HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald…
Loading...

Flashman and the Tiger (original 1999; edition 2001)

by George MacDonald Fraser

Series: The Flashman Papers (12)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
8331325,977 (3.66)10
Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown’s schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents – horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all. Flash Harry is back! The first new Flashman novel since Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, this is the long-awaited new instalment of the Flashman Papers. When Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., the celebrated Victorian soldier, scoundrel, amorist and self-confessed poltroon’s memoirs first came to light thirty years ago, the world was finally illuminated about what became of the celebrated cowardly bully from Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Now, in addition to the other famous adventures of Flash Harry contained in the Flashman Papers, come three new episodes in the career of this eminent if disreputable adventurer. The title piece touches on two of the most spectacular military actions of the century and sees Flashman pitted against one of the greatest villains of the day, and observing, with his usual jaundiced eye, two of its most famous heroes. As always with George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman’s adventures are related with verve, dash and meticulous historical detail.… (more)
Member:kenhafer
Title:Flashman and the Tiger
Authors:George MacDonald Fraser
Info:Anchor (2001), Edition: Reprint, Paperback, 368 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:None

Work Information

Flashman and the Tiger by George MacDonald Fraser (1999)

Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 10 mentions

Showing 1-5 of 13 (next | show all)
As much as I love the Flashman Papers, including Flashman and the Tiger, I'd have no hesitation in describing this instalment as the worst of the series. I should stress that I mean 'worst' in relative terms, for it is still a great read – it's just not on par with the rest.

Unlike the other eleven books in the Papers – all novels – Flashman and the Tiger is a collection of three short stories, or, more accurately, one novella and two short stories. The first, 'The Road to Charing Cross', is the novella and runs for about 200 pages. Set largely in Austria, it is reminiscent of Royal Flash, the second book in the series, as Bismarck again shanghaies a reluctant Flashman into averting an international crisis. I've always loved Flashman's little Englander summaries of history; witness his following appraisal of the Austro-Hungarian Empire on page 88:

He began by asking what I knew of the Austrian Empire. I retorted that they seemed to be good at losing wars and territory, having been licked lately by France, Prussia, and Italy, for heaven's sake, and that the whole concern was pretty ramshackle. Beyond that I knew nothing and cared less."

This story is a lot of fun, even if it does build slowly (though don't all Flashman books do that?), and even ends with a ripping swordfight. As Hutton says on page 166: "sabres, bigad!" That said, at times it felt like I was re-reading Royal Flash – but I suppose that's no bad thing if we're honest.

The second story, running at about 60 pages, is 'The Subtleties of Baccarat'. This initially seemed less promising, focusing on the little-known Tranby Croft affair of 1890-1, when an associate of the Prince of Wales was accused of cheating at cards. Not the same as Flashman running for his life from crazed Afghan cut-throats, I'm sure you'll agree, but it does pick up markedly once that darling inscrutable idiot Elspeth, Lady Flashman, enters the fray. The story is perhaps the closest that author George MacDonald Fraser ever got to providing a definitive answer on that eternal question: "Elspeth, true or false?" (pg. 278). It's very amusing to watch Flashman and his wife trading blows in their old age.

The third and final story is the titular 'Flashman and the Tiger', at a mere 40 or so pages. It sketchily runs through Flashman's adventures in Zululand at Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift and ends with Flashman, 15 years later, back in London and being given the once over by Sherlock Holmes. The latter part of this story is excellent: Fraser apes Conan Doyle's dialogue perfectly, and Flashman's appraisal of the 'arrogant, prying bastard' Holmes and the 'oaf' Watson is entirely in keeping with his own character. As a fan of both the Sherlock Holmes and the Harry Flashman stories, reading the detective's erroneous deductions of our lovable poltroon (who is in disguise as a beggar) was an absolute treat. However, it was the first part of the story, in Zululand, which leads me onto my one main criticism of the book as a whole.

You see, the first and third stories at least could have been expanded upon (and, whisper it, improved upon) to novel length. That Fraser did not do so smacks of lack of time or will on his part – which is understandable, given he was 74 years old at the time of Tiger's publication in 1999 and only managed one more instalment, 2005's Flashman on the March, before his death in 2008. It seems likely that Fraser was aware that he wouldn't be able to give us complete accounts of all of Flashman's escapades and so tried to give us a few sketches as a sort of consolation prize. Consequently, 'Charing Cross', alongside the Austria adventure, briefly summarises Flashman's adventures in Mexico (pg. 86), Egypt (pp47-8) and hints at his involvement in Gordon's ill-fated expedition at Khartoum (pg. 204). Even more surprisingly and disappointingly, 'Tiger' sketches quickly over Isandhlwana and Rorke's Drift – a campaign which I would have bet my life on Fraser being willing to indulge us with a novel. The Zulu story in particular feels rushed; not least because it starts already in the midst of the Isandhlwana rout – without any preliminary - and because one prominent figure in the 'Baccarat' story, Cumming, is mentioned as being in the campaign, yet does not appear in 'Tiger'. The Zulu campaign could have been a classic Flashman novel – British military debacle, bloodthirsty natives, and so on – yet was dealt with as merely the first half of a 40-page short story.

It is because of decisions like this – understandable decisions, from an aging writer's point of view – that I have no hesitation in describing Flashman and the Tiger as the least of the Flashman Papers. It doesn't always feel like Flashman – the second story doesn't even have the obligatory footnotes! – but it is still greater than the sum of its parts. My disappointment was not so much in what Fraser wrote as what he didn't write: I wanted more, more, more. Like the persistent lament among Flashman fans that we never got to hear about Flashy's American Civil War adventures (in which he fought on both sides), we desperately want to know about what he got up to at Khartoum and in Zululand. That's a credit to Fraser, not a criticism: he wrote such a fantastic character.

It was interesting that the events of the three stories in Flashman and the Tiger take place when he is an old man: aged variously between sixty and ninety across the three. Flashman cannot fight quite so desperately or run away quite so quickly any more – Flash laments "knowing that your speed and cunning have been undermined by a lifetime of booze and evil living and your white hair's coming out in handfuls." (pg. 284). It is rather sad to see Flashy as a fading star, and this sense is only heightened by the knowledge that this is the penultimate instalment of the Papers.

But it's nice to know that he has a happy ending: whereas the desire to drink and fornicate his youth away were often disrupted by his ever-reluctant adventures, in his old age he can, for the most part, "drink my way towards an honoured grave, spend my wife's fortune, gorge at the best places, leer at the young women, and generally enjoy a dissolute old age." (pg. 284). The events of 'Tiger' show that Flashy's retirement won't always be smooth, and his behaviour towards his granddaughter Selina shows he might just be an old softie at heart, but the old scoundrel got away with it all, the bastard – I'll give him that.

Taken on its merits, Flashman and the Tiger is a great experience – Flashman is always, always a delight. But seasoned Flashman fans will easily recognise areas where Fraser lacked the time or the will to bring things to blossom. Tiger may well be the least of the Flashman Papers, but it's still Flashman, damn your impudence, so enjoy it." ( )
2 vote MikeFutcher | Jun 3, 2016 |
Our 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 ne’er-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. ( )
  santhony | Apr 19, 2016 |
The premise for Flashman and the Tiger is simple...sort of: This set of papers is actually made up of three different time frames with three different titles: "Road to Charing Cross" (1878 - 1883-1884), "Subtleties of Baccarat" (1890-1891) and "Flashman and the Tiger (1879 & 1894). This is the first time in the Flashman papers that there has been a change in pattern. Each of these sections is only a minor episode in Flashman's career. In "Road to Charing Cross" Flashman has found himself, once again, in an adventure he didn't count on. He goes to France for President "Sam" Grant, who can't speak french. The plot thickens when he agrees to help a Times reporter by the name of Blowitz. Blowitz wants to be the first to scoop the story of the amendment of the San Stefano Treaty. For the history bluffs: Flashman is one of the first to ride the famed Orient Express, only he isn't impressed. He prefers the steamship.
In "Subtleties of Baccarat" the Prince of Wales is accused of cheating at baccarat, a French card game. Flashy is caught in the middle when a group of five men ask that he confront the cheater for an explanation.
In "Flashman and the Tiger" confronts Tiger Jack, someone he met earlier (hence 1879 and 1894). At this point the year is 1894 and Flashy is now 72 years old. Tiger Jack is not out to get our man Harry directly. Instead, he is looking to punish Flashman through the ruination of Flashman's teenage granddaughter. For the history buffs in the crowd, Oscar Wilde makes an appearance at the end. ( )
  SeriousGrace | Jan 18, 2016 |
This is a collection of three novellas from the Flashman Papers, and up to the mark, indeed, one of Fraser's better Flashmans, actually. The Tiger of the title shouldn't be taken as a hint we're going to India, for it is a reference to "Tiger" Moran, the attempted assassin of Sherlock Holmes. We also get Isandwhana, and an attempt on the life of the Austro-Hungarian Emperor. Funny. ( )
  DinadansFriend | Jan 2, 2014 |
A mixed bag --adventure at the Congress of Berlin, at Tranby Croft in Yorkshire, and in Africxan during the Zulu campaign. The account of Isandlhwana is wonderfully vivid. On Tranby Croft he accepts Cummings' inncoence,but other accounts I have seen do not. The last section includes Sherlock Holmes and Col. Moran --personally, I prefer not mixing in fictional aspects. ( )
  antiquary | Feb 28, 2013 |
Showing 1-5 of 13 (next | show all)
no reviews | add a review

» Add other authors (5 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
George MacDonald Fraserprimary authorall editionscalculated
Case, DavidNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
D'Achille, GinoCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ferguson, ArchieCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (2)

Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown’s schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents – horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all. Flash Harry is back! The first new Flashman novel since Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, this is the long-awaited new instalment of the Flashman Papers. When Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., the celebrated Victorian soldier, scoundrel, amorist and self-confessed poltroon’s memoirs first came to light thirty years ago, the world was finally illuminated about what became of the celebrated cowardly bully from Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Now, in addition to the other famous adventures of Flash Harry contained in the Flashman Papers, come three new episodes in the career of this eminent if disreputable adventurer. The title piece touches on two of the most spectacular military actions of the century and sees Flashman pitted against one of the greatest villains of the day, and observing, with his usual jaundiced eye, two of its most famous heroes. As always with George MacDonald Fraser, Flashman’s adventures are related with verve, dash and meticulous historical detail.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.66)
0.5
1 3
1.5 1
2 9
2.5
3 44
3.5 14
4 71
4.5 2
5 23

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,189,849 books! | Top bar: Always visible