Flashman begins with Flashman's expulsion from Rugby School as depicted in Tom Brown's Schooldays and follows him through the next few years of his life. The way the story is presented is in the form of real-life memoirs from Flashman which were found some years after his death and have been edited and commented upon by Fraser.
Flashman himself is a thoroughly unlikeable yet typical mid-19th century man from privileged background. Most of his thinking is done with a certain part of his anatomy and his treatment of woman and those of lower standing (particularly the Indians he encounters during his posting in the army) would be classed as deplorable by modern standards.
However the time he "lived" is was different and so it feels authentic and Fraser's attention to detail ensures that the stories never become parodies of the times they are trying to portray. In general I have to day I thoroughly enjoyed this book but there is a particular element which deserves significant praise.
Fraser chose to integrate Flashman into real-life events but he does it in such a way that he doesn't take liberties with the facts of history. In this novel for instance, Flashman ends up posted to India and then Afghanistan. He is present during the latter events of the First Anglo-Afghan war and participates in the well-known British retreat from Kabul in 1842 (which ended in the massacre at Gandamak).
So seamless is the way in which Fraser weaves this fictional character into real life events that you find yourself believing that Flashman really was present and did have some influence on historical events. Fraser is not the first to do this but it really is very impressive the way it has been done in this instance. This approach also ensures the reader learns a bit of history on the way too. I found myself reading this with the Wikipedia entry for these events never far away and found Fraser's descriptions and storyline weaves in beautifully.
As mentioned before, Flashman is thoroughly unlikeable. However I like the way Fraser has made no attempt to redeem him during the story (although maybe he does in later books, I haven't got there yet). Flashman is what he is, no apologies are made and some of his behaviour really is quite reprehensible. But set against the context of the time period and the situations he finds himself in, it works as a concept much better than a redemption story would.
I'm looking forward to the remaining 11 novels which make up this series. It will be interesting to see where Fraser takes Flashman and what further influences on history he has. The attention to the real-life facts of the period is fantastic and book 1 proved to be a thoroughly engaging and stimulating read.
Verdict: 4.5 out of 5
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