"FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" (1973) Book Review

 

"FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" (1973) Book Review

Serving as the fourth entry in George MacDonald Fraser’s The Flashman Papers, this 1973 novel continued the story of Harry Flashman, a character previously from the 1857 novel, "Tom Brown’s Schooldays" and now a British Army officer in Fraser’s novels. This particular novel, "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE", recalled Flashman’s experiences during the Crimean War (1854-1856) and Imperial Russia’s expansion into Central Asia.

One could say that "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" could almost serve as a prequel to Fraser’s 1975 novel about the Sepoy Rebellion, "FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME". Almost. But it seemed quite obvious to me that the latter is a sequel to the 1973 novel. At least two supporting characters from this novel reappeared in "FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME". And the theme of Imperial Russia’s attempts to wrestle control of India from Great Britain in the 1975 novel, began in this novel.

The 1973 novel began with Harry Flashman enjoying the London social scene with his beautiful wife, Elspeth. With Great Britain on the brink of war against Russia on Turkey’s behalf, the cowardly Flashman believed that the only way to avoid combat was to have his Uncle Bindley secure him a post with the Board of Ordinance – the British Army’s armory. However, Flashman’s luck failed to hold (not surprisingly) and his meeting with the young German prince, William of Celle (a relation of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert) led him to become a staff galloper for Lord Raglan, the British Army’s Commander-in-Chief. The new position drew Harry against his will into the chaos of the Crimean War and in becoming a participant of one of history’s most infamous cavalry engagements – the Charge of the Light Brigade. This famous military action also led him to becoming a prisoner-of-war at the estate of a Cossack nobleman named Count Pencherjevsky

At Count Pencherjevsky’s estate, Starkosk, Flashman has a reunion with a former Rugby schoolmate, Harry "Scud" East. After the two English prisoners learned of Russia’s plans to invade India and kick the British out, they decided to make their escape following a serf uprising at Starkosk. Unfortunately for Flashman, a sleigh accident led to his recapture by the Russians and a political officer named Count Nicholas Ignitieff. Flashy’s incarceration at Fort Raim led him to an acquaintance with two famous Muslim freedom fighters from the state of Kokodad, Yakub Beg and Issat Kutebar. Luck finally caught up with Flashman, when he and his two new acquaintances are rescued by Yakub Beg’s mistress, Ko Dali’s daughter, and a band of Kokodans. Following the rescue, Harry participated in one last action against the Russians against his will . . . so to speak.

I must admit that "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" turned out to be a well-structured and well-written novel. Unless I am mistaken, the novel was written into three parts – the London prelude, Flashman’s Crimean War experiences that included his time as a prisoner-of-war at the Starkosk estate, and finally his incarceration at Fort Raim and experiences with the Kokadans. Fraser began the novel on a strong note and finished it in a similar manner. My only sole complaint centered on Flashman’s journey to Starkosk and his time at the estate. In short, it seemed to me that the sequence threatened to bog down the pace. I suspect that Fraser’s in-depth look into Imperial Russian serfdom during this sequence is responsible. As much as I found it interesting, I also wondered if Fraser got caught up in his subject, which would seem ironic considering his failure to explore American slavery in the 1971 novel, "FLASH FOR FREEDOM!". As much as I had enjoyed Flashman’s time spent with Count Pencherjevsky and his family on the Starkosk estate, no one felt more relieved than me when he and "Scud" East finally escaped, thanks to a serf uprising. I had become rather weary of Flashman’s period as a prisoner-of-war.

Despite some of my problems with the novel, I cannot deny that "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" is a well-written novel. Fraser did an excellent job in recapturing London during the early and mid 1850s and Great Britain’s pro-war mood on the cusp of the Crimean War. He also expertly drew readers into the world of the British Army during the first months of the war. His description of the Army caps and hospitals at Alma just before the Battle of Balaclava literally had me cringing in my seat a bit:

"So the siege was laid, the French and ourselves sitting down on the muddy, rain-sodden gullied plateau before Sevastopol, the dismalest place on earth, with no proper quarters but a few poor huts and tents, and everything to be carted up from Balaclava on the coast eight miles away. Soon the camp, and the road to it, was a stinking quagmire; everyone looked and felt filthy, the rations were poor, the work of preparing the siege was cruel hard (for the men, anyway), and all the bounce there had been in the army after Alma evaporated in the dank, feverish rain by day and the biting cold by night. Soon half of us were lousy, as some wags said, who’d holiday at Brighton if he could come to sunny Sevastopol instead?"

Another memorable passage featured Flashman’s participation in the Light Brigade Charge. Fraser did a superb job in describing not only the Battle of Balaclava, but particularly the Light Brigade Charge. I found his description of the famous military charge filled with heady action, chaos and terror – especially from Flashman’s point-of-view:

"I had only a moment to look back – my mare was galloping like a thing demented, as I steadied, there was Cardigan, waving his sabre and standing in his stirrups; the guns were only a hundred yards away, almost hiddenin a great billowing bank of smoke, a bank which kept glaring red as though some Lucifer were opening furnace doors deep inside it. There was no turning, no holding back, and even in that deafening thunder I could hear the sudden chorus of yells behind me as the torn remnant of the Light Brigade gathered itself for the final mad charge into the battery. I dug my heels, yelling nonsense and brandishing my sabre, shot into the smoke with one final rip from my bowels and a prayer that my gallant little mare wouldn’t career headlong into a gun-muzzle, staggered at the fearful concussion of a gun exploding within a yard of me – and then we were through, into the open space behind the guns, leaping the limbers and ammunition boxes with the Russians scattering to let us through, and Cardigan a bare two yards away, reining his beast back almost on its haunches."

However, one of my favorite chapters in the novel featured Flashman and the Kokordans’ attempts to destroy the Russian gunboats filled with weapons to be used against the Kokordans and the invasion of India. Before this battle took place, Ko Dali’s daughter drugged the cowardly officer with hashish (bhang) in order to force him to overcome his fear for the operation. The scene of the cowardly Flashy acting like George Armstrong Custer on crack struck me as one of the funniest passages in the entire series:

"God, what a chaos it was! I was galloping like a dervish at Kutebar’s heels, roaring 'Hark forrard! Ha-ha, you bloody foreigners, Flashy’s here!', careering through the narrow spaces between the sheds, with the muskets banging off to our left, startled sleepers crying out, and everyone yelling like be-damned. As we burst headlong onto the last stretch of open beach, and swerved past the landward end of the pier, some stout Russian was bawling and letting fly with a pistol; I left off singing 'Rule, Britannia' to take a shot at him, but missed, and there ahead someone was waving a torch and calling, and suddenly there were dark figures all around us, clutching at our bridles, almost pulling us from the saddles towards a big go-down on the north side of the pier."

George MacDonald Fraser did take historical liberties with one particular character – the novel’s main villain, Count Nicholas Ignatieff. The author described the Russian character in the following manner:

"And as our eyes met through the cigarette smoke I thought, hollo, this is another of those momentous encounters. You didn’t have to look at this chap twice to remember him forever. It was the eyes, as it so often is – I thought in that moment of Bismarck, and Charity Spring, and Akbar Khan; it had been the eyes with them, too. But this fellow’s were different from anything yet: one was blue, but the other had a divided iris, half-blue, half-brown, and the oddly fascinating effect of this was that you didn’t know where to look, but kept shifting from one to the other.

For the rest, he had a gingerish, curling hair and square, masterful face that was no way impaired by a badly-broken nose. He looked tough, and immensely self-assured; it was in his glance, in the abrupt way he moved, in the slant of the long cigarette between his fingers, in the rakish tilt of his peaked cap, in the immaculate white tunic of the Imperial Guards. He was the kind who knew exactly what was what, where everything was, and precisely who was who – especially himself. He was probably a devil with women, admired by his superiors, hated by his rivals, and abjectly feared by his subordinates. One word summed him up: bastard."

The above passage described Flashman’s opinion of Ignatieff during their first meeting on the road to Starkosk. They met for the second time, when Flashman and "Scud" East overheard Ignatieff, Czar Nicholas I and other Russian officials discuss plans to invade India during a secret meeting at Starkosk. And their third and final encounter happened after Flashman was recaptured, following his escape from Starkosk and attempt to reach the British lines on the Crimean peninsula. It was Ignatieff who tossed Flashman into the prison at Fort Raim. From what I have read, the real Ignatieff had never been quite the villain as portrayed in "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE". Fraser even admitted that he taken liberties with the character in order to provide the novel with a main villain. Mind you, I believe he could have done that a lot easier with a fictional character. Why he had decided to take a historical figure and change his character in order to make him an effective villain is beyond me.

After reading "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE", it is easy to see why it remains very popular with many fans of Fraser’s novels. It is a well written comic-adventure tale filled with interesting characters – fictional and historical. The novel also featured two very unique passages, namely the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade and the usually cowardly Flashman behaving in a brave and aggressive man during a major battle. "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" also happened to be one of those rare Flashman novels that began and ended on a strong note. Not only does it remain popular with many Flashman fans, but I also personally consider it to be one of Fraser’s better works.

"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" (1979) Review

"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" (1979) Review

As I have stated in many previous movie reviews, I am a sucker for period drama. However, I am an even bigger sucker when said drama turns out to be something different from the usual narrative for this kind of genre. In the case of the 1979 movie, "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY", it turned out to be one of those rare kind of films.

Like Michael Crichton's 1975 novel, "The Great Robbery", "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" is a fictional account of a famous robbery known as the "Great Gold Robbery of 1855". Before one thinks that the movie is a faithful account of this historical event or a faithful adaptation of Crichton's novel . . . you are bound to be disappointed. Not only did Crichton play a little fast and loose with history in his novel, he also wrote the movie's screenplay and made even more changes to the tale.

"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" began with a failed attempt by some nameless criminal to rob the gold used to pay the British troops fight in the Crimean War being shipped monthly on the London-to-Folkestone train. This failed robbery, which ended with the criminal's death, had been masterminded by a successful criminal named Edward Pierce. Finally realizing that the gold is guarded in two safes with two locks each, Pierce and his mistress, Miriam, recruit a pickpocket and screwsman named Robert Agar to make copies of the safes' four keys. They also set about attaining copies of the keys by exploiting the weaknesses of two key holders - bank president Edgar Trent and bank manager Henry Fowler.

When they discover that the other two keys are locked in a cabinet, inside the office of the South Eastern Railway at the London Bridge train station, Pierce and Agar recruit a cat burglar named "Clean Willie" to help them break into rail office and make impressions of the keys. At first, Pierce is able to execute his plan with very few problems. But obtaining the keys inside the South Eastern Railway office and recruiting "Clean Willie" end up producing major obstacles that he and his accomplices are forced to overcome.

I would not claim that "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" is a favorite movie of mine. But I must admit that every time I watch it, I usually end up enjoying it very much. And I cannot deny that it proved to be different than the usual period drama. Although "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" is a literary adaptation that also features a historical event, it is not the usual period piece. I mean . . . how many period dramas are about a real-life crime? Especially a crime that had occurred before the 20th century? If there is another movie with a similar narrative, I have yet to come across it.

Even more interesting is that Crichton utilized great details to show audiences how the crime was planned and carried out. Yes, I realize that Crichton had made changes to his portrayal of the 1855 gold robbery, but I still cannot help but admire that he portrayed this crime in such a detailed manner. And this allowed me to enjoy the film even more, for it provided audiences a detailed look into the criminal and business worlds of the Victorian Age during the 1850s. This was especially the case in the movie's second half in which the protagonists schemed to get their hands on copies of the third and fourth set of keys inside a London railway station. And if I must be honest, I enjoyed the movie's first half even more - especially those scenes that featured the robbers' attempts to acquire copies of the first two keys. Since those two keys were in the hands of bank executive Trent and bank manager Fowlers, the movie allowed peeks into the lives of an early Victorian family and a Victorian bachelor, all from the upper-middle-classes. These scenes included one featuring Pierce's wooing of Trent's only daughter, while riding along Hyde Park's Rotten Row, a popular riding spot for upper and middle-class Londoners; and another featuring Miriam's seduction of the always lustful Fowler inside an exclusive London bordello.

Another aspect of "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" that I enjoyed was its production values. Crichton and producer John Foreman had gathered a first-rate crew for this movie. There were four aspects of the movie's production values that I enjoyed . . . somewhat. I certainly had no problem with Maurice Carter's production designs for the movie. I thought he did an excellent job in re-creating Victorian London - especially in crowd scenes like the Rotten Row sequence, the bordello and the railway station. I also enjoyed Jerry Goldsmith's score. Although I did not find it particularly memorable, I thought it blended well with various scenes throughout the movie and was original enough in a jaunty way. I have slightly mixed feelings about Anthony Mendleson's costume designs. On one hand, I thought many of them - especially those for the male characters - wonderfully recaptured the fashion styles of the mid-1850s. My feelings regarding his designs for the female characters were another matter. There were some designs that I admired very much - especially those for the Pamela Trent and Emily Trent characters. Yet, I found those designs for Lesley-Anne Down's character rather theatrical. I also have mixed about Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography. On one hand, I found many of the film's wide shots - especially in many of the exterior shots - rather colorful and beautiful. Unfortunately . . . I also noticed that Unsworth's photography seemed to project this hazy film, indicating that the movie was a period drama. Personally, I found this . . . haze rather annoying and a bit detrimental to the movie's sharp colors.

I can only recall at least three or four sequences that might be considered action-oriented. Three of them involved the "Clean Willie" character and I found them well shot by Crichton. The fourth action sequence - the actual train robbery - was also well shot by Crichton. The problem is that I am not a big fan of the actual robbery sequence. What can I say? It bored me. I could explain that I am becoming less tolerant of action sequences in my old age. But if I must be honest, I never really liked this sequence when I first saw it when I was a lot younger. There is nothing like an actual action sequence on top a train to bore the living daylights out of me. It was not Crichton's fault. This is simply a case of my personal preferences.

I certainly had no problems with the cast. Sean Connery was the perfect embodiment of middle-age debonair as the charismatic, clever and occasionally ruthless criminal mastermind, Edward Pierce. I would not exactly regard this role as a challenge for him. But he seemed to be enjoying himself. The role of Pierce's mistress, Miriam, seemed to be quite rare for Lesley-Anne Down. I can only recall her portraying a similar character in another heist film that released the same year. Personally, I thought she did a great job portraying Miriam not only as a sexy paramour for Pierce, but also as an equally intelligent and talented partner-in-crime.

The movie also featured some interesting performances from Malcolm Terris as the lustful bank manager Henry Fowler with a penchant for prostitutes. Michael Elphick was effective as the cool and collected bank guard Burgess, who accepts Pierce's bribe to be a part of the heist. Gabrielle Lloyd gave an interesting performance as Edgar Trent's rather stuffy and plain daughter Elizabeth whom Pierce pretends to court. And Pamela Salem gave a sly performance as Elizabeth's stepmother Emily Trent, who hides her lust for Pierce with a cool attitude and pointed comments. Other fine supporting performances came from Alan Webb, Wayne Sleep, Robert Lang and André Morell.

"What about Donald Sutherland?" many might be thinking. Why was he left out of the praise? Trust me, he was not. If I must be honest, Sutherland gave my favorite performance in the film. I really enjoyed his colorful take on the witty and sly pickpocket/screwsman Robert Agar. However, I do have one complaint to make . . . and it not about Sutherland's performance. As I had just stated, I found it very enjoyable. But I had read somewhere that the real Agar was more or less the brains behind the bank robbery. Also, Crichton had somewhat "dumbed down" the character in his 1975 novel and in the movie. I noticed, while watching the film that Sutherland's Agar seemed to flip-flop between an intelligent criminal and a buffoon. Personally, I found this inconsistent and unnecessary . . . especially for a successful criminal like Agar.

Yes, I have a few quibbles regarding "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY". And if I must be honest, it is not a great favorite of mine. But I certainly do not regarding it as a mediocre piece of filmmaking. In fact, I thought it was not only an excellent movie, but also rather original for a period piece. Michael Crichton may not have been that faithful to what actually happened during the "Great Gold Robbery of 1855", but I found his fictionalized account rather exciting. And the movie was topped by fine performances from a cast led by Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down.

"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" (1979) Photo Gallery

Below are images from "THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY", the 1979 adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1975 novel, "The Great Train Robbery". Written and directed by Crichton, the movie starred Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley-Anne Down:



"THE FIRST GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY" (1979) Photo Gallery

Top Ten Favorite Movies Set in the 1850s

Below is my current list of favorite movies set in the 1850s:


TOP TEN FAVORITE MOVIES SET IN THE 1850s



1. "Django Unchained" (2012) - Quentin Tarantino directed this Oscar winning tale about a newly freed slave who searches for his still enslaved wife with the help of a German-born bounty hunter in Mississippi. Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson starred.





2. "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (1938) - Errol Flynn and Olivia De Havilland starred in this exciting adventure story set in both British India and the Crimean War. Michael Curtiz directed.





3. "Race to Freedom: The Underground Railroad" (1994) - Courtney B. Vance and Janet Bailey starred in this television drama about the adventures of four slaves who escape from a North Carolina plantation, while being tracked by a pair of slave catchers. Don McBrearty directed.





4. "Skin Game" (1971) - James Garner and Lou Gossett Jr. starred in this dark comedy about a pair of con artists who clean up in a slave selling scheme in Missouri and Kansas, before their scam finally catches up with them. Paul Bogart directed.





5. "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" (1954) - Stanley Donen directed this famous 1954 musical about six backwoodsmen brothers When a backwoodsman in the Oregon Territory, who decides to marry after their oldest brother brings home a wife. Jane Powell, Howard Keel and Russ Tambyln starred.





6. "The First Great Train Robbery" (1979) - Michael Crighton wrote and directed this adaptation of his novel about three Victorian criminals who plot to rob a shipment of gold for British troops serving during the Crimean War, from a moving train. Sean Connery, Donald Sutherland and Lesley Anne Down starred.





7. "Wuthering Heights" (1939) - William Wyler directed this superb adaptation of Emily Brontë's 1847 novel. Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier and David Niven starred.





8. "Westward the Women" (1951) - William Wellman directed this excellent Western-adventure about a trail guide hired by a Californian rancher to escort a wagon train of women heading west to marry men who have settled in the rancher's valley. Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel and John McIntire starred.





9. "Mountains of the Moon" (1990) Patrick Bergin and Iain Glen starred in this historical account of Victorian explorers Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke's expedition to find the source of the Nile River on behalf of the British Empire. Bob Rafelson directed.





10. "Jezebel" (1938) - William Wyler directed Oscar winners Bette Davis and Fay Bainter in this adaptation of Owen Davis Sr.'s 1933 play about a headstrong Southern woman, whose actions cost her the man she loves. Henry Fonda and George Brent co-starred.

Top Ten Favorite BRITISH EMPIRE Novels

Below is a list of my current favorite novels set during the British Empire: 


TOP TEN FAVORITE BRITISH EMPIRE NOVELS



1. "Flashman in the Great Game" (1975) by George MacDonald Fraser - Set between 1856 and 1858, this fifth novel in theFlashman Papers Series is about cowardly British Army officer Harry Flashman's experiences during the Sepoy Rebellion.





2. "Shadow of the Moon" (1957/1979) by M.M. Kaye - This is a love story between an Anglo-Spanish heiress and a British Army officer before and during the Sepoy Rebellion.





3. "The Bastard" (1974) by John Jakes - Set during the final five years before the American Revolution, this tale is about Phillipe Charbaneau aka Philip Kent, the Anglo-French bastard of a nobleman forced to seek a new life in the American Colonies.





4. "Flashman and the Dragon" (1985) by George MacDonald Fraser - The eighth novel of the Flashman Papers reveals Harry Flashman's experiences in China during the Taiping Rebellion and the British march to Peking during the Second Opium War.





5. "Noble House" (1981) by James Clavell - Set during two weeks in August 1963, this novel is about a British businessman in Hong Kong, who struggles to save his family's company from financial ruin through a deal with an American corporate raider.





6. "Zemindar" (1982) by Valerie Fitzgerald - This novel is about a young Englishwoman named Laura Hewitt, who accompanies her cousin and cousin-in-law to India to meet the latter's wealthy half-brother. All three get caught up in the outbreak of the Sepoy Rebellion.





7. "Tai-Pan" (1966) by James Clavell - Set during the immediate aftermath of the First Opium War, this novel is about a British trader and his dealings with his family and enemies during the formation of Britain's Hong Kong colony.





8. "Liberty Tavern" (1976) by Thomas Fleming - This novel is about a former British Army officer, who operates a New Jersey tavern and serves as guardian to his stepchildren during the American Revolution.





9. "The Far Pavilion" (1978) by M.M. Kaye - This bestseller is about a 19th century British Army officer, who had spent his childhood believing he was Indian. He experiences love with an Indian princess and war during the Second Anglo-Afghan War.





10. "Forget the Glory" (1985) by Emma Drummond - This novel chronicled the experiences of an unhappily married British Army officer, who falls in love with his wife's maid during a long journey from India to the Ukraine during the Crimean War.

Ranking of THE FLASHMAN PAPERS

Below is my ranking of THE FLASHMAN PAPERS, the series of novels and short stories written by the late George MacDonald Fraser about a 19th century British Army officer named Harry Flashman. The novels and stories were published between 1969 and 2005: 


RANKING OF THE FLASHMAN PAPERS



1. "FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS" (1982) - Serving as an immediate follow-up to "FLASH FOR FREEDOM!", this 1982 novel depicted Harry Flashman's experiences in the Old West when he joined a wagon train in 1849 and became an unwilling witness to the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. Probably my favorite in the series.





2. "FLASHMAN AND THE DRAGON" (1985) - Harry Flashman's experiences during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864) and Lord Elgin's March to Peking during the Second Opium War in 1860 are depicted in this 1985 novel.





3. "FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME" (1975) - Serving as a follow-up to "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE", this 1975 novel depicted Flashman's experiences during the Sepoy Rebellion (1857-1858) in India and a reunion with a deadly former enemy.





4. "FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE" (1973) - Harry Flashman's experiences during the first year of the Crimean War (1854-1856) and with Kokand freedom fighters in Central Asia between 1854 and 1855 are depicted in this novel.





5. "FLASH FOR FREEDOM!" (1971) - Fleeing the country from a scandal not of his making, Harry Flashman finds himself aboard a slave ship and receives a first hand look at the trans-Atlantic slave trade and American slavery in the late 1840s.





6. "FLASHMAN'S LADY" (1977) - When a former pirate-turned-businessman from the East Indies become obsessed with Flashman's wife, Elspeth, and kidnaps her during a trip to Singapore; the cowardly hero's pursuit leads to him fighting Borneo pirates with the legendary James Brooke and becoming a slave of the notorious Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar during the early 1840s.





7. "FLASHMAN" (1969) - This 1969 novel served as an introduction to Fraser's literary series and his infamous main character, Harry Flashman. After being expelled from Rugby School, Flashman joins the British Army and eventually participates in the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839-1842).





8. "ROYAL FLASH" (1970) - This 1970 novel turned out to be a spoof of the famous Anthony Hope novel, "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA". Set during the Revolutions of 1848, Flashman finds himself "recruited" by the Prussian politician Otto von Bismarck to impersonate a Danish prince set to marry the ruler of a German duchy.





9. "FLASHMAN AND THE MOUNTAIN OF LIGHT" (1990) - Flashman's experiences during the First Sikh War in the Punjab is depicted in this 1990 novel.





10. "FLASHMAN AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD" (1994) - After being shanghaied by an old enemy in South Africa, Flashman finds himself back in the United States, where he unwillingly gets caught up in the John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859.





11. "FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" (1999) - Instead of a novel, this 1999 book is a collection of three stories that depicted Flashman's experiences in aborting an assassination attempt on Emperor Franz-Josef of Austria; his and wife Elspeth's participation in the infamous Tranby Croft Affair; and his troubling encounter with a former acquaintance from the Zulu War.





12. "FLASHMAN ON THE MARCH" (2005) - In this final novel written by Fraser, Flashman finds himself caught up in Great Britain's 1868 military expedition against King Tewodros II of Abyssinia (Ethiopia).