By George MacDonald Fraser

When we think of the Victorian era military hero several images spring to mind - pious Christian soldiers like "Chinese" Gordon, stoic British soldiers in their red uniforms fighting off hordes of natives at Rorke's Drift, white knights doing their duty for Queen and country, performing feats of arms so incredible we wouldn't believe them if they hadn't actually happened. Men like Sir Harry Flashman, V.C., the fictional creation of George MacDonald Fraser.

Or so it seems. Flashy's contemporaries believe he is one of those heroes of lore, defending the empire with a song on his lips and a bloody bayonet in his hands. But beneath the heroic façade we find a craven coward, the polar opposite of the traditional Victorian hero. In the hilarious Flashman series (11 books and counting) Fraser gives us the memoirs of a man that managed to participate in just about every important colonial conflict and meet every interesting Victorian era character.

His undeserved reputation is a mixed blessing that draws him into one dangerous mission after another, but also helps him survive more or less intact. Flashy has a full bag of tricks for getting out of danger: run away, plead for your life, fake an injury, surrender, send another in your place, bluff, hide until the crisis is over. He tries them all, but usually gets out of the frying pan only to land in the fire. Fortunately for him few witnesses to his cowardice survive to tell the tale.

Flashy's adventures are many and varied - set battles, spying, political intrigue, and all manner of dirty deeds. If it's true that the coward dies a thousand deaths then Flashman has died more often than any man in the history of fiction. But life is not all thorns for the dashing Harry Flashman. Along the way he beds more women than James Bond in his prime. Look up "cad" in the dictionary and you'll find Harry's picture.

Flashman claims to have only two talents: "fleeing and fornicating." He sells himself short, though. He also has a gift for languages, which helps him survive among the hostile natives. Flashman proves to be an excellent historian because he doesn't see the world through rose-colored glasses. Instead, he sees things as they are, and reports them in a blunt manner that would be called "politically incorrect" by modern observers. Make that "ultra-politically incorrect." Flashman doesn't care about anyone but himself, but he is an accurate reporter. Additional historical information is found in the footnotes at the end of each book - interesting reading in their own right.

Another pleasure in reading the Flashman series is Fraser's marvelous writing. The books are peppered with English slang, foreign phrases, witty one-liners, amusing descriptions, and enough obscure references to make Dennis Miller jealous. Who can pass up a chance to add some Pustu or Hindustani to your vocabulary? Each book has several laugh-out-loud lines. One of my favorites comes in Flashman and the Dragon. Flashy and a burly Mongol bodyguard are defending a hallway against a horde of attackers. As soon as his companion's back is turned Flashy abandons him, exit stage left, calling out "Die hard, Ghengis!" as he runs for his life.

As far as I can tell Fraser isn't done yet with the Flashman series. There are a number of interesting adventures mentioned briefly in the books that haven't been fully reported yet. Chief among these are Flashman's adventures during the American Civil War. Hopefully another installment will be out soon. The popularity of the series has led to the creation of the Royal Flashman Society. A good starting point is the Southwest Virginia chapter (http://members.aol.com/flashmanhp/flashman.html).

The Flashman Series:

Flashman: Flashman enlists in the army after getting expelled from school for drunkenness. After a shotgun wedding he is sent to Afghanistan where he survives the rebellion of 1842 and is lauded as a hero.

Royal Flash: Flashy crosses the young Otto von Bismarck. Later, Bismarck forces flashy to impersonate King Gustaf as part of a scheme to deliver Schleswig-Holstein into German hands.

Flash for Freedom!: Flashman gets a first hand look at the U.S. slave trade. After getting shanghaied onto a slave ship he travels to Dahomey to take on human cargo. After arriving in the U.S. he is dragooned into helping the Underground Railroad and meets Abe Lincoln. Flashman at the Charge: Flashy ends up in the Crimean War, dragging his feet the whole way. To his regret he ends up participating in the famous Charge of the Light Brigade and is captured by Russians. Eventually he ends up in India and, despite his best efforts to escape, helps to foil a Russian invasion.

Flashman and the Tiger: This book is really three separate stories. First Flashman does his level best to insure a card scandal involving the Prince of Wales blows up in everyone's faces. In another episode the ghosts of Royal Flash return to haunt Flashy, and he helps prevent an early start to WWI. In the final story Flashman briefly recounts his narrow escape at Rorke's Drift and encounters Sherlock Holmes.

Flashman in the Great Game: Flashman wins the Victoria Cross while serving in the Indian Mutiny. He manages to survive yet another military debacle at Cawnpore.

Flashman's Lady: Flashman cheats at cricket and his wife is kidnapped. This sends him on an adventure against the headhunters of Borneo with Rajah Brooke. Eventually he and Elspeth end up on Madagascar and get an eye full of the strange customs of that island.

Flashman and the Redskins: Flashman attempts to lead a wagon train of prostitutes to California during the Gold Rush. He is captured by Apaches but manages to escape. He returns in1876 just in time to get caught in the middle of Custer's Last Stand. Talk about your bad timing!

Flashman and the Dragon: Flashman is in China for the Taiping Rebellion and has some strange adventures in the Summer Palace.

Flashman and the Mountain of Light: Flashy is sent to spy on the Sikhs before the First Sikh War and ends up in the middle of the action.

Flashman and the Angel of the Lord: Flashman is forced to join John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry.