making this series all the more wonderful. You'll wince, but laugh many times more over.
