Flashman and the Tiger

July 31, 2000
P.G. Wodehouse said of the first Flashman novel that it was "the goods." Three decades and 11 "packets" of Flashman papers later, Fraser's indomitable Victorian scoundrel remains one of English literature's finest comic creations. This latest installment consists of three short adventures, all taking place in the late 19th century. In the first and longest episode, Flashy attends the Congress of Berlin, crosses paths with his old enemy Bismarck and gets dragged into a complicated plot to save Austria's Emperor Franz-Josef from assassination and Europe from world war. Not all the diplomatic intrigue is scintillating, but Fraser concludes on a strong note, sending Flashy off on yet another doomed military expedition just as he thinks he's home safe at last. Comic reversal figures as well in the second story, centered on a card-cheating scandal involving the prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. The hilarious exchange at the end between Flashman and his dizzy wife, Elspeth, is reminiscent of Bertie and Jeeves in their prime. In the final, title tale, Flashy, disguised as a poor drunk, sneaks into an empty London house to stop a certain Tiger Jack Moran from his evil plot to ravish Flashy's beloved granddaughter, only to find that two men, who look like "a poet and a bailiff," have ambushed the creep already. The deed done, Flashman listens as the "poet" makes some deliciously inaccurate deductions about the scruffy, drunk derelict, our hero. Throughout, Flashman alludes to disastrous exploits not yet published (Gordon at Khartoum, Maxmillian in Mexico, etc.). Readers can only hope that Fraser will enjoy the kind of longevity and productivity that defined the distinguished career of his mentor Wodehouse, and continue with this exceptional series. (Aug.) FYI: Fraser has written the screenplays for Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, as well as for the James Bond film Octopussy.

June 1, 2000
Very few historical fiction writers possess the charm and authenticity that Fraser has exhibited in his series of novels featuring Sir Harry Flashman, "the celebrated Victorian soldier, scoundrel, amorist, and self-confessed poltroon." The conceit of this marvelously entertaining series, as his many fans know, has been that Fraser is simply editing for publication the personal papers/memoirs of Flashman; the conceit is carried even further in this latest novel, which purports to present three "packets" of Flashman's remembrances partnered in one volume. Fraser insists that these are "minor episodes in the career of an eminent if disreputable Victorian," but the reader will find them just as hilarious and endearing as any of the previous Flashman novels. The first (and longest) "packet" deals with Flashman's friend, the newspaperman Henri Blowitz, Paris correspondent for the "Times" of London. In two interrelated story lines, we see Blowitz scoop the terms reached at the 1878 Congress of Berlin before the official publication of the treaty's text, and we watch Flashman's intervention in a plot to assassinate Emperor Franz Josef of Austria. The second "packet" deals with the "Great Baccarat Scandal of Tranby Croft," in which the Prince of Wales actually had to testify at a cheating-at-gambling trial. And the third "packet" in the triptych concerns Flashman meeting the infamous Colonel John Sebastian ("Tiger Jack") Moran in South Africa. You gotta love Flashman. ((Reviewed June 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)