.com Flashman and the Tiger is George MacDonald Fraser's 11th chronicle of Sir Harry Flashman, a "celebrated Victorian soldier, scoundrel, amorist, and self-confessed poltroon." Written with great wit and ingenuity, the series is presented as a succession of long-lost memoirs, which Fraser is simply editing for a modern readership. Thus does he interrupt Sir Harry's voice with footnotes, appendices, and tail-gunning apologies. Indeed, Fraser, whose editorial persona is humorless and academic, seems almost embarrassed in the presence of his subject's unbridled self-love. This time the year is 1878, and Flashman is poking his nose into some deep political intrigue for a journalist friend who's done him various unsavory favors. Our favorite swashbuckler has just returned from Paris, where he was awarded the Legion of Honor. Yet readers familiar with Flashman's saga will know this is simply one more piece of tin to add to his capacious collection--and that even as he's revered by those around him, he finds it impossible to take himself seriously. Instead he regards himself as "one of those fortunate critters who ... are simply without shame, and wouldn't know Conscience if they tripped over it in broad day." As usual, Flashman stumbles through history like a bull in a china shop. At the end of the first section, "The Road to Charing Cross," we realize that he's delayed the onset of World War I by various wranglings with the would-be assassins of Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. The following sections put him in contact with the Prince of Wales, a procession of remarkable whores, Zulu warriors, and yet more remarkable whores. Fraser's brashly perfect prose both fuels and awakens the imagination. And in the end the reader has to wonder: which wars almost came to pass, but were averted by a half-drunk war hero with a lust for life? --Emily WhiteFrom Publishers WeeklyP.G. Wodehouse said of the first Flashman novel that it was "the goods." Three decades and 11 "packets" of Flashman papers later, Fraser's indomitable Victorian scoundrel remains one of English literature's finest comic creations. This latest installment consists of three short adventures, all taking place in the late 19th century. In the first and longest episode, Flashy attends the Congress of Berlin, crosses paths with his old enemy Bismarck and gets dragged into a complicated plot to save Austria's Emperor Franz-Josef from assassination and Europe from world war. Not all the diplomatic intrigue is scintillating, but Fraser concludes on a strong note, sending Flashy off on yet another doomed military expedition just as he thinks he's home safe at last. Comic reversal figures as well in the second story, centered on a card-cheating scandal involving the prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The hilarious exchange at the end between Flashman and his dizzy wife, Elspeth, is reminiscent of Bertie and Jeeves in their prime. In the final, title tale, Flashy, disguised as a poor drunk, sneaks into an empty London house to stop a certain Tiger Jack Moran from his evil plot to ravish Flashy's beloved granddaughter, only to find that two men, who look like "a poet and a bailiff," have ambushed the creep already. The deed done, Flashman listens as the "poet" makes some deliciously inaccurate deductions about the scruffy, drunk derelict, our hero. Throughout, Flashman alludes to disastrous exploits not yet published (Gordon at Khartoum, Maxmillian in Mexico, etc.). Readers can only hope that Fraser will enjoy the kind of longevity and productivity that defined the distinguished career of his mentor Wodehouse, and continue with this exceptional series. (Aug.) FYI: Fraser has written the screenplays for Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, as well as for the James Bond film Octopussy. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. Shocking. . . . So exciting. . . . Readers will find themselves simply turning the pages . . . as if they were lost in the exciting adventures of a Victorian James Bond. . . . He is . . . the stuff of legend.The Washington Post Book WorldA novelistic gallop through history and imagination. . . . Fraser can easily juggle Conan Doyle and Holmes, Fleming and Bond, Wodehouse and Wooster, and Chandler and Marlowe.Vanity Fair Genius. . .one of the literary wonders of the age: historical pastiche raised to such dizzy heights that you forget that it is pastiche and savour it as new-minted fiction.The TelegraphAs fine a contribution to history and literature as you could desire. . . .filled with peril, astonishing escapes and sexual escapades. . . brilliant.The Boston GlobeFrom the Trade Paperback edition. how many books are in print Flashman and the Tiger
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Three Short Stories Featuring FlashmanBy Steven M. AnthonyOur intrepid hero, Harry Flashman, is back for volume eleven of the Flashman Papers, a narrative of the life and times of one of the most neer-do-well wastrels to ever grace the pages of a published autobiography.The first five Flashman novels were largely presented in chronological order. Several installments thereafter acted to fill in gaps in the story. This edition is somewhat different in that it consists of three shorter stories (essentially novellas) which were taken from previous packets; shorter stories which have been grouped together to fill out a book.The first and longest such story, reunites Flashman with one of his earliest and most formidable antagonists, Otto Von Bismarck (from Royal Flash), in an attempt to save the life of the Austrian Emperor and avoid the outbreak of World War.The second short story involves the Prince of Wales (future Edward VIII) and a card game in which one of the idle aristocrats is suspected of cheating. The final story, and in my opinion the best, matches Flashman against a man from his past, Tiger Jack Moran, a blackguard scoundrel even worse than Flashy. Our hero endeavors greatly to save the virtue of his granddaughter from the clutches of Moran with a delicious twist.As in the previous Flashman novels, our Harry is revealed as the premier coward and opportunist of his era; faults which he quite willingly admits and even boasts of. Much as a prior day Forrest Gump, he has a way of finding himself among the most powerful and famous personages of his era, as he takes part in the great events of the period, in this case Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph, Otto Von Bismarck, Oscar Wilde and Sherlock Holmes.Aside from uproarious fun and games, the Flashman series is set against historical events and actually serves as an educational experience. On to volume twelve, the final installment of the Flashman Papers.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Flashman and the Tiger-a senescent disappointmentBy Greg DeaneFlashman and the TigerI found Flashman and the Tiger a senescent disappointment, with about 40% of it devoted GM Fraser revelling in vicarious prurience, Harry Flashman being close to the author's age in this ultimate novel of three adventures. When Flashman isn't rogering fillies, he's going into detail about his cowardice, much of which is cut and pasted from other Flashman novels: his blunt self-appraisal is superfluous well beyond any point jocularity.Apart from these predictable shortcomings, the book offers little insight into historical events. The first story is concerned with the trickery of a journalist named Blowitz scooping the Treaty of Berlin a day before Bismarck wanted it publicised; and a poorly planned, failed attempt on the life of the Hapsburg emperor, Franz Josef,a failure that was arguably one of the most inconsequential in all of history. The second part is about an English aristocrat falsely accused of cheating and being disgraced as a result, to Harry Flashman's pleasure; but essentially it is just a story of petty spite. Flashman and the Tiger is a very brief sketch of the battles of Isandlwana and Rorke's Drift, but is the greatest disappointment of all three. It concentrates on Flashman's poltroon attempts to kill a cad who intends to seduce his daughter, whom he finds is far less innocent than he had assumed-Fraser's apparent attempt at hamartic bathos. The book is not saved by the witty cameo involving Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.In fact, this last book may have turned me off reading the four Flashman novels remaining to me to experience.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This Flashman book was somewhat hard to follow since it ...By John M. HandleyThis Flashman book was somewhat hard to follow since it contains three different stories at three different periods in Flashman's life. The first part, "The Road to Charing Cross," has Flashman involved in an eventually successful plot to thwart the assassination of Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph. The second part, "The Subtleties of Baccarat," involves both Flashman and his wife in the historically little known Tranby Croft scandal in which several players and others present accused the Prince of Wales of cheating. The third part, "Flashman and the Tiger," is an interesting mix of history with Flashman in South Africa at Rorke's Drift and fiction as Flashman crosses paths with Sherlock Holmes while Flashman attempts to hunt down and kill his longtime enemy, Colonel "Tiger Jack" Moran. G. M. Fraser provides an interesting and different account of Moran's demise than does A. C. Doyle. The first and last sections were very enjoyable while the middle section a little strange.