"Civil War Flashman on the way at last?" Topic

The UK paper 'The Mail On Sunday' has a review today, by journalist Peter Hitchens, of 'Flashman on the March'.
Hitchens seems to think that F.O.T.M. is great - I've yet to see a bad review of it - but better he writes towards the end of the piece:
' They (Flashman fans) will also be delighted to know that Fraser is ready to write - may even now be writing - the book we have all been longing for, in which this appalling ruffian fights ( or rather pretends to fight ) on both sides of the Civil War.'
Let's hope he's right!

I hope he's wrong! It's so much fun to see George MacDonald Fraser torture John the OFM so.

Once it's written we won't have that joy anymore.

I can't stand that twerp Hitchens. But I like his rather dishevelled brother!

GMF apparently chose the subject for FOTM (rescue of hostages from african tyrant)as a comment on Blair committing British troops to Iraq (GMF is a constant critic of Blair). GMF describes the background as 'about a British army sent out in a good and honest cause by a government that knew what honour meant'. Ouch. Perhaps the civil war book is to give American 'wartime Presidencies' the Flashman treatment while GMF is on form and suitably inspired.

I preferred Hitchens senior, George Hitchens I think, the baldy who died a few years back. The magazine 'Private Eye' once featured him in its Hackwatch column. It said
'..Looking at his photo byline, with his head looking amusingly like the tip of an erect penis, you could believe that this is a man who believes that the return of hanging and flogging is all that is required to cure all of society's problems. And you would be right'.
Guess Peter is just a chip off the old block! Give him his due though - to do those 2 documentaries attacking the absurd lengths to which personality cults have been formed around Nelson Mandela and Diana Spencer took courage.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Living in Canada for 25 years, unfortunately I don't know of this guy.

However, if he attacked Nelson 'I've got a truck filled with explosive ready to blow up the government and any other poor slob in the blast area' Mandela's groupies, not to mention Diana 'I'm a spoiled rich bitch that loves the media and limelight and pretend I'm hard done-by boo hoo look at me' Spenser's crazed worshipers, then he's all right by me......

With apologies to those who are offended, including terrorists, governments, the poor, slobs in general, groupies, the spoiled, despoiled, unspoiled, spoils of war, the rich, female dogs, Chrissie Hynd and the Pretenders, the hard-done-by, ghosts, owls, Marks & Spencer, anyone connected with the aforementioned corporation in any capacity, the crazed and those who worship.

Living in Canada for 25 years, unfortunately I don't know of this guy.

However, if he attacked Nelson 'I've got a truck filled with explosive ready to blow up the government and any other poor slob in the blast area' Mandela's groupies, not to mention Diana 'I'm a spoiled rich bitch that loves the media and limelight and pretend I'm hard done-by boo hoo look at me' Spenser's crazed worshipers, then he's all right by me......

With apologies to those who are offended, including terrorists, governments, the poor, slobs in general, groupies, the spoiled, despoiled, unspoiled, spoils of war, the rich, female dogs, Chrissie Hynd and the Pretenders, the hard-done-by, ghosts, owls, Marks & Spencer, anyone connected with the aforementioned corporation in any capacity, the crazed and those who worship.

OOPS! I also wish to apologize to those offended by double posts.

I can see it now. Alan Pinkerton assures Lincoln that there are slaves in the Confederacy. ("Slam dunk!" he says, to the great puzzlement of all. Basketball will not be invented for several more decades.) When the Union invades, no one can find any slaves. Rumors have them being smuggled to Mexico...

the times broke this news a fortnight ago-GMF has only said that the ACW book is in his head.

Even more odd is how the Confederate Army fades away to be replaced by terrorists in white robes that threaten collaborators with death and kill innocent civilians to discourage them from voting. They believe their way of life and religion are threatened by the materialistic Yankees. They believe the war was ultimately over their natural resources of Slave Labor and Cotton.

The US President reassures his country that the South will be much better off than under Davis-who contenanced murder and inhuman treatment of many people and the death of many US soldiers at Andersonville- the vote will be now extended to all citizens and things will be much better for the Blacks and Indians than in the former CSA.

Europe takes no part. Though admiting that the demise of slavery was a good thing they are unsure that the blacks will be much better off in the near future.

BJ

Correction - the deceased rope-and-birch-mad baldy mentioned above was actually Brian Hitchens, not 'George'. Sorry.

Flashy was already at Harper's Ferry as I recall. A good read it was, too. Hope there wasn't a modern political undertone I missed out on...

Bad news I'm afraid [if you're a Civil War fan]...

I went to the talk GMcF gave at the National Army Museum last week. Although he did say a new book might appear sooner than the last one, he di make it clear that the civl war wasn't top of his list of likely books...mainly because it holds less interest for him than other periods.

He didn't give much away about what the next book might be although he did talk about the War of the Triple Alliance in South America which would be a great stage for Flashman.

..but don't assume that's what the book will actually be about! I suspect a lot of what GMcF tells people is misinformation! Other possibilities included more in Africa, the Foreign Legion, Flashy's time as a South Seas missionary as well as the Civil War

The talk was a really interesting couple of hours on his writing, experiences and how he saw Flashman as a character.

[apologies for the spelling errors..fingers have stopped working!]

Flashman in the Legion ... that could be fun ...

I actually think that the more hints we get on what Flashy did, that is all that we are going to see on the subject. From all the clues we have now on Mexico, well, the story is all out there. No surprises. I think we can say the same thing about our own Civil War, and the Zulu War. Ditto, the Foreign Legion. We know what he did, the only thing mising is tieing the loose facts together.

Abyssinia came totally out of left field, with no warning. Expect the same thing for the next book, if the dear old man lives to complete it.

If there is too much information out there, Fraser gets locked in to the plot. It would be better for him to have a clear field, which is why I think the Paraguay is a front-runner. Australia is anothe possibility.

All "clues" are disinformation, as well as misinformation.

My own preferences are, in order:
Deputy Marshall
ACW
Mexico
Khartoum
Foregin Legion

If GMF lives to do one more Flashman book, please let it finally reveal where Harry's San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth (4th Class) came from! Sounds vaguely like something you would pick up from a mad South American dictator...

He did deal briefly with the Zulu War in the last book, 'Flashman & The Tiger'.

As anyone noticed thgat there are a few anomalies in the series (perhaps to be expected in a series written over 36 years)? We have yet to see the crazy Welshman leading an Impi of Zulus, Uncle Bindley at Horse Guards has been related to his mother's family the Pagets, and at other times to the rascally Flashmans.

'In Flashman and the Redskins', he didn't take a Hunkpapa Sioux fille-de-joie to a cotillion in the 7th Cavalry mess, as indicated in one of the earlier installments, and he couldn't have been "the only man to charge the right way at Chilianwallah (or Mudkee? - I don't remember which) as he was in the loving embrace of Ranavalona on Madagascar when that battle took place......

For my money they are the best series of humourous or historical novels ever written, and the above nitpicking is only the result of having read all the books an average of 5 times, and is not meant as criticism.

Let's all hope GMF outlives the late Queen Mother so that he can keep cranking out the further adventures of Flash Harry.....

Ignarzpop

Yes, "Briefly", but in enough detail to let him off the hook or see no need to write more about it.

Chillianwallah, and he was fleeing up the Mississippi valley at the time. He left the embrace of Ranavalona to head directly to the 1st Sikh War.

Oh, yes. Long live GMF!

Yes, that's right. Thanks for the correct info, otherwise I'd have to re-read them all again - no chore, but bad for painting figures!

According to GMF the only error he was aware of [and was admitting to] was that at some point Flashman [I think in Flashman at the Charge] refers to wolves as being like Alsatians when this term wasn't in use for German Shepherds until the 20thC.

I personally can wait forever for an ACW Flashman. The ACW has been so over-written that I cannot see how GMD could add much to it, even given Flashy's usual range of escapades. i would far prefer to see a Mexico Flashman, as this would give Flashy a whole new culture and continent to rogue about in.