Harry Paget Flashman
Encyclopedia
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
KCB
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
KCIE
Order of the Indian Empire
The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1878. The Order includes members of three classes:#Knight Grand Commander #Knight Commander #Companion...
is a fictional character created by George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE was an English-born author of Scottish descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.-Early life and military career:...
(1925–2008), but based on the character "Flashman" in Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
(1857), a semi-autobiographical work by Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes
Thomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
(1822–1896).
In Hughes' book, Flashman is the notorious bully of Rugby School
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
who persecutes Tom Brown
Tom Brown (character)
Tom Brown is a fictional character created by author Thomas Hughes in his semi-autobiographical work Tom Brown's Schooldays which is set at a real English public school — Rugby School for Boys — in the 1830s when Hughes himself had been a pupil there...
, and who is finally expelled for drunkenness. Twentieth century author George MacDonald Fraser had the idea of writing Flashman's memoirs, in which the school bully would be identified with an "illustrious Victorian
Victorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
soldier": experiencing many 19th century wars and adventures and rising to high rank in the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, acclaimed as a great soldier, while remaining by his unapologetic self-description "a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a thief, a coward—and oh yes, a toady." Fraser's Flashman is an antihero who runs from danger or hides cowering in fear, betrays or abandons acquaintances at the slightest incentive, bullies and beats servants with gusto, beds every available woman, carries off any loot he can grab, and gambles and boozes enthusiastically. Nevertheless, through a combination of luck and cunning, he usually ends each volume acclaimed as a hero.
Flashman's origins
In Tom Brown's SchooldaysTom Brown's Schooldays
Tom Brown's Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s; Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842...
he is called only Flashman or Flashy. Fraser gave him his first and middle names, a lifespan from 1822 to 1915, and a birth date of 5 May. Flashman's first and middle names appear to be an ironic allusion to Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey
Field Marshal Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, KG, GCB, GCH, PC , styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as The Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British military leader and politician, now chiefly remembered for leading the charge of the heavy cavalry against...
, and one of the heroes of Waterloo
Battle of Waterloo
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo in present-day Belgium, then part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands...
, who cuckold
Cuckold
Cuckold is a historically derogatory term for a man who has an unfaithful wife. The word, which has been in recorded use since the 13th century, derives from the cuckoo bird, some varieties of which lay their eggs in other birds' nests...
ed the Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
's brother Henry Wellesley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley
Henry Wellesley, 1st Baron Cowley GCB was the youngest brother of the Duke of Wellington, and became a notable diplomat in his own right.-Life:...
and later - in one of the period's more celebrated scandals - married Wellesley's ex-wife.
In Flashman
Flashman (novel)
Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
, Flashman says that the family fortune was made by his great-grandfather, Jack Flashman, in America trading in rum, slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
and "piracy
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
too, I shouldn't wonder." Despite their wealth, the Flashmans "were never the thing": Flashman quotes the diarist Henry Greville's comment that "the coarse streak showed through, generation after generation, like dung beneath a rosebush." His father, Henry Buckley Flashman, appears in Black Ajax (1997). Buckley was a bold young officer in the British cavalry who was wounded in action at Talavera in 1809. He then tried to get into "society" by sponsoring bare-knuckle boxer
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
Tom Molineaux
Tom Molineaux
Tom Molineaux was a African-American bare-knuckle boxer. He spent much of his career in Great Britain and Ireland, where he had some notable successes.-Early life:...
(the first black man to contend for a championship) and subsequently married Flashman's mother Lady Alicia Paget, a fictional relation of the real Marquess of Anglesey. Buckley also served as a Member of Parliament
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
but was "sent to the knacker's yard at Reform
Reform Act 1832
The Representation of the People Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the electoral system of England and Wales...
". Beside politics, his interests were drinking, fox hunting
Fox hunting
Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase, and sometimes killing of a fox, traditionally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds, and a group of followers led by a master of foxhounds, who follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.Fox hunting originated in its current...
(riding to hounds) and women.
Style and layout of the stories
The series is a classic use of false documents. In a preface to the first book, Fraser described the discovery of General Flashman's memoirs in an antique tea-chest in a LeicestershireLeicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
saleroom in 1965. As the "editor" of the papers, Fraser produced a series of historical novel
Historical novel
According to Encyclopædia Britannica, a historical novel is-Development:An early example of historical prose fiction is Luó Guànzhōng's 14th century Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which covers one of the most important periods of Chinese history and left a lasting impact on Chinese culture.The...
s that give a largely picaresque (or arguably cynical) description of British and American history during the 19th century. Dozens of major and minor figures from history appear in the books, often in inglorious or hypocritical roles. Characters from other fictional works appear occasionally, notably Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes
Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and some of the boys from Tom Brown's Schooldays.
Fraser's research was considerable. The books are heavily annotated, with end notes and appendices, as Fraser (in accordance with the pretence of the memoirs) attempts to "confirm" (and in some cases "correct") the elderly Flashman's recollections of events. In many cases, the footnotes serve to inform the reader that a particularly outlandish character really existed or that an unlikely event actually occurred.
In outline there are some similarities to Thomas Berger's 1964 novel Little Big Man
Little Big Man
Little Big Man is a 1970 American Western film directed by Arthur Penn and based on the 1964 comic novel by Thomas Berger. It is a picaresque comedy about a Caucasian boy raised by the Cheyenne nation during the 19th century...
, in which a 121-year-old man recounts his numerous adventures and escapades in the American Old West
American Old West
The American Old West, or the Wild West, comprises the history, geography, people, lore, and cultural expression of life in the Western United States, most often referring to the latter half of the 19th century, between the American Civil War and the end of the century...
. William Thackeray's The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon
The Luck of Barry Lyndon is a picaresque novel by William Makepeace Thackeray, first published in serial form in 1844, about a member of the Irish gentry trying to become a member of the English aristocracy...
made similar use of an unreliable first-person narrator and footnotes, with Thackeray using them to cast doubt on the protagonist's version of events. Another influence might be Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's short story Luck
Luck (short story)
"Luck" is an 1886 short story by Mark Twain which was first published in 1891 in Harper's Magazine. It was subsequently reprinted in 1892 in the anthology Merry Tales; the first British publication was in 1900, in the collection The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg...
, about an illustrious British general who was actually a blundering fool, but whose mistakes in the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
always ended in success.
The half-scholarly tone has occasionally led to misunderstandings. When the first book, Flashman, was published in the United States, ten of 34 reviews took it to be an obscure but real memoir. Several of these were written by academics – to the delight of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, which published a selection of the more trusting reviews.
For the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publication, Fraser created a fictional entry for Flashman in the 1909 edition of Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc., is the American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies...
. The entry lists Flashman's laurels: VC, KCB, KCIE; Chevalier of the Légion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
; U.S. Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
; San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth, 4th Class. The entry also summarizes his military career, both in the British army and as a wandering adventurer. It notes encounters with the "White Rajah
James Brooke
James, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
" of Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
, with Queen Ranavalona
Ranavalona I
Ranavalona I , also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861...
of Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and with Emperor Maximilian of Mexico; and service as a Union major and as a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. (Allusions in Flash For Freedom and Flashman and the Redskins indicate that he did indeed fight on both sides in the war, but that it was part of some elaborate and dangerous intrigue instigated by Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.)
George MacDonald Fraser stated that his favourite maritime historical novels were those of the Hornblower
Hornblower
Hornblower may refer to:In fiction:*Horatio Hornblower, a fictional officer of the British Royal Navy created by C.S. Forester*A family of hobbits in the works of J.R.R...
series by C.S. Forester.
Flashman the man
Flashman was a large man, six feet two inches (1.88 m) tall and close to 13 stoneStone (weight)
The stone is a units of measurement that was used in many North European countries until the advent of metrication. It value, which ranged from 3 kg to 12 kg, varied from city to city and also often from commodity to commodity...
(about 180 pounds or 82 kg). In Flashman and the Tiger, he mentions that one of his grandchildren has black hair and eyes, resembling him in his younger years. His dark colouring frequently enabled him to pass (in disguise) for a Pathan
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
. He claimed only three natural talents: horsemanship, facility with foreign languages, and fornication. He became an expert cricket bowler, but that was through hard effort (he needed sporting credit at Rugby School, and was afraid to play rugby football
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
). He could also display a winning personality, when he wanted to, and was very skilled at flattering those more important than himself without appearing servile.
As he admitted in the Papers, Flashman was a coward, who would flee from danger if there was any way to do so, and on some occasions collapsed in funk. He had one great advantage in concealing this weakness: when he was frightened, his face turned red, rather than white, so that observers thought he was excited, enraged, or exuberant - as a hero ought to be.
After his expulsion from Rugby
Rugby School
Rugby School is a co-educational day and boarding school located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire, England. It is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain.-History:...
for drunkenness, Flashman looked for an easy life. He had his wealthy father buy him an officer's commission in the fashionable 11th Regiment of Light Dragoons
11th Hussars
The 11th Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army.-History:The regiment was founded in 1715 as Colonel Philip Honeywood's Regiment of Dragoons and was known by the name of its Colonel until 1751 when it became the 11th Regiment of Dragoons...
. The 11th, commanded by Lord Cardigan
James Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan
Lieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, KCB , was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War...
, later involved in the Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
, had just returned from India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and were not likely to be posted abroad soon. Flashman threw himself into the social life that the 11th offered and became a leading light of Canterbury
Canterbury
Canterbury is a historic English cathedral city, which lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a district of Kent in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
society.
A duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
with another officer over a French courtesan led to his being temporarily stationed in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. There he met and deflowered Elspeth Morrison, daughter of a wealthy textile manufacturer, whom he had to marry in a "shotgun wedding". But marriage to the daughter of a mere businessman forced his resignation from the snobbish 11th Lights. He was sent to India to make a career in the army of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. Unfortunately, his language talent and his habit of flattery brought him to the attention of the Governor-General
Governor-General of India
The Governor-General of India was the head of the British administration in India, and later, after Indian independence, the representative of the monarch and de facto head of state. The office was created in 1773, with the title of Governor-General of the Presidency of Fort William...
. The Governor did him the (very much unwanted) favour of assigning him as aide to General Elphinstone in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Flashman survived the ensuing debacle
Massacre of Elphinstone's Army
The Massacre of Elphinstone's Army was the destruction by Afghan forces, led by Akbar Khan, the son of Dost Mohammad Khan, of a combined British and Indian force of the British East India Company, led by Major General William Elphinstone, in January 1842....
by a mixture of sheer luck and unstinting cowardice. He became an unwitting hero: the defender of Piper's Fort, where he was the only surviving white man, and was found by the relieving troops clutching the flag and surrounded by enemy dead. Of course, Flashman arrived at the Fort by accident, collapsed in terror rather than fight, was forced to stand and show fight by his subordinate, and was 'rumbled' for a complete coward. He had been trying to surrender the colours, not defend them. Happily for him, all inconvenient witnesses had been killed.
This incident set the tone for Flashman's life. Over the next 60 years or so, he was involved in many of the major military conflicts of the 19th century—always in spite of his best efforts to evade his duty. He was often selected for especially dangerous jobs because of his heroic reputation. He met many famous people, and survived some of the worst military disasters (the First Anglo-Afghan War
First Anglo-Afghan War
The First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
, Charge of the Light Brigade
Charge of the Light Brigade
The Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
, the Siege of Cawnpore
Siege of Cawnpore
The Siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged British in Cawnpore were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel Indian forces under Nana Sahib, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. However, under ambiguous circumstances, their...
, Battle of the Little Bighorn
Battle of the Little Bighorn
The Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
, Battle of Isandlwana
Battle of Isandlwana
The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the first major encounter in the Anglo-Zulu War between the British Empire and the Zulu Kingdom...
), always coming out with more heroic laurels. The date of his last adventures seems to have been around 1900. He died in 1915.
Despite his admitted cowardice, Flashman was a dab hand at fighting when he had to. Though he dodged danger as much as he could, and ran away when no one was watching, after the Piper's Fort incident, he usually controlled his fear and often performed bravely. Almost every book contains one or more incidents where Flashman had to fight or perform some other daring action, and held up long enough to complete it. For instance, he was ordered to accompany the Light Brigade on its famous charge, and rode all the way to the Russian guns. It should be pointed out that most of these acts of 'bravery' were performed only when he had absolutely no choice, and to do anything else would have resulted in his being exposed as a coward and losing his respected status in society, or being shot for desertion. When he could act like a coward with impunity, he invariably did.
Flashman surrendered to fear in front of witnesses only a few times, and was never caught out again. During the siege of Pipers fort, in the first novel, Flashman cowered weeping in his bed at the start of the final assault, the only witness to this died before relief came. He broke down while accompanying Rajah Brooke during a battle with pirates, but the noise drowned out his blubbering, and he recovered enough to command a storming party of sailors (placing himself right in the middle of the party, to avoid stray bullets). After the Charge of the Light Brigade, he fled in panic from the fighting in the battery - but mistakenly charged into an entire Russian regiment, adding to his heroic image.
Volumes of the Flashman Papers
The following extracts (in publication order) from the Flashman Papers have been published:- FlashmanFlashman (novel)Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1969): 1839-1842. Lord Cardigan; the First Anglo-Afghan WarFirst Anglo-Afghan WarThe First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
(the retreat from KabulKabulKabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
, the last stand at Gandamak and the siege of JellalabadBattle of JellalabadThe Battle of Jellalabad in 1842 was an Afghan siege of the isolated British outpost at Jellalabad about 80 miles east of Kabul...
). - Royal FlashRoyal FlashRoyal Flash is a 1970 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the second of the Flashman novels. It was made into the film Royal Flash in 1975.-Plot summary:...
(1970): 1843, 1847-1848. A pastichePasticheA pastiche is a literary or other artistic genre or technique that is a "hodge-podge" or imitation. The word is also a linguistic term used to describe an early stage in the development of a pidgin language.-Hodge-podge:...
of The Prisoner of ZendaThe Prisoner of ZendaThe Prisoner of Zenda is an adventure novel by Anthony Hope, published in 1894. The king of the fictional country of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus unable to attend his own coronation. Political forces are such that in order for the king to retain his crown his...
by Anthony HopeAnthony HopeSir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
, set in the fictional German state of Strackenz. Lola MontezLola MontezEliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
; Otto von BismarckOtto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
; bare-knuckle boxing; the Schleswig-Holstein QuestionSchleswig-Holstein QuestionThe Schleswig-Holstein Question was a complex of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein , to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation....
; the Revolutions of 1848Revolutions of 1848The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
. - Flash for Freedom!Flash for Freedom!Flash for Freedom! is a 1971 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the third of the Flashman novels.- Plot introduction :Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1971): 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground RailroadUnderground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. - Flashman at the ChargeFlashman at the ChargeFlashman at the Charge is a 1973 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fourth of the Flashman novels. Playboy magazine serialized Flashman at the Charge in 1973 in their April, May and June issues...
(1973): 1854-1855. The Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
; the Charge of the Light BrigadeCharge of the Light BrigadeThe Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
; Russian invasion of Central AsiaCentral AsiaCentral Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...
. - Flashman in the Great GameFlashman in the Great GameFlashman in the Great Game is a 1975 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fifth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1975): 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny, the Rani of JhansiRani LakshmibaiLakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi was the queen of the Maratha-ruled princely state of Jhansi, situated in the northern part of India...
, the Cawnpore MassacreSiege of CawnporeThe Siege of Cawnpore was a key episode in the Indian rebellion of 1857. The besieged British in Cawnpore were unprepared for an extended siege and surrendered to rebel Indian forces under Nana Sahib, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. However, under ambiguous circumstances, their...
, the siege of LucknowSiege of LucknowThe Siege of Lucknow was the prolonged defense of the Residency within the city of Lucknow during the Indian Rebellion of 1857. After two successive relief attempts had reached the city, the defenders and civilians were evacuated from the Residency, which was abandoned.Lucknow was the capital of...
. Flashman was required to perform heroically in this conflict and was awarded the Victoria CrossVictoria CrossThe Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....
and a knighthood. But the publication of Tom Brown's Schooldays with its portrayal of Flashman as a coward and bully spoiled his satisfaction. - Flashman's LadyFlashman's LadyFlashman's Lady is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1977): 1843-1845. The first "hat trick" in cricketCricketCricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
; "White Rajah" James BrookeJames BrookeJames, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
and the pirates of BorneoBorneoBorneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
; Queen Ranavalona of MadagascarRanavalona IRanavalona I , also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861...
. Parts are written as if drawn from the diary of his wife Elspeth, and edited by her slightly puritanical and much offended sister, Grizel Morrison de Rothschild. - Flashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the Redskins is a 1982 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the seventh of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposed discovery of a trunkful of papers detailing the long life and career of a Victorian officer, this series centres around...
(1982): 1849-1850, 1875-1876. The Wild West: the Forty-NinersCalifornia Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, the Apaches, and the Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. - Flashman and the DragonFlashman and the DragonFlashman and the Dragon is a 1985 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1985): 1860. China: the Taiping RebellionTaiping RebellionThe Taiping Rebellion was a widespread civil war in southern China from 1850 to 1864, led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, who, having received visions, maintained that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, against the ruling Manchu-led Qing Dynasty...
and the Peking Expedition. - Flashman and the Mountain of LightFlashman and the Mountain of LightFlashman and the Mountain of Light is a 1990 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the ninth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1990): 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh WarFirst Anglo-Sikh WarThe First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
; the Koh-i-Noor diamond. - Flashman and the Angel of the LordFlashman and the Angel of the LordFlashman and the Angel of the Lord is a 1994 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the tenth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1994): 1858-1859. United States: John BrownJohn Brown (abolitionist)John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
and the Harper's Ferry Raid. - Flashman and the TigerFlashman and the TigerFlashman and the Tiger is a 1999 book by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eleventh of the Flashman books.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(1999) incorporating:- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of BerlinCongress of BerlinThe Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
; assassination attempt on Emperor Franz Josef. - The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
; the Royal Baccarat ScandalRoyal Baccarat ScandalThe Royal Baccarat Scandal, also known as the Tranby Croft scandal, was an English gambling scandal of the late nineteenth century involving the future King Edward VII.-Background:...
. - Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War; Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
; Colonel Sebastian "Tiger Jack" MoranSebastian MoranColonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes and the villain of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Empty House...
; Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
and Doctor Watson.
- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin
- Flashman on the MarchFlashman on the MarchFlashman on the March is a 2005 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the twelfth and last Flashman novel.-Plot introduction:As in all of Fraser's Flashman novels, the story is presented as part of the Flashman Papers, supposedly written by Sir Harry Flashman, the villain of Tom Brown's Schooldays...
(2005): 1868. Escape from Mexico at the end of the French occupation; British invasion of AbyssiniaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to rescue hostages.
Flashman also plays a small part in Fraser's novel Mr American
Mr American
-Plot summary:Mark Franklin arrives on the Mauretania at Liverpool in 1909 with a copy of Shakespeare's works, an old Mexican charro saddle and two Remington pistols in his battered luggage...
(1980). His father, Harry Buckley Flashman, appears in Black Ajax (1997). At one point, it is also mentioned that a member of the Flashman family was present at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
, 1746. Fraser has confirmed that Flashman died in 1915 but the circumstances of his death have never been related.
In early 2006 Fraser said that he planned to write another instalment of the Flashman Papers. Fraser said he had chosen three possible subjects to write about, though what these are he was not willing to say. At the Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
Literary festival
Literary festival
A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city...
in 2006, Fraser estimated that it took him roughly three to five months to research and write a Flashman novel.
Fraser died of cancer on 2 January 2008.
Flashman Papers in chronological order
- FlashmanFlashman (novel)Flashman is a 1969 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the first of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1839-1842. the First Anglo-Afghan WarFirst Anglo-Afghan WarThe First Anglo-Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst...
. - Flashman's LadyFlashman's LadyFlashman's Lady is a 1977 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the sixth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1843-1845. Borneo, Madagascar. - Flashman and the Mountain of LightFlashman and the Mountain of LightFlashman and the Mountain of Light is a 1990 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the ninth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1845-46. The First Anglo-Sikh WarFirst Anglo-Sikh WarThe First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company between 1845 and 1846. It resulted in partial subjugation of the Sikh kingdom.-Background and causes of the war:...
. - Royal FlashRoyal FlashRoyal Flash is a 1970 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the second of the Flashman novels. It was made into the film Royal Flash in 1975.-Plot summary:...
: 1847-1848. the Revolutions of 1848Revolutions of 1848The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe in 1848. It was the first Europe-wide collapse of traditional authority, but within a year reactionary...
. - Flash for Freedom!Flash for Freedom!Flash for Freedom! is a 1971 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the third of the Flashman novels.- Plot introduction :Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1848-1849. The Atlantic slave trade; the Underground RailroadUnderground RailroadThe Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. - Flashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the Redskins is a 1982 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the seventh of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposed discovery of a trunkful of papers detailing the long life and career of a Victorian officer, this series centres around...
Part I: 1849-1850, The Wild West: the Forty-NinersCalifornia Gold RushThe California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
, - Flashman at the ChargeFlashman at the ChargeFlashman at the Charge is a 1973 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fourth of the Flashman novels. Playboy magazine serialized Flashman at the Charge in 1973 in their April, May and June issues...
: 1854-1855. The Crimean WarCrimean WarThe Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
; the Charge of the Light BrigadeCharge of the Light BrigadeThe Charge of the Light Brigade was a charge of British cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. The charge was the result of a miscommunication in such a way that the brigade attempted a much more difficult objective...
. - Flashman in the Great GameFlashman in the Great GameFlashman in the Great Game is a 1975 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fifth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1856-1858. The Indian Mutiny. - Flashman and the Angel of the LordFlashman and the Angel of the LordFlashman and the Angel of the Lord is a 1994 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the tenth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1858-1859. the Harper's Ferry Raid. - Flashman and the DragonFlashman and the DragonFlashman and the Dragon is a 1985 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1860. the Peking Expedition. - Flashman on the MarchFlashman on the MarchFlashman on the March is a 2005 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the twelfth and last Flashman novel.-Plot introduction:As in all of Fraser's Flashman novels, the story is presented as part of the Flashman Papers, supposedly written by Sir Harry Flashman, the villain of Tom Brown's Schooldays...
: 1868. British invasion of AbyssiniaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
to rescue hostages. - Flashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the RedskinsFlashman and the Redskins is a 1982 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the seventh of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposed discovery of a trunkful of papers detailing the long life and career of a Victorian officer, this series centres around...
Part II: 1875-1876. the Battle of the Little BighornBattle of the Little BighornThe Battle of the Little Bighorn, also known as Custer's Last Stand and, by the Indians involved, as the Battle of the Greasy Grass, was an armed engagement between combined forces of Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho people against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army...
. - Flashman and the TigerFlashman and the TigerFlashman and the Tiger is a 1999 book by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eleventh of the Flashman books.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of BerlinCongress of BerlinThe Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
; Emperor Franz Josef. - The Subtleties of Baccarat: 1890-1891. Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
; the Royal Baccarat ScandalRoyal Baccarat ScandalThe Royal Baccarat Scandal, also known as the Tranby Croft scandal, was an English gambling scandal of the late nineteenth century involving the future King Edward VII.-Background:...
. - Flashman and the Tiger 1879, 1894. The Zulu War.
- The Road to Charing Cross: 1877-1878. The Congress of Berlin
Flashman's women
Flashman, an insatiable lecher, had great success with women. His size, good looks, winning manner, and especially his splendid cavalry-style whiskers won over many women, from low to high, including many famous women. He also frequently bought the services of prostitutes. In Flashman and the Great Game, about halfway through his life, he counted up his sexual conquests while languishing in a dungeon at Gwalior, "not counting return engagements", reaching a total of 478 to date. He was not above forcing himself on a partner by blackmail (e.g. the Russian countess in Flashman and the Dragon), but only committed an actual rape once in his life (on Narreeman, in Flashman). He was a vigorous and exciting (if sometimes selfish and rapacious) lover, and at least some of his partners became quite fond of him - though by his own admission, others tried to kill him afterwards. The most memorable of these was Cleonie, a prostitute Flashman sold into slavery in Flashman and the Redskins. Passages in Royal Flash, Flashman and the Dragon, Flashman and the Redskins, and Flashman and the Angel of the Lord suggest that Flashman was "well-hung".Flashman's stories are dominated by his numerous amorous encounters. Several of them are with prominent historical personages. These women are sometimes window dressing, sometimes pivotal characters in the unpredictable twists and turns of the books. Historical women Flashman bedded included:
- Jind KaurJind KaurMaharani Jind Kaur, also popularly known as Rani Jindan. She was the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the mother of the last Sikh Emperor, Maharajah Duleep Singh. In 1845 she became Regent of Punjab for Duleep Singh. The Queen Mother of the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab...
, DowagerDowagerA dowager is a widow who holds a title or property, or dower, derived from her deceased husband. As an adjective, "Dowager" usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles....
Maharani of PunjabPunjab regionThe Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
(Flashman and the Mountain of Light). - Lillie LangtryLillie LangtryLillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, actress and mistress of Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
(Flashman and the Tiger) - Mangla, maid and confidant to Jind Kaur.
- Masteeat, Queen of the Wollo GallaOromo peopleThe Oromo are an ethnic group found in Ethiopia, northern Kenya, .and parts of Somalia. With 30 million members, they constitute the single largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and approximately 34.49% of the population according to the 2007 census...
s (Flashman on the March). - Lola MontezLola MontezEliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
(Marie Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert James) (Royal Flash). - Queen Ranavalona IRanavalona IRanavalona I , also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861...
of Madagascar (Flashman's Lady). - The Silk One (aka Ko Dali's daughter), consort of Yakub BegYakub BegMuhammad Yaqub Bek was a [Turkic peoples] adventurer who became head of the kingdom of Kashgaria.-Spelling variants:In English-language literature, the name of Yaqub Beg has also been spelt as Yakub Beg , Yakoob Beg , or Ya`qūb Beg...
(Flashman at the Charge). - YehonalaEmpress Dowager CixiEmpress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908....
, Imperial Chinese concubine, later the Dowager Empress Ci Xi (Flashman and the Dragon).
He also lusted after (but never bedded):
- Fanny DuberlyFrances Isabella DuberlyFanny Duberly was an adventurous soldier’s wife from the Crimean War and Sepoy Mutiny. Her husband, Captain Henry Duberly, was the paymaster to the 8th Royal Irish Hussars, part of the famed Light Brigade of Balaclava...
, a famous army wife. - Angela Burdett-CouttsAngela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-CouttsAngela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts , born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a nineteenth-century philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and the former Sophia Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts...
, who became the richest woman in England in her twenties. She nearly dislocated his thumb repelling a friendly grope at a house-party. (Flashman's Lady) - Lakshmibai, Dowager Rani of JhansiJhansiJhansi Hindi:झाँसी, , Marathi: झाशी, is a historical city of India. Jhansi is the administrative headquarters of Jhansi District and Jhansi Division. The original walled city grew up around its stone fort, which crowns a neighboring rock. This district is on the bank of river Betwa.The National...
(Flashman in the Great Game) (a dancing girl may have taken the rani's place)
His fictional amours included:
- An-yat-heh, an undercover agent of Harry Smith ParkesHarry Smith ParkesSir Harry Smith Parkes was a 19th century British diplomat who worked mainly in China and Japan...
(Flashman and the Dragon). - Aphrodite, one of Miss Susie's "gels" (Flashman and the Redskins).
- Cassy, an escaped slave who accompanied Flashman up the Mississippi (Flash for Freedom!).
- Elspeth Rennie Morrison, his wife.
- Fetnab, a dancing girl Flashy bought in Calcutta (Flashman).
- Lady Geraldine.
- Gertrude, niece of Admiral TegetthoffWilhelm von TegetthoffWilhelm von Tegetthoff was an Austrian admiral. Considered one of the prominent naval commanders of the 19th century, Tegetthoff was known for his innovative tactics as well as his inspirational leadership....
(Flashman on the March). - Cleonie Grouard (aka Mrs Arthur B. Candy), one of "Miss Susie's gels" (Flashman and the Redskins).
- Irma, Grand Duchess of Strackenz (Royal Flash).
- Josette, mistress of Captain Bernier of the 11th Light Dragoons (Flashman).
- Mrs Leo Lade, mistress of a violently jealous duke (Flashman's Lady).
- "Lady Caroline Lamb", a slave on board the slaverSlaverSlaver has several meanings:*One who deals in slaves - see slave trade*A slave ship*Saliva, i.e. either the result or act of drooling as opposed to normal salivation....
Balliol College (Flash for Freedom!). - Mrs Leslie, an unattached woman in the Meerut garrison (Flashman in the Great Game).
- Mrs Madison (Flashman and the Mountain of Light).
- Malee, a servant of Uliba-Wark (Flashman on the March).
- Mrs Mandeville, a Mississippi planter's wife (Flash for Freedom! and again in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord).
- NarreemanNarreemanNarreeman is a fictional character in Flashman, a historical novel by George MacDonald Fraser.She first appears in the novel as a dancer. Shortly after Flashman meets her, he rapes her. Flashman asserts that Narreeman is the only woman he ever raped....
, an Afghan dancing girl (Flashman). - Mrs Betty Parker (Flashman; unconsummated).
- Judy Parsons, mistress of Flashy's father (Flashman).
- Baroness Pechmann, a BavariaBavariaBavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
n noblewoman (Royal Flash). - Penny/Jenny, a steamboat girl (Flash for Freedom!).
- Lady Plunkett, wife of a colonial judge (not quite consummated: Flashman and the Angel of the Lord).
- Mrs Popplewell, agent of a Southern slaveholders' conspiracy (Flashman and the Angel of the Lord).
- Sara (Aunt Sara), sister-in-law of Count Pencherjevsky (Flashman at the Charge).
- Sonsee-Array (Takes-Away-Clouds-Woman), an Apache savage 'princess', daughter of Mangas ColoradasMangas ColoradasMangas Coloradas, or Dasoda-hae , was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico...
(Flashman and the Redskins). - Miranda Spring, daughter of John Charity Spring (Flashman and the Angel of the Lord).
- Szu-Zhan, a six-foot-eight Chinese bandit leader (Flashman and the Dragon).
- Uliba-Wark, an Abyssinian chieftainess and warrior (Flashman on the March).
- Valentina (Valla), daughter of Count Pencherjevsky (Flashman at the Charge).
- White Tigress and Honey-and-Milk, two concubines of the Chinese merchant Whampoa (Flashman's Lady).
- Susie Willinck (aka "Miss Susie"), New Orleans madam (Flash for Freedom! and Flashman and the Redskins).
He had a special penchant for royal ladies, and noted that his favourite amours (apart from his wife) were Lakshmibai, Ci Xi and Lola Montez: "a Queen, an Empress, and the foremost courtesan of her time: I dare say I'm just a snob." He also noted that, while civilized women were more than ordinarily partial to him, his most ardent admirers were among the savage of the species: "Elspeth, of course, is Scottish." And for all his raking, it was always Elspeth to whom he returned and who remained ultimately top of the list.
His lechery was so strong that it broke out even in the midst of rather hectic circumstances. While accompanying Thomas Kavanaugh on his daring escape from Lucknow, he paused for a quick rattle with a local prostitute, and during the battle of Patusan, he found himself galloping one of Sharif Sahib's concubines without even realizing it.
Adaptations
A script for a Flashman film adaptation was written by Frank MuirFrank Muir
Frank Herbert Muir was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wrote BBC radio's Take It From Here for over 10 years, and then appeared on BBC radio...
in 1969, to star John Alderton
John Alderton
John Alderton is an English actor who is best known for his roles in Upstairs, Downstairs, Thomas & Sarah and Please Sir!. Alderton has often starred alongside his wife, Pauline Collins.-Early life:...
, and is mentioned in his autobiography A Kentish Lad.
A film version of Royal Flash
Royal Flash (film)
Royal Flash is a 1975 film based on George MacDonald Fraser's second Flashman novel, Royal Flash. It starred Malcolm McDowell as Flashman. Oliver Reed appeared in the role of Otto von Bismarck, Alan Bates as Rudi von Sternberg, and Florinda Bolkan played Lola Montez...
was released in 1975. It was directed by Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
and starred Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell
Malcolm McDowell is an English actor with a career spanning over forty years.McDowell is principally known for his roles in the controversial films If...., O Lucky Man!, A Clockwork Orange and Caligula...
as Flashman, Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed
Oliver Reed was an English actor known for his burly screen presence. Reed exemplified his real-life macho image in "tough guy" roles...
as Otto von Bismarck
Otto von Bismarck
Otto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
and Alan Bates
Alan Bates
Sir Alan Arthur Bates CBE was an English actor, who came to prominence in the 1960s, a time of high creativity in British cinema, when he demonstrated his versatility in films ranging from the popular children’s story Whistle Down the Wind to the "kitchen sink" drama A Kind of Loving...
as Rudi von Sternberg.
Sobered by his experience with Lester, Fraser said that further film adaptations of the Flashman books have not been made because he "will not let anyone else have control of the script... and that simply does not happen in Hollywood." He also pointed to a lack of a suitable British actor to portray Flashman; Errol Flynn
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Flynn was an Australian-born actor. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles in Hollywood films, being a legend and his flamboyant lifestyle.-Early life:...
was always his favourite for the role (although Flynn was Australian): "It wasn't just his looks and his style. He had that shifty quality." The suggestion of Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Day-Lewis
Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is an English actor with both British and Irish citizenship. His portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot and Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood won Academy and BAFTA Awards for Best Actor, and Screen Actors Guild as well as Golden Globe Awards for the latter...
struck a chord with him and he says that although "He's probably getting on a bit," he "might make a Flashman... He's big, he's got presence and he's got style."
In 2007, Celtic Films indicated on their website that they had a series of Flashman TV films in development.
Picture Palace has announced they are developing Flashman at the Charge
Flashman at the Charge
Flashman at the Charge is a 1973 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the fourth of the Flashman novels. Playboy magazine serialized Flashman at the Charge in 1973 in their April, May and June issues...
for TV and that the script has been prepared by George Macdonald Fraser himself. Both companies took an extensive role in developing Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell
Bernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
's Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe (TV series)
Sharpe is a British series of television dramas starring Sean Bean about Richard Sharpe, a fictional British soldier in the Napoleonic Wars. Sharpe is the hero of a number of novels by Bernard Cornwell; most, though not all, of the episodes are based on the books...
. No further news has been forthcoming since this time and the project has been removed from both companies' websites.
Playwright Patrick Rayner produced the radio play adaptation Flash for Freedom which was broadcast in 2002 and again in 2008 on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
. In it the older Flashman was played by Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
and the young Flashman was played by Rhys Meredith
Rhys Meredith
Rhys Meredith is a Welsh actor. He is the son of Ioan Meredith and the grandson of the actor Meredith Edwards. He is notable for his appearances on stage, radio and TV, which include Charles II: The Power & the Passion , Henry VIII , 'Peace? Off!' and Flash for Freedom! Rhys Meredith (born 1976,...
. This was followed by a radio dramatisation of Flashman At The Charge in 2005, with Ackland reprising the older Flashman and Angus Wright
Angus Wright (actor)
-Biography:Angus Wright was born in Washington, D.C., the youngest child of Virginia and Patrick Wright. His father's career in the British Diplomatic Service took the family to the Lebanon, the United States, the U.K., Egypt, Bahrain, Luxembourg, Syria and Saudi Arabia.Angus gained an M.A...
as the younger Flashman..
As at June 2011, at least four unabridged novels are available as audiobooks read by Timothy West (Flashman, Great Game, Lady, Angel of the Lord).
Harper Collins Audio has released 6 abridged readings (as of January 2011), starting in 2006. The first three (up to Flash for Freedom!
Flash for Freedom!
Flash for Freedom! is a 1971 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the third of the Flashman novels.- Plot introduction :Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
) being read by Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert Penry-Jones
Rupert William Penry-Jones is an English actor, best known for his role as Adam Carter in the British television series Spooks, also broadcast under the title MI-5.-Family life:Penry-Jones was born in London on September 22, 1970...
with Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens
Toby Stephens is an English stage, television and film actor who has appeared in films in both Hollywood and Bollywood. He is best known for playing megavillain Gustav Graves in the James Bond film Die Another Day , Edward Fairfax Rochester in the BBC television adaptation of Jane Eyre and Philip...
taking over in 2007 with Flashman on the March
Flashman on the March
Flashman on the March is a 2005 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the twelfth and last Flashman novel.-Plot introduction:As in all of Fraser's Flashman novels, the story is presented as part of the Flashman Papers, supposedly written by Sir Harry Flashman, the villain of Tom Brown's Schooldays...
and Flashman and the Dragon
Flashman and the Dragon
Flashman and the Dragon is a 1985 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
.
Homages
- Writer Keith Laidler gave the Flashman story a new twist in 'The Carton Chronicles' by revealing that Flashman is the natural son of Sydney CartonSydney CartonSydney Carton is the central character in the novel A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. He is a shrewd young Englishman and sometime junior to his fellow barrister C.J. Stryver. In the novel, he is seen to be a drunkard, self-indulgent and self-pitying because of his wasted life...
, hero of the Charles Dickens classic, A Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two CitiesA Tale of Two Cities is a novel by Charles Dickens, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature....
. Laidler has Sydney Carton changing his mind at the foot of the Guillotine, escaping the axe and making a wayward and amorous progress through the terrors of the French Revolution, during which time he spies for both the British and French, causes Danton'sGeorges DantonGeorges Jacques Danton was leading figure in the early stages of the French Revolution and the first President of the Committee of Public Safety. Danton's role in the onset of the Revolution has been disputed; many historians describe him as "the chief force in theoverthrow of the monarchy and the...
death, shoots Robespierre, and reminisces on a liaison among the hayricks at the 'Leicestershire pile' of a married noblewoman, who subsequently gave birth to a boychild - Flashman - on 5 May 1822.
- American military historian Raymond M. Saunders created an homage to the Flashman persona in a series of Fenwick TraversFenwick TraversFenwick "Fenny" Travers is a fictional character and antihero created by Raymond M. Saunders. The character was inspired by the character of Harry Paget Flashman in a series of historical novels written by George Macdonald Fraser, but the character of Travers did not become as successful as his...
novels, set among the US military adventures in the Indian wars, Spanish-American war in Cuba, Boxer Rebellion in China, piracy and Muslim rebellion in the Philippines, and the creation of the Panama Canal. These novels never received the popularity or acclaim of the original Flashman.
- Peter BowenPeter BowenPeter Bowen is an American writer born in 1945.He lives in Livingston, Montana andhas worked as a cowboy, hunting and fishing guide, folksinger, poet, essayist, and novelist...
's four-book series based on the exploits of Luther Sage "Yellowstone" Kelly is clearly influenced by Flashman. Basing his series loosely on the career of an actual frontier scout, Bowen presents Kelly as a womanizer, heavy drinker, and something of a coward. Like Flashman, Kelly is a victim of his own legend, and is often dragged into exploits against his will by actual historical personages such as U. S. Grant, Buffalo Bill Cody, and Theodore Roosevelt. Eventually he is forced to behave heroically, at times even nobly. Although the novels have a decided comic edge, there is an element of dark tragedy in them, often related to the despoiling of frontiers and the subjugation of native peoples. The books include Yellowstone Kelly: Gentleman and Scout (1987), Kelly Blue (1991), Imperial Kelly (1992) and Kelly and The Three-Toed Horse (2001).
- Sandy Mitchell'sAlex Stewart (writer)Alex Stewart is a British writer, who also goes by the pseudonym Sandy Mitchell, best known for his Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 novels, including the Ciaphas Cain series....
Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000Warhammer 40,000 is a tabletop miniature wargame produced by Games Workshop, set in a dystopian science fantasy universe. Warhammer 40,000 was created by Rick Priestley in 1987 as the futuristic companion to Warhammer Fantasy Battle, sharing many game mechanics...
character Commissar Ciaphas CainCiaphas CainThe Ciaphas Cain series is a collection of science fiction novels set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. They center on the eponymous character, an Imperial Commissar of the Imperial Guard, and his varied and colorful career.-Novels:...
is partially inspired by Flashman.
- Eric Nicol's Dickens of the Mounted, a fictional biography of Francis Jeffrey Dickens, the real life third son of novelist Charles DickensCharles DickensCharles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
who joined the North West Mounted Police in 1874, has an alternate and less than flattering take on Flashman—the book itself is something of an homage to the Flashman series.
- Adrienne Mayor's "The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy" (Princeton University Press 2010), p 420 note 29, dispels the rumour that Harry Paget Flashman had discovered the "true grave" of Mithradates VI of Pontus while in the Crimea 1854-55.
- In comicsComicsComics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...
, writer John OstranderJohn OstranderJohn Ostrander is an American writer of comic books. He is best known for his work on Suicide Squad, Grimjack and Star Wars: Legacy, series he helped create.-Career:...
took Flashman as his model for his portrayal of the cowardly villain Captain BoomerangCaptain BoomerangCaptain Boomerang is a fictional character in the . A supervillain traditionally portrayed as an enemy of the Flash...
in the Suicide SquadSuicide SquadThe Suicide Squad, also known as Task Force X , is a name for two fictional organizations in the DC Comics Universe. The first version debuted in The Brave and the Bold #25 , and the second in Legends #3...
series. In the letters page to the last issue in the series (66), Ostrander acknowledges this influence directly. Flashman's success with the ladies is noticeably lacking in the Captain Boomerang character.
- Flashman is briefly mentioned as being a dishonourable officer in Kim NewmanKim NewmanKim Newman is an English journalist, film critic, and fiction writer. Recurring interests visible in his work include film history and horror fiction—both of which he attributes to seeing Tod Browning's Dracula at the age of eleven—and alternate fictional versions of history...
's crossover novel The Bloody Red BaronThe Bloody Red BaronThe Bloody Red Baron is a 1995 novel by British author Kim Newman. It is the second book in the Anno Dracula series and takes place thirty years after the former.-Plot:...
.
- Flashman's portrait (unnamed, but with unmistakable background and characteristics) hangs in the home of the protagonist of The Peshawar LancersThe Peshawar LancersThe Peshawar Lancers is an alternate history, steampunk, post-apocalyptic fiction adventure novel by S. M. Stirling, with its point of divergence occurring in 1878 when the Earth is struck by a devastating meteor shower...
, an alternate history novel by S. M. StirlingS. M. StirlingStephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...
: the family claims to have had an ancestor who held Piper's Fort, as Flashman did; the protagonist claims his sole talents are for horsemanship and languages anhas an Afghan in his service named "Ibrahim Khan" (cf. Ilderim Khan); late in the he book plays with Elias the Jew on a "black jade chess set" matching the description of the one Flashman stole from the Summer Palace in Flashman and the DragonFlashman and the DragonFlashman and the Dragon is a 1985 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.-Plot introduction:Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays...
; the book's chief antagonist is named Ignatieff. Another allusion to Flashman by S. M. StirlingS. M. StirlingStephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.-Personal:Stirling was born on...
occurs in his short story "The Charge of Lee's Brigade", which appeared in the alternate-history anthology Alternate Generals (1998, ed. by Harry TurtledoveHarry TurtledoveHarry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.- Life :...
). In this story, Sir Robert E. Lee is a British general in the Crimean War who orders an officer, obviously Flashman (Cherrypicker trousers, can ride like a Comanche in battle), to take part in a better-planned Charge of the Light Brigade. Flashman dies in the attack, demonstrating some courage despite what Lee perceives only as nervousness. So, in this version Flashman again ends up a hero. But as he himself would have been quick to point out, he is a dead hero.
- Terry PratchettTerry PratchettSir Terence David John "Terry" Pratchett, OBE is an English novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre. He is best known for his popular and long-running Discworld series of comic fantasy novels...
is a fan of the Flashman series and the DiscworldDiscworldDiscworld is a comic fantasy book series by English author Sir Terry Pratchett, set on the Discworld, a flat world balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Great A'Tuin. The books frequently parody, or at least take inspiration from, J. R. R....
character RincewindRincewindRincewind is a fictional character appearing in several of the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. He is a failed student at the Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, and is often described by scholars as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spends just about all of his time...
is an inveterate coward with a talent for languages who is always running away from danger, but nevertheless through circumstance emerges with the appearance of an unlikely hero, for which reason he is then selected for further dangerous enterprises. In this he strongly resembles Flashman, although he is totally dissimilar in most other aspects. The Discworld novel Pyramids has a character named Fliemoe, the bully at the Ankh-Morpork Assassins' GuildAnkh-Morpork Assassins' GuildThe Ankh-Morpork Assassins' Guild is a fictional school for professional killers in Terry Pratchett's long-running Discworld series of fantasy novels...
school, who is a parody of the original version of Flashman from Tom Brown's Schooldays (including "toasting" new boys). In the Assassins' Guild Yearbook and DiaryDiscworld DiaryThe Discworld Diaries are a series of themed diaries based on the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett. Each one is based on an Ankh-Morpork institution, and has an opening section containing information about that institution written by Pratchett and Stephen Briggs.The diaries feature a great deal...
, Fliemoe is described as having grown up to be "an unbelievable liar and an unsuccessful bully". His name is a play on that of Flashman's crony Speedicut - both 'Speedicut' and 'Flymo' are brand names of British lawn mowers.
- In Bernard Cornwell'sBernard CornwellBernard Cornwell OBE is an English author of historical novels. He is best known for his novels about Napoleonic Wars rifleman Richard Sharpe which were adapted into a series of Sharpe television films.-Biography:...
novel about 9th century England during the reign of Alfred The GreatAlfred the GreatAlfred the Great was King of Wessex from 871 to 899.Alfred is noted for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of southern England against the Vikings, becoming the only English monarch still to be accorded the epithet "the Great". Alfred was the first King of the West Saxons to style himself...
, 'The Pale HorsemanThe Pale HorsemanThe Pale Horseman is a novel by Bernard Cornwell, based in 9th Century Wessex and Cornwall, and is the second book in his The Saxon Stories series. The book is the sequel to The Last Kingdom, and starts where that tale left off...
' - which is dedicated to George MacDonald Fraser - the character of Prince ÆthelwoldÆthelwold-Royalty and nobility:*King Æthelwold of Deira, King of Deira, d. 655*King Æthelwold of East Anglia, King of East Anglia, d. 664*King Æthelwold Moll of Northumbria, King of Northumbria, d. post-765*Æthelwold of Wessex, son of King Æthelred of Wessex, d. 902...
(who actually existed, was Alfred's younger nephew and rightful heir to the throne of Wessex) is described as tall, handsome, looking like a warrior king, but also addicted to fornication & drink, duplicitous, amoral and a cowardly shirker in a fight, usually trying to get as far from the bloodshed as possible. Æthelwold is also a brilliant actor when it suits him. In spite of being aware of these faults the main protagonist, Uhtred of Bebbanbergh, finds him likeable & good company and saves his skin more than once.
- An editorial piece in the 14th May 2011 edition of The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper on the subject of British Prime Minister David CameronDavid CameronDavid William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
being labelled a 'Flashman' was given a Harry Flashman by-line, and was written in the style of Flashman's narrative.
Historical characters referenced in the Flashman novels
The Flashman books are littered with references to a vast number of notable historical figures. Although many have but a brief mention, some feature prominently and are portrayed "warts-and-all". They include the following:- Flashman
- Thomas HughesThomas HughesThomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
, Thomas ArnoldThomas ArnoldDr Thomas Arnold was a British educator and historian. Arnold was an early supporter of the Broad Church Anglican movement...
, Lord CardiganJames Brudenell, 7th Earl of CardiganLieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, KCB , was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War...
, Lord AucklandGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of AucklandGeorge Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, GCB, PC was a British Whig politician and colonial administrator. He was thrice First Lord of the Admiralty and also served as Governor-General of India between 1836 and 1842....
, Sir Robert Henry SaleRobert Henry SaleMajor General Sir Robert Henry Sale GCB was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
, Paolo Di AvitabilePaolo Di AvitabileGeneral Paolo Crescenzo Martino Avitabile was an Italian soldier, mercenary and adventurer. A peasant's son born in Agerola, near Amalfi in Italy, he served in the Neapolitan militia during the Napoleonic wars. After Waterloo he drifted east like many other adventurous soldiers...
, Willoughby CottonWilloughby CottonLieutenant General Sir Willoughby Cotton GCB, KCH was a British soldier. During his career, Cotton played major roles in the First Anglo–Burmese War, the 1831-32 slave revolt in Jamaica and the First Anglo-Afghan War....
, Alexander BurnesAlexander BurnesCaptain Sir Alexander Burnes was a Scottish traveller and explorer who took part in The Great Game. He was nicknamed Bokhara Burnes for his role in establishing contact with and exploring Bukhara, which made his name.-Early life:He was born in Montrose, Scotland, to the son of the local provost,...
, Sher Afzul, General John NicholsonJohn Nicholson (general)Brigadier-General John Nicholson was a Victorian era military officer known for his role in British India. A charismatic and authoritarian figure, Nicholson created a legend for himself as a political officer under Henry Lawrence in the frontier provinces of the British Empire in India...
, William Hay MacnaghtenWilliam Hay MacnaghtenSir William Hay Macnaghten, 1st Baronet was a British civil servant in India, who played a major part in the First Anglo-Afghan War....
, General ElphinstoneWilliam Elphinstone (major-general)Major-General William George Keith Elphinstone CB was an officer of the British Army during the 19th century.-Biography:...
, Akbar KhanAkbar KhanAmir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan Amir Akbar Khan (1816 – 1846;, born as Mohammad Akbar Khan and famously known as Wazir Akbar Khan, was an Afghan Prince, a general, a tribal leader and Emir. He was active in the First Anglo-Afghan War, which lasted from 1839 to 1842...
, William NottWilliam NottSir William Nott GCB was a British military leader in British India.- Early life :Nott was born in 1782, near Neath in Wales, the second son of Charles Nott, a Herefordshire farmer, who in 1794 became an innkeeper of the Ivy Bush Inn at Carmarthen in Wales...
, Henry HavelockHenry HavelockMajor-General Sir Henry Havelock, KCB was a British general who is particularly associated with India. He was noted for his recapture of Cawnpore from rebels during Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Early life:...
, Duke of WellingtonArthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of WellingtonField Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
, Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, Prince Albert, Thomas Babington MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
- Thomas Hughes
- Royal Flash
- Prince EdwardEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, Lillie LangtryLillie LangtryLillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, Lola MontezLola MontezEliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld , better known by the stage name Lola Montez, was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a "Spanish dancer", courtesan and mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria, who made her Countess of Landsfeld. She used her influence to institute liberal...
, Otto von BismarckOtto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, Ludwig I of BavariaLudwig I of BavariaLudwig I was a German king of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.-Crown prince:...
, Lord RanelaghThomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount RanelaghLieutenant Colonel Thomas Heron Jones, 7th Viscount Ranelagh KCB was a British aristocrat known for his involvement in the volunteer movement to recruit amateur soldiers for the defence of Britain and for his links to glamorous women of the era, notably the Pre-Raphaelite model Annie Miller and...
, John GullyJohn GullyJohn Gully was an English prize-fighter, horse racer and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1832 to 1837.-Early life:...
, Nicholas Ward, Lord ConynghamFrancis Conyngham, 2nd Marquess ConynghamGeneral Francis Nathaniel Conyngham, 2nd Marquess Conyngham KP, GCH, PC , styled Lord Francis Conyngham between 1816 and 1824 and Earl of Mount Charles between 1824 and 1832, was a British soldier, courtier and politician.-Background and education:Born in Dublin, Conyngham was the second son of...
, Richard WagnerRichard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, Franz LisztFranz LisztFranz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Henry IrvingHenry IrvingSir Henry Irving , born John Henry Brodribb, was an English stage actor in the Victorian era, known as an actor-manager because he took complete responsibility for season after season at the Lyceum Theatre, establishing himself and his company as...
, Karl MarxKarl MarxKarl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
, Lord PalmerstonHenry Temple, 3rd Viscount PalmerstonHenry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston, KG, GCB, PC , known popularly as Lord Palmerston, was a British statesman who served twice as Prime Minister in the mid-19th century...
, Anthony HopeAnthony HopeSir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
, Viscount PeelArthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount PeelArthur Wellesley Peel, 1st Viscount Peel PC , was a British Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1895...
, Jefferson DavisJefferson DavisJefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
- Prince Edward
- Flash for Freedom!
- John RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl RussellJohn Russell, 1st Earl Russell, KG, GCMG, PC , known as Lord John Russell before 1861, was an English Whig and Liberal politician who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in the mid-19th century....
, Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of BeaconsfieldBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
, Lord George BentinckLord George BentinckLord George Frederick Cavendish-Scott-Bentinck , better known as simply Lord George Bentinck, was an English Conservative politician and racehorse owner, best known for his role in unseating Sir Robert Peel over the Corn Laws.Bentinck was a younger son of the 4th Duke of Portland, and elected a...
, Henry BroughamHenry Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and VauxHenry Peter Brougham, 1st Baron Brougham and Vaux was a British statesman who became Lord Chancellor of Great Britain.As a young lawyer in Scotland Brougham helped to found the Edinburgh Review in 1802 and contributed many articles to it. He went to London, and was called to the English bar in...
, Thomas Babington MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron MacaulayThomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay PC was a British poet, historian and Whig politician. He wrote extensively as an essayist and reviewer, and on British history...
, John MitchelJohn MitchelJohn Mitchel was an Irish nationalist activist, solicitor and political journalist. Born in Camnish, near Dungiven, County Londonderry, Ireland he became a leading member of both Young Ireland and the Irish Confederation...
, Fanny Locke, William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-FitzMaurice, 3rd Marquess of LansdowneHenry Petty-Fitzmaurice, 3rd Marquess of Lansdowne KG, PC, FRS , known as Lord Henry Petty from 1784 to 1809 and then as The Earl of Kerry to 1818, was a British statesman...
, James BrookeJames BrookeJames, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
, King GezoGhezoGhezo was the ninth King of Dahomey , considered one of the greatest of the twelve historical kings. He ruled from 1818 to 1858. His name before ascending to the throne was Gakpe....
, Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
- John Russell
- Flashman at the Charge
- Prince Albert, Lord RaglanFitzRoy Somerset, 1st Baron RaglanField Marshal FitzRoy James Henry Somerset, 1st Baron Raglan, GCB, PC , known before 1852 as Lord FitzRoy Somerset, was a British soldier.-Early life:...
, Lord CardiganJames Brudenell, 7th Earl of CardiganLieutenant General James Thomas Brudenell, 7th Earl of Cardigan, KCB , was an officer in the British Army who commanded the Light Brigade during the Crimean War...
, Lord Palmerston, George BrownGeorge Brown (soldier)General Sir George Brown GCB, KH, PC , was a British soldier notable for commands in the Peninsular War and the Crimean War.-Military career:Brown was born and educated in Elgin, Scotland...
, Jacques Leroy de Saint ArnaudJacques Leroy de Saint ArnaudArmand-Jacques Leroy de Saint-Arnaud was a French soldier and Marshal of France during the 19th century...
, William Howard RussellWilliam Howard RussellWilliam Howard Russell was an Irish reporter with The Times, and is considered to have been one of the first modern war correspondents, after he spent 22 months covering the Crimean War including the Charge of the Light Brigade.-Career:As a young reporter, Russell reported on a brief military...
, Louis Edward NolanLouis Edward NolanLouis Edward Nolan , was a British Army officer of the Victorian era, an authority on cavalry tactics best known for his controversial role in launching the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Battle of Balaclava...
, George de Lacy EvansGeorge de Lacy EvansSir De Lacy Evans GCB was a British Army general who served in four wars in which the United Kingdom's troops took part in the 19th century. He was later a long-serving Member of Parliament....
, François Certain CanrobertFrançois Certain CanrobertFrançois Certain de Canrobert, usually known as François Certain-Canrobert and later simply as Maréchal Canrobert , was a marshal of France.-Biography:...
, Richard AireyRichard Airey, 1st Baron AireyGeneral Richard Airey, 1st Baron Airey GCB , known as Sir Richard Airey between 1855 and 1876, was a British general.-Background:...
, Lord Lucan, Sir Colin CampbellColin Campbell, 1st Baron ClydeField Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde GCB, KSI was a British Army officer from Scotland who led the Highland Brigade in the Crimea and was in command of the ‘Thin red line’ at the battle of Balaclava...
, James Yorke ScarlettJames Yorke ScarlettGeneral Sir James Yorke Scarlett, GCB was a British general and hero of the Crimean War.-Early life:The son of the 1st Baron Abinger, and educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, Scarlett entered the army as a cornet in 1818 and in 1830 became a major in the 5th Dragoon Guards...
, Nicholas Pavlovich IgnatievNicholas Pavlovich IgnatievCount Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev was a Russian statesman and diplomat...
, Tsar Nicholas INicholas I of RussiaNicholas I , was the Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855, known as one of the most reactionary of the Russian monarchs. On the eve of his death, the Russian Empire reached its historical zenith spanning over 20 million square kilometers...
, Yakub BegYakub BegMuhammad Yaqub Bek was a [Turkic peoples] adventurer who became head of the kingdom of Kashgaria.-Spelling variants:In English-language literature, the name of Yaqub Beg has also been spelt as Yakub Beg , Yakoob Beg , or Ya`qūb Beg...
- Prince Albert, Lord Raglan
- Flashman in the Great Game
- Lord Cardigan, Florence NightingaleFlorence NightingaleFlorence Nightingale OM, RRC was a celebrated English nurse, writer and statistician. She came to prominence for her pioneering work in nursing during the Crimean War, where she tended to wounded soldiers. She was dubbed "The Lady with the Lamp" after her habit of making rounds at night...
, Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, Prince Albert, Lord Palmerston, Lord EllenboroughEdward Law, 1st Earl of EllenboroughEdward Law, 1st Earl of Ellenborough GCB, PC was a British Tory politician. He was four times President of the Board of Control and also served as Governor-General of India between 1842 and 1844.-Background and education:...
, Charles WoodCharles Wood, 1st Viscount HalifaxCharles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax GCB PC , known as Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Bt between 1846 and 1866, was a British Whig politician and Member of Parliament. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846 to 1852....
, Nicholas Pavlovich IgnatievNicholas Pavlovich IgnatievCount Nikolay Pavlovich Ignatyev was a Russian statesman and diplomat...
, General John NicholsonJohn Nicholson (general)Brigadier-General John Nicholson was a Victorian era military officer known for his role in British India. A charismatic and authoritarian figure, Nicholson created a legend for himself as a political officer under Henry Lawrence in the frontier provinces of the British Empire in India...
, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Nana SahibNana SahibNana Sahib , born as Dhondu Pant, was an Indian leader during the Rebellion of 1857. As the adopted son of the exiled Maratha Peshwa Baji Rao II, he sought to restore the Maratha confederacy and the Peshwa tradition....
, Tantya Tope, Azimullah KhanAzimullah KhanAzimullah Khan Yusufzai , also known as Dewan Azimullah Khan, was initially appointed Secretary, and later Prime Minister to Nana Sahib...
, Henry HavelockHenry HavelockMajor-General Sir Henry Havelock, KCB was a British general who is particularly associated with India. He was noted for his recapture of Cawnpore from rebels during Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Early life:...
, James Outram, Thomas Henry KavanaghThomas Henry KavanaghThomas Henry Kavanagh VC was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, Robert Napier, Colin CampbellColin Campbell, 1st Baron ClydeField Marshal Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde GCB, KSI was a British Army officer from Scotland who led the Highland Brigade in the Crimea and was in command of the ‘Thin red line’ at the battle of Balaclava...
, Sam BrowneSam BrowneGeneral Sir Samuel James Browne VC GCB KCSI was a British Indian Army cavalry officer in India and the Afghanistan, best known today as the namesake of the Sam Browne belt...
, William Howard RussellWilliam Howard RussellWilliam Howard Russell was an Irish reporter with The Times, and is considered to have been one of the first modern war correspondents, after he spent 22 months covering the Crimean War including the Charge of the Light Brigade.-Career:As a young reporter, Russell reported on a brief military...
, Fred Roberts, William Stephen Raikes HodsonWilliam Stephen Raikes HodsonBrevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson was a British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . He was known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse."His most notable action was to apprehend the Emperor of India...
, Hugh Rose, Harry Hammon LysterHarry Hammon LysterLieutenant General Harry Hammon Lyster VC, CB was an Anglo-Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:He was 27 years old and a lieutenant in the 72nd Bengal...
, Clement Walker HeneageClement Walker HeneageMajor Clement Walker Heneage VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:...
, James Hope GrantJames Hope GrantGeneral Sir James Hope Grant GCB , British general, was the fifth and youngest son of Francis Grant of Kilgraston, Perthshire, and brother of Sir Francis Grant, President of the Royal Academy.-Military career:...
, Lord CanningCharles Canning, 1st Earl CanningCharles John Canning, 1st Earl Canning KG, GCB, PC , known as The Viscount Canning from 1837 to 1859, was an English statesman and Governor-General of India during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Background and education:...
, Thomas HughesThomas HughesThomas Hughes was an English lawyer and author. He is most famous for his novel Tom Brown's Schooldays , a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. It had a lesser-known sequel, Tom Brown at Oxford .- Biography :Hughes was the second son of John Hughes, editor of...
- Lord Cardigan, Florence Nightingale
- Flashman's Lady
- Fuller PilchFuller PilchFuller Pilch was an English cricketer. Described as "the greatest batsman ever known until the appearance of W. G. Grace", the right-hand batting Pilch played 229 first class cricket matches between 1820 and 1854 for an assortment of counties, including Kent, Hampshire, Surrey and Surrey, as well...
, Alfred MynnAlfred MynnAlfred Mynn was an English cricketer during the game's "Roundarm Era". He was a genuine all-rounder, being both an attacking right-handed batsman and a formidable right arm fast bowler. The noted cricket writer John Woodcock ranked him as the fourth greatest cricketer of all time. Simon Wilde...
, Nicholas Felix, Richard Harris BarhamRichard Harris BarhamRichard Harris Barham was an English cleric of the Church of England, novelist, and humorous poet. He was known better by his nom de plume Thomas Ingoldsby.-Life:Richard Harris Barham was born in Canterbury...
, Henry KeppelHenry KeppelAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Keppel, GCB, OM was a British admiral, son of the 4th Earl of Albemarle and of his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Lord de Clifford.-Naval career:...
, James BrookeJames BrookeJames, Rajah of Sarawak, KCB was the first White Rajah of Sarawak. His father, Thomas Brooke, was an English Judge Court of Appeal at Bareilly, British India; his mother, Anna Maria, born in Hertfordshire, was the illegitimate daughter of Scottish peer Colonel William Stuart, 9th Lord Blantyre,...
, Angela Burdett-CouttsAngela Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-CouttsAngela Georgina Burdett-Coutts, 1st Baroness Burdett-Coutts , born Angela Georgina Burdett, was a nineteenth-century philanthropist, the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, 5th Baronet and the former Sophia Coutts, daughter of banker Thomas Coutts...
, Charles Anthoni Johnson BrookeCharles Anthoni Johnson BrookeCharles, Rajah of Sarawak, GCMG , born Charles Anthony Johnson, ruled as the head of state of Sarawak from 3 August 1868 until his death...
, Jean LabordeJean LabordeJean Laborde was an adventurer and early industrialist in Madagascar. He became the chief engineer of the Merina monarchy, supervising the creation of a modern manufacturing center under Queen Ranavalona I...
, Ranavalona IRanavalona IRanavalona I , also known as Ranavalo-Manjaka I, was a sovereign of the Kingdom of Madagascar from 1828 to 1861...
, Radama II of MadagascarRadama II of MadagascarRadama II was the son and heir of Queen Ranavalona I and ruled from 1861 to 1863 over the Kingdom of Madagascar, which controlled virtually the entire island. Radama's rule, although brief, was a pivotal period in the history of the Kingdom of Madagascar...
- Fuller Pilch
- Flashman and the Redskins
- Helen Hunt JacksonHelen Hunt JacksonHelen Maria Hunt Jackson, born Helen Fiske , was a United States writer who became an activist on behalf of improved treatment of Native Americans by the U.S. government. She detailed the adverse effects of government actions in her history A Century of Dishonor...
, Jim BridgerJim BridgerJames Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
, Alexander MacKenzieAlexander MacKenzieSir Alexander Mackenzie was a Scottish explorer. He is known for his crossing of Canada to reach the Pacific Ocean in 1793.-Early life:...
, Spotted TailSpotted TailSiŋté Glešká was a Brulé Lakota tribal chief. Although a great warrior in his youth, and having taken part in the Grattan massacre, he declined to participate in Red Cloud's War, having become convinced of the pointlessness of opposing the white incursions into his homeland; he became a...
, Charley ReynoldsCharley Reynolds"Lonesome" Charley Reynolds was a scout in the U.S. 7th Cavalry Regiment who was killed at the Battle of the Little Bighorn in the Montana Territory. He was noted as an expert marksman, frontiersman and hunter. He had also been a scout with Buffalo Bill.-Biography:Charles Alexander Reynolds was...
, William BentWilliam BentWilliam Wells Bent was a frontier trapper, trader, and rancher in the American West who mediated among the Cheyenne Nation, other Native American tribes and the expanding United States. With his brothers, Bent established a trade business along the Santa Fe Trail. In the early 1830s Bent built an...
, Ceran St. VrainCeran St. VrainCeran St. Vrain , also known as Ceran de Hault de Lassus de St. Vrain, was a major fur trader near Taos, New Mexico, where he and his partner William Bent established the trading post of Bent's Fort. St...
, John Joel GlantonJohn Joel GlantonJohn Joel Glanton was an American member of the U.S. Army during the mid-19th century, a soldier of fortune and mercenary, and later led the Glanton Gang of scalp hunters in the Southwest.-Early life and education:...
, Mangas ColoradasMangas ColoradasMangas Coloradas, or Dasoda-hae , was an Apache tribal chief and a member of the Eastern Chiricahua nation, whose homeland stretched west from the Rio Grande to include most of what is present-day southwestern New Mexico...
, GeronimoGeronimoGeronimo was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Allegedly, "Geronimo" was the name given to him during a Mexican incident...
, Kit CarsonKit CarsonChristopher Houston "Kit" Carson was an American frontiersman and Indian fighter. Carson left home in rural present-day Missouri at age 16 and became a Mountain man and trapper in the West. Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married...
, Philip SheridanPhilip SheridanPhilip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
, William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
, John PopeJohn Pope (military officer)John Pope was a career United States Army officer and Union general in the American Civil War. He had a brief but successful career in the Western Theater, but he is best known for his defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run in the East.Pope was a graduate of the United States Military Academy in...
, George CrookGeorge CrookGeorge R. Crook was a career United States Army officer, most noted for his distinguished service during the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, Crazy HorseCrazy HorseCrazy Horse was a Native American war leader of the Oglala Lakota. He took up arms against the U.S...
, Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, William B. AllisonWilliam B. AllisonWilliam Boyd Allison was an early leader of the Iowa Republican Party, who represented northeastern Iowa for four consecutive terms in the U.S. House before representing his state for six consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate...
, Alfred TerryAlfred TerryAlfred Howe Terry was a Union general in the American Civil War and the military commander of the Dakota Territory from 1866 to 1869 and again from 1872 to 1886.-Early life and career:...
, Red CloudRed CloudRed Cloud , was a war leader and the head Chief of the Oglala Lakota . His reign was from 1868 to 1909...
, Hamilton FishHamilton FishHamilton Fish was an American statesman and politician who served as the 16th Governor of New York, United States Senator and United States Secretary of State. Fish has been considered one of the best Secretary of States in the United States history; known for his judiciousness and reform efforts...
, George Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong CusterGeorge Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
, Elizabeth Bacon CusterElizabeth Bacon CusterElizabeth Bacon Custer was the wife of General George Armstrong Custer. After his death, she became an outspoken advocate for her husband's legacy through her popular books and lectures...
, Thomas CusterThomas CusterThomas Ward Custer was a United States Army officer and two-time recipient of the Medal of Honor for bravery during the American Civil War...
, Boston CusterBoston CusterBoston Custer was the youngest brother of U.S. Army General George Armstrong Custer and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Captain Thomas Custer...
, Lawrence BarrettLawrence BarrettLawrence Barrett was an American stage actor.-Biography:He was born Lawrence Brannigan to Irish emigrant parents in Paterson, New Jersey. He made his first stage appearance at Detroit as Murad in The French Spy in 1853...
, Sitting BullSitting BullSitting Bull Sitting Bull Sitting Bull (Lakota: Tȟatȟáŋka Íyotake (in Standard Lakota Orthography), also nicknamed Slon-he or "Slow"; (c. 1831 – December 15, 1890) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux holy man who led his people as a tribal chief during years of resistance to United States government policies...
, William W. BelknapWilliam W. BelknapWilliam Worth Belknap was a United States Army general, government administrator, and United States Secretary of War. He was the only Cabinet secretary ever to have been impeached by the United States House of Representatives.-Birth and early years:Born in Newburgh, New York to career soldier...
, Rufus IngallsRufus IngallsRufus Ingalls was an American military general who served as the 16th Quartermaster General of the United States Army.-Early life and career:...
, Marcus RenoMarcus RenoMarcus Albert Reno was a career military officer in the American Civil War and in the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne...
, Frederick BenteenFrederick BenteenFrederick William Benteen was a military officer during the American Civil War and then during the Black Hills War against the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne. He is notable for being in command of a battalion of the 7th U. S...
, Myles KeoghMyles KeoghMyles Walter Keogh was an Irishman who fought in Italy during the 1860 Papal War before volunteering for the Union side in the American Civil War . During the war years, he was promoted from the rank of Captain to that of Major, finally being awarded the brevet rank of Lieutenant Colonel...
, James CalhounJames Calhoun (soldier)James Calhoun was a soldier in the United States Army during the American Civil War and the Black Hills War...
, Henry Armstrong ReedHenry Armstrong ReedHenry Armstrong Reed was the nephew of George Armstrong Custer, Thomas Custer, and Boston Custer. Although not an official soldier, he was killed along with them at the Battle of the Little Bighorn at the age of 18....
, John GibbonJohn GibbonJohn Gibbon was a career United States Army officer who fought in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars.-Early life:...
, George YatesGeorge Yates*Classic Battles: Little Big Horn 1876, Peter Panzieri, ISBN 1-85532-458-X*Crazy Horse and Custer, Stephen E. Ambrose, 1975, ISBN 0-385-47966-2*Cavalier in Buckskin, Robert M. Utley, 1988, ISBN 0-8061-2150-5...
, Chief GallChief GallGall Lakota Phizí, was a battle leader of the Hunkpapa Lakota in the long war against the United States. He was one of the commanders in the Battle of Little Bighorn.-Early years:...
, Wild Bill Hickock, Frank GrouardFrank GrouardFrank Grouard was a Scout and interpreter for General George Crook during the American Indian War of 1876.-Early years:...
, Richens Lacey WoottonRichens Lacey WoottonRichens Lacy Wootton , often referred to as "Uncle Dick" Wooton, was an American frontiersman born in Virginia, but lived most of his life in Colorado....
- Helen Hunt Jackson
- Flashman and the Dragon
- James Hope GrantJames Hope GrantGeneral Sir James Hope Grant GCB , British general, was the fifth and youngest son of Francis Grant of Kilgraston, Perthshire, and brother of Sir Francis Grant, President of the Royal Academy.-Military career:...
, Richard CobdenRichard CobdenRichard Cobden was a British manufacturer and Radical and Liberal statesman, associated with John Bright in the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League as well as with the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty...
, Lord Palmerston, Frederick Townsend WardFrederick Townsend WardFrederick Townsend Ward was an American sailor, mercenary, and soldier of fortune famous for his military victories for Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion.-Early life:...
, Hong XiuquanHong XiuquanHong Xiuquan , born Hong Renkun, style name Huoxiu , was a Hakka Chinese who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing Dynasty, establishing the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over varying portions of southern China, with himself as the "Heavenly King" and self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ.-Early...
, Harry Smith ParkesHarry Smith ParkesSir Harry Smith Parkes was a 19th century British diplomat who worked mainly in China and Japan...
, John Arbuthnot Fisher, Garnet Joseph WolseleyGarnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount WolseleyField Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign and the Nile Expedition...
, Charles MontaubanCharles Cousin-Montauban, Comte de PalikaoCharles Guillaume Marie Appollinaire Antoine Cousin Montauban, comte de Palikao was a French general and statesman.-Biography:Montauban was born in Paris. As a cavalry officer he saw much service in Algeria, but he was still only a colonel when in 1847 he effected the capture of Abdel Kadir...
, Lord ElginJames Bruce, 8th Earl of ElginSir James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin and 12th Earl of Kincardine, KT, GCB, PC , was a British colonial administrator and diplomat...
, Li XiuchengLi XiuchengLi Xiucheng was an eminent military leader of the Taiping Rebellion, and known during his military tenure as the Loyal King . This title was given because a Qing general attempted to bribe him to kill Hong Xiuquan, but he refused and told Hong Xiuquan. His many victories also made Hong very happy...
, Hong RenganHong RenganHong Rengan was an important leader of the Taiping Rebellion. He was the cousin of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Hong Xiuquan. His position as the Prince Gan resembled the role of a Prime Minister...
, Chen Yucheng, Charles George GordonCharles George GordonMajor-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, Dighton MacNaghton ProbynDighton MacNaghton ProbynGeneral Sir Dighton MacNaughton Probyn VC, GCB, GCSI, GCVO, ISO was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.-Details:Probyn was 24 years old, and a captain in...
, Henry Loch, John C Heenan, Thomas SayersThomas SayersTom Sayers was an English bare-knuckle prize fighter. There were no formal weight divisions at the time, and although Sayers was only five feet eight inches tall and never weighed much more than 150 pounds, he frequently fought much bigger men...
, Anthony TrollopeAnthony TrollopeAnthony Trollope was one of the most successful, prolific and respected English novelists of the Victorian era. Some of his best-loved works, collectively known as the Chronicles of Barsetshire, revolve around the imaginary county of Barsetshire...
, Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
, Felice BeatoFelice BeatoFelice Beato , also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, portraits, and views and panoramas of the architecture and landscapes of Asia and...
, George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, Prince YiZaiyuan, 6th Prince YiZaiyuan was a prince of the Qing Dynasty. He was also one of the eight regents appointed by the Xianfeng Emperor to assist his successor, the Tongzhi Emperor. His title was Prince Yi of the First Rank .-Biography:...
, SushunSushunSushun ; Styled: Yuting was born in the Manchu Aisin-Gioro Clan as the sixth son of Ulgungga , the Prince Zheng....
, Xianfeng EmperorXianfeng EmperorThe Xianfeng Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro I Ju, was the ninth Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1850 to 1861.-Family and his early years:...
, Empress Dowager Ci'anEmpress Dowager Ci'anEmpress Dowager Ci'an , popularly known in China as the East Empress Dowager , and officially known posthumously as the Empress Xiao Zhen Xian , was the second Empress Consort of the Xianfeng Emperor of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China, and then Empress Dowager after 1861...
, Empress Dowager CixiEmpress Dowager CixiEmpress Dowager Cixi1 , of the Manchu Yehenara clan, was a powerful and charismatic figure who became the de facto ruler of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China for 47 years from 1861 to her death in 1908....
, Tongzhi EmperorTongzhi EmperorThe Tongzhi Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro Dzai Šun, was the tenth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1861 to 1875. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, the Empress...
, Prince Gong
- James Hope Grant
- Flashman and the Mountain of Light
- Queen VictoriaVictoria of the United KingdomVictoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, Buffalo BillBuffalo BillWilliam Frederick "Buffalo Bill" Cody was a United States soldier, bison hunter and showman. He was born in the Iowa Territory , in LeClaire but lived several years in Canada before his family moved to the Kansas Territory. Buffalo Bill received the Medal of Honor in 1872 for service to the US...
, Abdul Karim (the Munshi)Abdul Karim (the Munshi)Hafiz Mohammed Abdul Karim CIE, CVO , known as "the Munshi", was an Indian Muslim attendant of Queen Victoria. He served her during the final fifteen years of her reign, gaining her affection over that time....
, Ranjit SinghRanjit SinghMaharaja Ranjit Singh Ji was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire.-Early life:...
, Kharak Singh, Nau Nihal SinghNau Nihal SinghMaharaja Nau Nihal Singh was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. He was the son of Maharani Chand Kaur and Maharaja Kharak Singh, himself eldest son and heir of Maharaja Ranjit Singh Sher-e-Panjab and the Grandson of Datar Kaur.After the death of Ranjit Singh,...
, Sher SinghSher SinghMaharaja Sher Singh was a Sikh ruler of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. He was the son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Queen Rani Mehtab Kaur who was also the mother of Prince Tara Singh...
, Chand KaurChand KaurChand Kaur was briefly a Regent of the sovereign country of Punjab and the Sikh Empire. She was the wife of Kharak Singh and thus daughter-in-law of Ranjit Singh. She was the mother of Nau Nihal Singh. She remained regent for ~2 & half months, from 5 November 1840 - 18 January 1841, in preparation...
, Duleep SinghDuleep SinghThis article is about Maharaja Dalip Singh. For other uses, see Dalip SinghMaharaja Dalip Singh, GCSI , commonly called Duleep Singh and later in life nicknamed the Black Prince of Perthshire, was the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire...
, Gulab Singh, Jind KaurJind KaurMaharani Jind Kaur, also popularly known as Rani Jindan. She was the youngest wife of Maharaja Ranjit Singh and the mother of the last Sikh Emperor, Maharajah Duleep Singh. In 1845 she became Regent of Punjab for Duleep Singh. The Queen Mother of the last Sikh sovereign of the Punjab...
, Mangla, Robert Henry SaleRobert Henry SaleMajor General Sir Robert Henry Sale GCB was a British Army officer who commanded the garrison of Jalalabad during the First Afghan War and was killed in action during the First Anglo-Sikh War....
, Hugh GoughHugh Gough, 1st Viscount GoughField Marshal Sir Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough, KP, GCSI, KCB, PC , was an Irish British Army officer. He was said to have commanded in more general actions than any other British officer of the 19th century except the Duke of Wellington.- Early career :Born at Woodstown House, Co...
, Henry HardingeHenry Hardinge, 1st Viscount HardingeField Marshal Henry Hardinge, 1st Viscount Hardinge, GCB, PC was a British field marshal and Governor-general of India.-Army career:...
, Henry HavelockHenry HavelockMajor-General Sir Henry Havelock, KCB was a British general who is particularly associated with India. He was noted for his recapture of Cawnpore from rebels during Indian Rebellion of 1857.-Early life:...
, George BroadfootGeorge BroadfootGeorge Broadfoot RE , rose to the rank of Major in the Corps of Royal Engineers.Broadfoot was the eldest of three brothers who all fell in the service of their country, entered the Indian army as an Ensign in the 34th Regiment of Madras native infantry, in January 1826. The greater part of his...
, Josiah HarlanJosiah HarlanJosiah Harlan, Prince of Ghor was an American adventurer, best known for travelling to Afghanistan and Punjab with the intention of making himself a king. While there, he became involved in local politics and factional military actions, eventually winning the title Prince of Ghor in perpetuity for...
, Alexander GardnerAlexander Gardner (soldier)Alexander Haughton Campbell Gardner was a traveller, soldier and mercenary. He travelled to Afghanistan and Punjab and served in various military positions in the region.-Biography:...
, Thomas Love PeacockThomas Love PeacockThomas Love Peacock was an English satirist and author.Peacock was a close friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's work...
, Harry SmithHarry Smith (army)Lieutenant General Sir Henry George Wakelyn Smith, 1st Baronet of Aliwal GCB , known as Sir Harry Smith, was a notable English soldier and military commander in the British Army of the early 19th century...
, Henry Montgomery LawrenceHenry Montgomery LawrenceSir Henry Montgomery Lawrence was a British soldier and statesman in India, who died defending Lucknow during the Indian Mutiny.-Career:Lawrence was the brother of John Lawrence, 1st Baron Lawrence and was born at Matara, Ceylon...
, James Hope GrantJames Hope GrantGeneral Sir James Hope Grant GCB , British general, was the fifth and youngest son of Francis Grant of Kilgraston, Perthshire, and brother of Sir Francis Grant, President of the Royal Academy.-Military career:...
, Herbert Benjamin EdwardesHerbert Benjamin EdwardesMajor-General Sir Herbert Benjamin Edwardes DCL KCSI KCB was an English administrator, soldier, and statesman active in the Punjab, India. He is best known as the "Hero of Multan" for his pivotal role in securing the British victory in the Second Anglo-Sikh War.-Early life:Edwardes was born at...
, Robert NapierRobert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of MagdalaField Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, GCB, GCSI, CIE, FRS was a British soldier.-Early life:...
, William Stephen Raikes HodsonWilliam Stephen Raikes HodsonBrevet Major William Stephen Raikes Hodson was a British leader of irregular light cavalry during the Indian Rebellion of 1857 . He was known as "Hodson of Hodson's Horse."His most notable action was to apprehend the Emperor of India...
- Queen Victoria
- Flashman and the Angel of the Lord
- Jack JohnsonJack Johnson (boxer)John Arthur Johnson , nicknamed the “Galveston Giant,” was an American boxer. At the height of the Jim Crow era, Johnson became the first African American world heavyweight boxing champion...
, Julia Ward HoweJulia Ward HoweJulia Ward Howe was a prominent American abolitionist, social activist, and poet, most famous as the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic".-Biography:...
, John BrownJohn Brown (abolitionist)John Brown was an American revolutionary abolitionist, who in the 1850s advocated and practiced armed insurrection as a means to abolish slavery in the United States. He led the Pottawatomie Massacre during which five men were killed, in 1856 in Bleeding Kansas, and made his name in the...
, Benjamin FranklinBenjamin FranklinDr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, James Outram, George Edward GreyGeorge Edward GreySir George Grey, KCB was a soldier, explorer, Governor of South Australia, twice Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Cape Colony , the 11th Premier of New Zealand and a writer.-Early life and exploration:...
, Moshoeshoe IMoshoeshoe IMoshoeshoe was born at Menkhoaneng in the Northern part of present-day Lesotho. He was the first son of Mokhachane, a minor chief of the Bamokoteli lineage- a branch of the Koena clan. In his early childhood, he helped his father gain power over some other smaller clans. At the age of 34...
, Richard Francis BurtonRichard Francis BurtonCaptain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
, John Brown (servant)John Brown (servant)John Brown was a Scottish personal servant and favourite of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom for many years. He was appreciated by many for his competence and companionship, and resented by others for his influence and informal manner...
, David Rice AtchisonDavid Rice AtchisonDavid Rice Atchison was a mid-19th century Democratic United States Senator from Missouri. He served as President pro tempore of the United States Senate for six years...
, Charles SumnerCharles SumnerCharles Sumner was an American politician and senator from Massachusetts. An academic lawyer and a powerful orator, Sumner was the leader of the antislavery forces in Massachusetts and a leader of the Radical Republicans in the United States Senate during the American Civil War and Reconstruction,...
, Hugh Forbes, James BuchananJames BuchananJames Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
, Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Denmark VeseyDenmark VeseyDenmark Vesey originally Telemaque, was an African American slave brought to the United States from the Caribbean of Coromantee background. After purchasing his freedom, he planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States...
, Nat TurnerNat TurnerNathaniel "Nat" Turner was an American slave who led a slave rebellion in Virginia on August 21, 1831 that resulted in 60 white deaths and at least 100 black deaths, the largest number of fatalities to occur in one uprising prior to the American Civil War in the southern United States. He gathered...
, Stephen A. DouglasStephen A. DouglasStephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
, Allan PinkertonAllan PinkertonAllan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
, Richard LyonsRichard Lyons, 1st Viscount LyonsRichard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons, GCB, GCMG, PC, DCL was an eminent British diplomat.-Biography:...
, William H. SewardWilliam H. SewardWilliam Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
, Franklin Benjamin SanbornFranklin Benjamin SanbornFranklin Benjamin Sanborn was an American journalist, author, and reformer. Sanborn was a social scientist, and a memorialist of American transcendentalism who wrote early biographies of many of the movement's key figures...
, William WilberforceWilliam WilberforceWilliam Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, Robert Marcellus StewartRobert Marcellus StewartRobert Marcellus Stewart was the 14th Governor of Missouri from 1857 to 1861, during the critical years just prior to the American Civil War.-Early years:...
, Henry David ThoreauHenry David ThoreauHenry David Thoreau was an American author, poet, philosopher, abolitionist, naturalist, tax resister, development critic, surveyor, historian, and leading transcendentalist...
, Henry WilsonHenry WilsonHenry Wilson was the 18th Vice President of the United States and a Senator from Massachusetts...
, Samuel Gridley HoweSamuel Gridley HoweSamuel Gridley Howe was a nineteenth century United States physician, abolitionist, and an advocate of education for the blind.-Early life and education:...
, George Luther StearnsGeorge Luther StearnsGeorge Luther Stearns was an American industrialist and merchant, as well as a noted recruiter of blacks for the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:...
, John Henrie Kagi, Dangerfield NewbyDangerfield NewbyDangerfield Newby was the oldest of John Brown's raiders, one of five black raiders, and the first of his men to die at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Born a slave in Fauquier County, Virginia, Newby married a woman also enslaved. Newby was later freed by his Scottish father, but his wife and seven...
, Barclay CoppockBarclay CoppockEdwin Coppock, Barclay's brother, redirects here.Barclay Coppock was a follower of John Brown and a Union Army soldier in the American Civil War. Along with his brother Edwin Coppock , he participated in Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry...
, Frederick DouglassFrederick DouglassFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
, J.E.B. StuartJ.E.B. StuartJames Ewell Brown "Jeb" Stuart was a U.S. Army officer from Virginia and a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He was known to his friends as "Jeb", from the initials of his given names. Stuart was a cavalry commander known for his mastery of reconnaissance and the use...
, Robert E. LeeRobert E. LeeRobert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
, Henry A. WiseHenry A. WiseHenry Alexander Wise was an American politician and governor of Virginia, as well as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.-Early life:...
- Jack Johnson
- Flashman and the Tiger
- The Road to Charing Cross
- Henri BlowitzHenri BlowitzHenri Georges Stephane Adolphe Opper de Blowitz was a Bohemian journalist.He was born to a family of Jewish ancestry at Blovice in Bohemia, and left home at the age of fifteen to travel, acquiring a wide range of languages in the process. When financial constraints led him to plan emigration to...
, Ulysses S. GrantUlysses S. GrantUlysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...
, Sir Richard Francis BurtonRichard Francis BurtonCaptain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
, Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of BeaconsfieldBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
, Patrice MacMahonPatrice MacMahon, duc de MagentaMarie Edme Patrice Maurice de Mac-Mahon, 1st Duke of Magenta was a French general and politician with the distinction Marshal of France. He served as Chief of State of France from 1873 to 1875 and as the first president of the Third Republic, from 1875 to 1879.-Early life:Born in Sully , in the...
, Otto von BismarckOtto von BismarckOtto Eduard Leopold, Prince of Bismarck, Duke of Lauenburg , simply known as Otto von Bismarck, was a Prussian-German statesman whose actions unified Germany, made it a major player in world affairs, and created a balance of power that kept Europe at peace after 1871.As Minister President of...
, W. S. GilbertW. S. GilbertSir William Schwenck Gilbert was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his fourteen comic operas produced in collaboration with the composer Sir Arthur Sullivan, of which the most famous include H.M.S...
, Arthur SullivanArthur SullivanSir Arthur Seymour Sullivan MVO was an English composer of Irish and Italian ancestry. He is best known for his series of 14 operatic collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including such enduring works as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance and The Mikado...
, Lord SalisburyRobert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of SalisburyRobert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC , styled Lord Robert Cecil before 1865 and Viscount Cranborne from June 1865 until April 1868, was a British Conservative statesman and thrice Prime Minister, serving for a total of over 13 years...
, Gyula AndrássyGyula AndrássyGyula Count Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary and subsequently as Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary...
, William Henry WaddingtonWilliam Henry WaddingtonWilliam Henry Waddington was a French statesman who was Prime Minister of France in 1879.-Early life and education:...
, Alexander Mikhailovich GorchakovAlexander Mikhailovich GorchakovAlexander Mikhailovich Gorchakov , was a Russian statesman from the Gorchakov princely family. He has an enduring reputation as one of the most influential and respected diplomats of the nineteenth century...
, Pyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovPyotr Andreyevich ShuvalovCount Pyotr Andreyevich Shuvalov was an influential Russian statesman and a counselor to Tsar Alexander II...
, Chlodwig, Prince Hohenlohe, William Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh ShermanWilliam Tecumseh Sherman was an American soldier, businessman, educator and author. He served as a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War , for which he received recognition for his outstanding command of military strategy as well as criticism for the harshness of the "scorched...
, Garnet WolseleyGarnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount WolseleyField Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, KP, GCB, OM, GCMG, VD, PC was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He served in Burma, the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, China, Canada, and widely throughout Africa—including his Ashanti campaign and the Nile Expedition...
, Charles George GordonCharles George GordonMajor-General Charles George Gordon, CB , known as "Chinese" Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British army officer and administrator....
, William HicksWilliam HicksColonel William Hicks , British soldier, entered the Bombay army in 1849, and served through the Indian mutiny, being mentioned in despatches for good conduct at the action of Sitka Ghaut in 1859....
, Muhammad AhmadMuhammad AhmadMuhammad Ahmad bin Abd Allah was a religious leader of the Samaniyya order in Sudan who, on June 29, 1881, proclaimed himself as the Mahdi or messianic redeemer of the Islamic faith...
, Wilhelm I of Germany, Georges NagelmackersGeorges NagelmackersGeorges Nagelmackers was the founder of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits, the company known for the Orient Express trains....
, Valentine BakerValentine BakerValentine Baker , British soldier, was a younger brother of Sir Samuel Baker.-Biography:...
, Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
, Elisabeth of BavariaElisabeth of BavariaElisabeth of Austria was the spouse of Franz Joseph I, and therefore both Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary. She also held the titles of Queen of Bohemia and Croatia, among others...
, Maximilian I of MexicoMaximilian I of MexicoMaximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
, Lajos KossuthLajos KossuthLajos Kossuth de Udvard et Kossuthfalva was a Hungarian lawyer, journalist, politician and Regent-President of Hungary in 1849. He was widely honored during his lifetime, including in the United Kingdom and the United States, as a freedom fighter and bellwether of democracy in Europe.-Family:Lajos...
, Crown Prince Rudolf of AustriaCrown Prince Rudolf of AustriaRudolf , archduke of Austria and crown prince of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, was the son and heir of Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria, Hungary and Bohemia, and his wife and empress, Elisabeth...
, Alexander II of RussiaAlexander II of RussiaAlexander II , also known as Alexander the Liberator was the Emperor of the Russian Empire from 3 March 1855 until his assassination in 1881...
, William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Jules GrévyJules GrévyFrançois Paul Jules Grévy was a President of the French Third Republic and one of the leaders of the Opportunist Republicans faction. Given that his predecessors were monarchists who tried without success to restore the French monarchy, Grévy is seen as the first real republican President of...
, Anthony HopeAnthony HopeSir Anthony Hope Hawkins, better known as Anthony Hope , was an English novelist and playwright. Although he was a prolific writer, especially of adventure novels, he is remembered best for only two books: The Prisoner of Zenda and its sequel Rupert of Hentzau...
, H. H. AsquithH. H. AsquithHerbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
, Johann Strauss IIJohann Strauss IIJohann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
, Prince George, Duke of CambridgePrince George, Duke of CambridgePrince George, Duke of Cambridge was a member of the British Royal Family, a male-line grandson of King George III. The Duke was an army officer and served as commander-in-chief of the British Army from 1856 to 1895...
, Lord GranvilleGranville Leveson-Gower, 2nd Earl GranvilleGranville George Leveson Gower, 2nd Earl Granville KG, PC FRS , styled Lord Leveson until 1846, was a British Liberal statesman...
- Henri Blowitz
- The Subtleties of Baccarat
- Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, William Gordon-CummingWilliam Gordon-CummingWilliam Gordon-Cumming may refer to:*Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 2nd Baronet , Member of Parliament for Elgin Burghs 1831–1832*Sir William Gordon-Cumming, 4th Baronet , central figure in the Royal Baccarat Scandal...
, Arthur Knyvet WilsonArthur Knyvet WilsonAdmiral of the Fleet Sir Arthur Knyvet Wilson VC, GCB, OM, GCVO was an English Admiral and briefly First Sea Lord who was awarded the Victoria Cross for gallantry during the war in Sudan...
, Daisy BrookeDaisy Greville, Countess of WarwickFrances Evelyn "Daisy" Greville, Countess of Warwick was a society beauty, and mistress to King Edward VII.-Family:...
, Lillie LangtryLillie LangtryLillie Langtry , usually spelled Lily Langtry when she was in the U.S., born Emilie Charlotte Le Breton, was a British actress born on the island of Jersey...
, Alice KeppelAlice KeppelAlice Frederica Keppel, née Edmonstone was a British socialite and the most famous mistress of Edward VII, the eldest son of Queen Victoria. Her formal style after marriage was The Hon. Mrs George Keppel. Her daughter, Violet Trefusis, was the lover of poet Vita Sackville-West...
, Madame de PompadourMadame de PompadourJeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour, also known as Madame de Pompadour was a member of the French court, and was the official chief mistress of Louis XV from 1745 to her death.-Biography:...
, Lord Coleridge, Charles RussellCharles Russell, Baron Russell of KillowenCharles Arthur Russell, Baron Russell of Killowen, GCMG, PC, was an Irish statesman of the 19th century, and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales.-Early life:...
, H. H. AsquithH. H. AsquithHerbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, KG, PC, KC served as the Liberal Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1908 to 1916...
- Edward VII
- Flashman and the Tiger
- Henry PulleineHenry PulleineLieutenant-Colonel Henry Burmester Pulleine was an administrator and commander in the British Army in the Cape Frontier and Anglo-Zulu Wars. He held the acting rank of Brevet Lieutenant Colonel....
, Lord ChelmsfordFrederic Thesiger, 2nd Baron ChelmsfordGeneral Frederic Augustus Thesiger, 2nd Baron Chelmsford GCB, GCVO, was a British general, best known for his commanding role during the Anglo-Zulu war. The centre column of his forces was defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana, a crushing victory for the Zulus and the British army's worst ever...
, Anthony DurnfordAnthony DurnfordColonel Anthony William Durnford was a career British Army officer who served in the Anglo-Zulu War. Breveted colonel, Durnford is mainly known for his presence at the defeat of the British army by the Zulu at the Battle of Isandlwana.-Background:Durnford was born in to a military family at Manor...
, CetshwayoCetshwayoCetshwayo kaMpande was the King of the Zulu Kingdom from 1872 to 1879 and their leader during the Anglo-Zulu War . His name has been transliterated as Cetawayo, Cetewayo, Cetywajo and Ketchwayo.- Early life :...
, Paul KrugerPaul KrugerStephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger , better known as Paul Kruger and affectionately known as Uncle Paul was State President of the South African Republic...
, John ChardJohn Rouse Merriott ChardColonel John Rouse Merriott Chard VC was a British Army officer who received the Victoria Cross for his role in the defence of Rorke's Drift in 1879....
, Gonville BromheadGonville BromheadMajor Gonville Bromhead VC was a British Army officer and recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Oscar WildeOscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
, Edward VIIEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, George EdwardesGeorge EdwardesGeorge Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
, Mrs Patrick CampbellMrs Patrick CampbellMrs Patrick Campbell was a British stage actress.-Early life and marriages:Campbell was born Beatrice Stella Tanner in Kensington, London, to John Tanner and Maria Luigia Giovanna, daughter of Count Angelo Romanini...
, Aubrey BeardsleyAubrey BeardsleyAubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
, William Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart GladstoneWilliam Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
, Duchess of ConnaughtPrincess Louise Margaret, Duchess of ConnaughtPrincess Louise Margaret of Prussia was a German princess, and later a member of the British Royal Family, the wife of Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn...
. Also in an unusual departure from the rest of the Flashman series, Flashman encounters the fictitious characters of Sherlock HolmesSherlock HolmesSherlock Holmes is a fictional detective created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The fantastic London-based "consulting detective", Holmes is famous for his astute logical reasoning, his ability to take almost any disguise, and his use of forensic science skills to solve...
, Doctor Watson and Sebastian MoranSebastian MoranColonel Sebastian Moran is a fictional character, an enemy of Sherlock Holmes and the villain of the Sherlock Holmes short story The Adventure of the Empty House...
created by Sir Arthur Conan DoyleArthur Conan DoyleSir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes, generally considered a milestone in the field of crime fiction, and for the adventures of Professor Challenger...
.
- Henry Pulleine
- The Road to Charing Cross
- Flashman on the March
- Maximilian I of MexicoMaximilian I of MexicoMaximilian I was the only monarch of the Second Mexican Empire.After a distinguished career in the Austrian Navy, he was proclaimed Emperor of Mexico on April 10, 1864, with the backing of Napoleon III of France and a group of Mexican monarchists who sought to revive the Mexican monarchy...
, Benito JuárezBenito JuárezBenito Juárez born Benito Pablo Juárez García, was a Mexican lawyer and politician of Zapotec origin from Oaxaca who served five terms as president of Mexico: 1858–1861 as interim, 1861–1865, 1865–1867, 1867–1871 and 1871–1872...
, Napoleon III of FranceNapoleon III of FranceLouis-Napoléon Bonaparte was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte...
, Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow from 1848 until his death in 1916.In the December of 1848, Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria abdicated the throne as part of...
, James BruceJames BruceJames Bruce was a Scottish traveller and travel writer who spent more than a dozen years in North Africa and Ethiopia, where he traced the origins of the Blue Nile.-Youth:...
, Ali II of YejjuAli II of YejjuAli II of Yejju was a Ras of Begemder and Enderase of the Emperor of Ethiopia. He was the son of Alula of Yejju, sometime governor of Damot and then of Gojjam, and Menen Liben Amede, later Empress of Ethiopia, and grandson of Gugsa of Yejju, by his fourth wife, Amata Selassie, daughter of Emperor...
, Tewodros II of EthiopiaTewodros II of EthiopiaTewodros II was the Emperor of Ethiopia from 1855 until his death....
, Walter PlowdenWalter PlowdenWalter Chichele Plowden was the British consul at Massawa on the Red Sea coast from 1848 to his death. He played a role in Ethiopian politics in the mid 19th-century: during his tenure he cultivated the friendship of first Ras Ali, and later the Ethiopian emperor Tewodros II. J. R...
, Edward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII of the United KingdomEdward VII was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910...
, Alexandra of DenmarkAlexandra of DenmarkAlexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, Hormuzd RassamHormuzd RassamHormuzd Rassam , was a native Assyrian Assyriologist, British diplomat and traveller who made a number of important discoveries, including the clay tablets that contained the Epic of Gilgamesh, the world's oldest literature...
, Benjamin DisraeliBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of BeaconsfieldBenjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, KG, PC, FRS, was a British Prime Minister, parliamentarian, Conservative statesman and literary figure. Starting from comparatively humble origins, he served in government for three decades, twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom...
, Prester JohnPrester JohnThe legends of Prester John were popular in Europe from the 12th through the 17th centuries, and told of a Christian patriarch and king said to rule over a Christian nation lost amidst the Muslims and pagans in the Orient. Written accounts of this kingdom are variegated collections of medieval...
, G. A. HentyG. A. HentyGeorge Alfred Henty , was a prolific English novelist and a special correspondent. He is best known for his historical adventure stories that were popular in the late 19th century. His works include Out on the Pampas , The Young Buglers , With Clive in India and Wulf the Saxon .-Biography:G.A...
, Johann Ludwig KrapfJohann Ludwig KrapfJohann Ludwig Krapf was a German missionary in East Africa, as well as an explorer, linguist, and traveler. Krapf played an important role in exploring East Africa with Johannes Rebmann. They were the first Europeans to see Mount Kenya and Kilimanjaro...
, Henry Morton StanleyHenry Morton StanleySir Henry Morton Stanley, GCB, born John Rowlands , was a Welsh journalist and explorer famous for his exploration of Africa and his search for David Livingstone. Upon finding Livingstone, Stanley allegedly uttered the now-famous greeting, "Dr...
, Robert NapierRobert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of MagdalaField Marshal Robert Cornelis Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, GCB, GCSI, CIE, FRS was a British soldier.-Early life:...
, Yohannes IV of EthiopiaYohannes IV of EthiopiaYohannes IV , born Lij Kassay Mercha Ge'ez, was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1872 until his death.-Early life:...
(King Kussai), Menelek II of EthiopiaMenelek II of EthiopiaEmperor Menelik II GCB, GCMG, baptized as Sahle Maryam , was Negus of Shewa , then of Ethiopia from 1889 to his death. At the height of his internal power and external prestige, the process of territorial expansion and creation of the modern empire-state had been completed by 1898...
, James Augustus St. JohnJames Augustus St. JohnJames Augustus St. John , was a British author and traveller. He was born in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire, Wales, the son of Gelly John, shoemaker. He recorded that he received instruction from a local clergyman, eventually mastering the classics, and acquiring proficiency in French, Italian,...
, Richard Francis BurtonRichard Francis BurtonCaptain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
, Tekle Giyorgis II of EthiopiaTekle Giyorgis II of EthiopiaTekle Giyorgis II was of Ethiopia from 1868 to 1872....
(Gobayzy), Alexander Roberts DunnAlexander Roberts DunnAlexander Roberts Dunn VC was the first Canadian awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....
, Charles FraserCharles Fraser (VC)Lieutenant General Sir Charles Craufurd Fraser VC KCB was a British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces...
, Queen Masteeat, Tristram SpeedyTristram SpeedyTristram Charles Sawyer Speedy was a well-known English explorer and adventurer during the Victorian era.- Life :...
- Maximilian I of Mexico