Flashman's Lady, by George MacDonald Fraser, [book 6 in the Flashman series] is for the most part a great romp. If you are a reader from one of the many cricket loving nations then the whole book will be enjoyable. However, for those readers who do not love or understand the fascination with cricket the first part of the book may seem incomprehensible and, occasionally, tedious. Not to worry, once Flashy has taken to the high-seas with his ditzy wife and dour father-in-law in tow the adventure perks up and the rest of the book is clear sailing: not for Flashman, of course, but the reader. Spoilers. The wife is kidnapped, Flashman is in pursuit, if reluctantly, and there are pirates, well, just about everywhere...and they're a scurvy lot. Things really pick up with James Brooke/The White Raja and then Ranavalona 1 [the mad Queen of Madagascar]: both of these are historical characters. One of the pleasures of the Flashman books is the deft manner in which Mr. Fraser weaves together history and fiction...rarely sacrificing one for the other. This is a rare gift. Often historical novelists are either good at history or fiction, but rarely both. In Fraser's works you discover a wonderful blend of the two. In all, Flashman's Lady is a great installment in the continuing, bawdy, deplorable, brilliant, disturbing, and mesmerizing adventures of the anti-hero/bad-boy of the British Empire. The start is slow and a bit tedious, but the finish is spectacular. Highly Recommended for enthusiasts of historical fiction, adventure, satire, comedy, anti-heroes [with style], action, and the British Empire. Social Justice Warriors should avoid this wonderfully appalling series. Rating: 4 out of 5 stars. Up next: Flashman and the Redskins
What a relief after the appalling horror of Flashman in the Great Game! Beautiful but feather-brained Elspeth, wife of the unquenchable Harry Flashman, is kidnapped by Malay pirates and ravished off to Borneo and Madagascar. Flash (reluctantly) goes to her rescue, dragged along in the wake of James Brooke, White Raja of Sarawak, and his motley crew. Along the way he manages to survive at least three battles with pirates and becomes a sex slave to Queen Ranavalona who boils people alive for fun (!!).This book has two of my favorite secondary characters: the red-bearded Scotch-Arab Paitingi Ali ("Come back and fight, ye son of a Malay b---h! By the Seven Heroes, I shall give thy heid to my Lingas yet, thou uncircumcised carrion! Ach, burn his grandmither, he's awa' wi' it, so he is!") and the London-educated Malagasy, Fankanonikaka ("I being Mr Fankanonikaka, very personal and special secretary to her majesty Queen Ranavalona, ain't I just, though? Not above half, I don't think...I being an old boy...You telling me now of personal life yourself, where coming from, what trade, so to speak, my old covey.")This book is enormous fun, with all manner of outrageous events, most of them even true. As a nice bonus, we find out that there's quite a bit more to Mrs Flashman -- or Lady Flashman, as she became at the end of the previous book -- than even her husband suspected :)
What do You think about Flashman's Lady (1988)?
It really took me about half way through to really get into this, my third Flashman adventure. It was one of those books that was initially more of a chore than something I enjoyed. Part of that for me was that the first 100 or so pages were all about cricket. Being a Yank, I don't know the first thing about cricket so the intricate details discussed were a bit tedious. About half way through, a great naval adventure through the Phillipeans begins and gives the story some excitement! Then off to Madasgar for a wonderfully imaginative adventure including Flashy and Queen Ravalionia?? One of the most deadly Monarchs in history! Good stuff, and ends on a bang.
—Chris Conrady
-Nuevas aventuras de un antihéroe gracioso y ahora con una esposa a su altura.- Género. Novela (y en cierto modo, hasta novela histórica a veces).Lo que nos cuenta. Publicación del manuscrito de importancia histórica que trae luz a un hueco en las aventuras de Flashmanentre su encuentro con Bismarck en Londres y su participación en el asunto de Schleswig-Holstein, que según algunos expertos ha sido manipulado por la suegra de Flashman pero quizás sólo para eliminar sus juramentos y palabras malsonantes y definitivamente para aportar a la narración la perspectiva de su hija Elspeth, y que nos narra cómo un inocente partido de críquet (en realidad varios) generan que nuestro héroe y su señora terminen en la Bahía de Bengala (entre otros lugares) y corran aventuras entre diletantes, piratas y algún miembro de monarquías exóticas. Tercer libro de la serie de Harry Flashman en orden cronológico pero que sin embargo fue el sexto que se publicó.¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:http://www.librosdeolethros.blogspot....
—Olethros
This is the first Flashman book I've read, and I can imagine it becoming a guilty pleasure. As other readers have noted, this book starts slow because of all the cricket. You've got to really get hooked quickly by the Flashman character. Also, pay attention to the footnotes. It appears that many of the secondary characters, no matter how bizarre, are real historical figures.The Flashman books are supposed to be the memoirs of one Harry Flashman, a pretty appalling nineteenth century British soldier. It's hard to describe just what his attraction is, since he's a cheat, coward, womanizer, and racist. Perhaps it's his honesty. He never tries to make himself out to be anything than what he is, a man who has been hailed as a hero for various war-time activities, presumably because he always knew when to run and was willing to do so.
—Gail Gauthier
