MacDonald, George

Average customer rating:

Flash-inating insight into the Victorian age
Flashman - an anti-hero for the ages
fun, smart but sometimes believable
The Great Game is afoot!
A poisonous little book

Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452259614

Customer Reviews:

Flash-inating insight into the Victorian age.......2007-03-24

Have you ever wondered what it was really like in the Victorian age? How the heroes of the "Charge of the Light Brigade" and "Last stand at Rorke's Drift", to name a few epic events in British military history, really behaved when they weren't fighting for Queen, country and the honor of their regiment while keeping a stiff upper lip?
Well, meet Flashman: scoundrel, cad, drunkard, incompetent, coward, anti-hero and (even for those times, but even more so now) totally politically incorrect. And those are his good qualities. At the first sign of danger and/or trouble, his instinct is always to run like hell to save his own skin and the devil take the hindmost. Mothers & fathers, keep your daughters (and husbands your wives) as far away from him as possible, because he chases after anything in a skirt and uses every trick in the book (and a few out of it) to get laid. The Flashman Papers are his memoirs, and he "tells it like it is", sparing no punches.
And you really can learn a lot about history from him, for while trying to keep his skin intact, he manages to land smack in the middle of some of the most famous historical events (Flashy was there at the charge of the Light Brigade, at the retreat from Kabul in 1842, at Custer's defeat at Little Big Horn to name just a few) and rubs elbows with some of the most famous people of that era: Raglan, Queen Victoria, Lincoln, Custer, Kit Carson - to name just a few.
For example, in "Flashman", you get a historically accurate look at how the British got kicked out of Afghanistan in 1842 during the First Afghan War (Bush take notice: "history is a mirror of the past/and a lesson for the present" as an old Persian proverb goes).
So, read "Flashman", the first novel in the series about the adventures of Harry Flashman, as he lies, steals and wenches his way through the Victorian age.
Anyway, having read this book I'm still not sure what to think about Flashman: if I like to hate, or hate to like him. What I do know is this: I want to read the next adventure of the Flashman Papers! So I've ordered the next couple of books in this series. The only reason I gave this book only four stars, is because this series can only get better!

Flashman - an anti-hero for the ages.......2007-03-12

I'm not sure what it says about me, but I seem to fall more for anti-heroes than for heroes themselves. Whether it is Lee Child's creation Jack Reacher, or Bernard Cornwell's murderous Richard Sharpe, or Shakespeare's Falstaff, I just find these guys so darn compelling even though I'm perpetually glad they don't live next door.

George MacDonald Fraser's drunken rake, Harry Flashman, joins the ranks of the truly great anti-heroes of literature. A handsome coward with impeccable timing to get himself in the worst trouble imaginable, Flashman was not born great, will not achieve greatness, but is more than willing to have greatness thrust upon him by others. He's also the kind of guy who, when accused of being drunk on gin and beer, will go to great pains to correct you - I may be a drunk, but I am not so uncivilized as to mix my drinks.

Flashman's story is told as "the Flashman Papers," so the novel is one long narrative - Flashman has written his autobiography. And what an autobiography it is! Kicked out of school for drunkenness, Flashman enters the British army only after wheedling a handsome annuity from his father and taking his father's mistress. To Flashman, the army is a chance to look smart in a uniform and have an idle, safe career as an officer's aide - plenty of time for perpetual bachelor Flashman to dally with bored officer's wives and daughters. So Flashman chooses to join up with a British unit that just returned from India, on the reasonable grounds that these guys just finished their stint in hell, and nobody's going to ask them to go back into harm's way.

Flashman's plans go awry in two major ways. First, he finds himself betrothed to the gorgeous Scottish wench Elspeth, who is as naive and stupid as Flashman is cynical and cunning. The conditions of the engagement perfectly summarize Flashman - he has his way with Elspeth, and when her uncle tells Flashman that he can either marry Elspeth or fight a duel, Flashman naturally chooses marriage. Then, Flashman must leave Elspeth behind (no worries there) because Flashman gets sent abroad with his regiment - first to India, and then to Afghanistan (major worries there).

While in Afghanistan, Flashman takes part in one of England's worst military blunders. Britain's army is carved to pieces, thanks to the sheer incompetence of its commanding officer. Flashman is, very relunctantly, forced to put his skin in harm's way. The fact that Flashman survives is not surprising - he's writing his autobiography, after all. But it is the way he survives - by being the most cowardly soldier imaginable - that gives the novel its spice. The fact that, as a survivor, Flashman keeps getting saddled with charges of heroism just adds to the fun . . . and Flashman's manners are too refined for him to correct anyone of their misapprehension.

A must-read for fans of historical fiction, "Flashman" is the first novel in a highly praised and much-adored series. Check it out.

fun, smart but sometimes believable.......2007-03-08

As an account of the disastrous Afghan campaign of the early Victorian era, this novel succeeds beyond expectations. In terms of character and plot development, one sometimes gets the impression that any movie of the Indiana Jones series is more realistic. Only for history buffs (like myself).

The Great Game is afoot!.......2007-02-22

One of the best 'historical' series ever written, 'Flashman' rates right up there with the Patrick O'Brian Jack Aubrey series! I won't spoil the tale, but basically, Flashman is the beginning tale of the long career of a thorough cad and scalliwag, bouncing from one disaster to the next throughout the world of the 19th Century in a manner somewhat reminiscent of 'Forrest Gump,' though with none of the naivete. Because of the various events Flashman becomes involved with, it is almost impossible for his career to be anything other than what he is (anything more 'noble' would have been killed off in infancy!), and it is splendid to see the hypocrisy of the Victorian world exposed for what it was... preposterous noble sentiments glossed over with religious overtones, all concealing a rapacity, bigotry and greed that has rarely been seen in any other time frame. Excellent history (you will learn a lot!), splendid imagery, and altogether, you can't ask for much more in this genre!

A poisonous little book.......2007-02-03

I bought Flashman based on the Amazon reviews and (even better) the quote of praise from P.G. Wodehouse on the back cover. I started it with high hopes of having found a sort of land-based Horatio Hornblower. In the end it turned out to be one-dimensionally cynical, with limited historical detail.

The author is clearly proud of his cyncial tone, which I found humorous at first. But unlike, for example, the great Wodehouse himself the author is incapable of any other mode -- he ends up giving the impression of a tone-deaf soloist who can only sing one note. A redeeming or sympathetic character does not have the nerve to poke its nose into a Flashman book.

Of course feet of clay are a part of reality, and a part of each of us. However, the author belongs to the class of people who actively seek them out in order to convince us that selflessness and idealism are always illusory -- and that he is somehow being objective when he looks at humanity and sees one aspect only. If this is the way you wish to see the world and are looking for confirmation that your approach is smugly superior, this is the book for you.

For me, it was only a disappointment. I have a strong cynical streak myself, and count Twain and Wodehouse among my favorite authors; but their strength lies in their ability to use the entire palette of human nature, against which the sharp, intelligent cynicism is so fresh it jumps off the page. Flashman does not measure up to these masters.

Pure poison.

Average customer rating:

Good read with many memorable lines
An Absolutely Gorgeous Book
Not an Easy Read for Most Modern Readers
Great... for a Fariy Tale
A good book.

Phantastes
George MacDonald
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Lilith
The Complete Fairy Tales (Penguin Classics)
The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)
The Diary of an Old soul
George MacDonald

ASIN: 0802860605

Amazon.com

"I was dead, and right content," the narrator says in the penultimate chapter of Phantastes. C.S. Lewis said that upon reading this astonishing 19th-century fairy tale he "had crossed a great frontier," and numerous others both before and since have felt similarly. In MacDonald's fairy tales, both those for children and (like this one) those for adults, the "fairy land" clearly represents the spiritual world, or our own world revealed in all of its depth and meaning. At times almost forthrightly allegorical, at other times richly dreamlike (and indeed having a close connection to the symbolic world of dreams), this story of a young man who finds himself on a long journey through a land of fantasy is more truly the story of the spiritual quest that is at the core of his life's work, a quest that must end with the ultimate surrender of the self. The glory of MacDonald's work is that this surrender is both hard won (or lost!) and yet rippling with joy when at last experienced. As the narrator says of a heavenly woman in this tale, "She knew something too good to be told." One senses the same of the author himself. --Doug Thorpe

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One of nineteenth-century novelist George MacDonald's most important works, Phantastes tells the story of its narrator's dreamlike adventures in fairyland, masterfully recounted to convey a sense of profound sadness and a poignant longing for death.

Customer Reviews:

Good read with many memorable lines.......2007-04-13

I came to this story, having read some of MacDonald's writings years ago, and now being drawn to him through a brief biography I had read of him. I also had read (again) Lewis' The "Great Divorce," where MacDonald shows up in heaven as a guide. All of this drew me to "Phantastes."

I found myself struggling at first, not being a regular reader of the fantasy genre. As I read this story, I, like so many have alluded to above, found the story to be a bit uneven, or disjointed. Still, the symbolism of some episoides intrigued me, and kept me going. The more I read, the more enjoyable and delightful it became. Over all the book is very entertaining, and even edifying. I rarely say this about a read, but I was encouraged after reading this book.

There are parts of this book, lines, paragraphs, and even one chapter, where the authors words approach the masterpiece level. His word-craft is superb at moments and should not be missed.

An Absolutely Gorgeous Book.......2007-01-04

George MacDonald, perhaps even more than the authors he inspired, should be cheifly admired for his imaginitive power. Phantastes is episodic, somewhat disordered, and even prone to rambling at times, but each episode is saturated with that unnameable quality that Lewis claims "baptized his imagination." Other reviewers have compared MacDonald unfavorably to Lewis Carroll, and while MacDonald has none of the sly wit that infuses Carroll's works, he has penetrative insight that Carroll could never match. MacDonald sees through the surface of the world to the supernal beauty beneath, then draws it forth and through his imaginatitive power places it back upon the surface for the rest of us to enjoy.

Not an Easy Read for Most Modern Readers.......2006-12-23

I read that C.S. Lewis said that he had never written a book in which he did not quote George MacDonald. Be that as it were, this not a very readable book. The plot is a long meandering ramble from incident to incident. If you are not a George MacDonald fan, or a literature student studying 19th-century prose, this book will probably disappoint you. Comparatively, Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," and "Through the Looking Glass" are easier to read and enjoy, with better cohesion between events. I would recommend getting this book free at a library unless you are really a fan of gothic and romantic fantasy.

Great... for a Fariy Tale.......2006-11-24

This book is fair as far as its specific genre goes: that of fairy tale. It would be a big mistake to pick this up expecting a full color tale with detailed plot and character developement. It is what I call "Bizarre Fantasy" Phantastes is a great read in the context of pure fairy tale in which any number of things are possible and none (or all) of them surprising. Subtle lessons are interwoven into the story if you can pick them out. Makes a leisurely reading.

Compares to the many small tales that Tolkien wrote, and fans of those will enjoy this. It is a rather small story, to be read more for the intrigue and "morals" than for the actual plot.

A good book........2006-11-19

Like everyone else has pointed out, this book and its author heavily influences the works and minds of people such as C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. One can really tell the influence on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series and his writing style overall. MacDonald--along with Tolkien--has a very dry writing style, but is very descriptive. While the story as a whole is fairly disjointed and not entirely resolved, taken as you go along (as most stories should be taken) it is an interesting and wonder-filled tale. The main draw back to MacDonald's work is his droll writing. I wouldn't call it boring, but I would call it tiresome at times. It is not as easy to read as Lewis by any means. Still, the content is well-worth the time.
If one is merely looking for an entertaining story of fantasy I would recommend MacDonald's contemporary Lewis Carrol's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland or MacDonald's own The Princess and The Goblin.
Though I must admit, I find myself going back to this book in my mind when I write my own fantasies. It is rich with innovative ideas and inspirational short stories mixed in, if one can get to them. It's not MacDonald's best work, but in the same merit, it is by no means something to shrug off.

Average customer rating:

Mein Gott, Herr Flashmeister!
Henry Flashman, is not "a flash in the pan"
Flashy in hot water again
Flashman as Literature?
Boring

Royal Flash (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452261120

Customer Reviews:

Mein Gott, Herr Flashmeister!.......2006-10-01

Perhaps it is unfair to give Royal Flash only 4 stars, but I had to distinguish its rating from the first Flashman book, which I would have given 5+ stars.

The Royal Flash takes Harry Flashman from the comforts of home to Munich - at the invite of Lola Montez! Flashy, what are you thinking? (By the way, Lola Montez is an historical figure - and quite a beauty.) Once in Bavaria he meets his old nemesis Otto Bismarck, who entangles Harry in the intrigues of 1840's Germany, Denmark, and the Schleswig-Holstein Question.

I preferred the more military setting of Afghanistan because it gave full rein to a display of Flashy's physical cowardice, rather than just his moral cowardice. And then he takes an at times some almost un-caddish attitude toward the sweet flower of Strackenz! And I just find an historical war setting more interesting than the political.

Highly recommended, if just slightly less so than the original Flashman.

Henry Flashman, is not "a flash in the pan".......2006-04-05

Once again despite himself, Flashy comes to the rescue. More than once, says I, and mostly for himself after he'd gotten himself into hot water once again. The story of course is once again inconsequential, but the fun is seeing how many situations Flashy can get himself into, and the remarkable ways that he gets himself out, say I.

The one really extraordinary thing that we learn about Flashy is that even among other men, his manhood is admired as 'above average'. That Fraser can take another story, and turn it around so that you would swear that the other guy is guilty of plagarism is just another piece of the Flashy legend.

All in all, says I, a rip-roaring tale of a man without a consience, says he; who seems to do his damndess to preserve and protect other people's honor.

Four huzzahs for the Flash-man.

Flashy in hot water again.......2006-03-21

Flashman gets roped/coerced into masquerading as a Danish prince and the action gets furious from there. Written in the first person, Flashman is brutally honest about himself and others, and waxes philosophical more often than he should, but then this is part of his "autobiography," take it or leave it. A good deal of human nature can be learned from him.

I think many of us will live vicariously in Flashman's reluctant adventures, especially the erotic episodes. Being a 19th Century Anglophile, I enjoy the History, phrases and terms used then, as accurately described by Fraser. I am most impressed at his research for the background and settings used. For a while, I wasn't sure whether Flashman had been a real person.

Strongly suggest that the reader read the Flashman series in order, starting with the first one, Flashman: 1839-1842, to get the most out of the series. If you are really into it, read "Tom Brown's Schooldays" first.

Flashman as Literature?.......2005-11-08

Although the Flashman novels have been extolled by, well, practically everybody, it is mostly because of their action-packed plots, meticulous attention to detail, and, of course, the remarkable, hilarious narrator, Harry Flashman. Not often, though, do you find comments having to do with the novels' literary worthiness, or if you will, God forbid, High Art. Well, it's perhaps past time to talk about this a little bit, and probably the best place to start would be with Royal Flash.

The word--the literary word--is satire. As in, making fun of the stodgy Victorian adventure novel, the likes of which always contain a brave, hearty, God-fearing, noble little hero, vanquishing his enemies, and making a stoic and haughty England proud in the process. Others have noted that the plot of Royal Flash borrows liberally from the Victorian adventure, The Prisoner of Zenda. Of course it does. What they fail to take into account, however, is the fact that Royal Flash turns it on its head.

Whereas Rudolf, of Zenda, willingly takes the place of the captured king, for God and glory and all that is right, Flashman is commandeered into his adventure, threatened with jail and public humiliation after being discovered in flagrante with a fat German baroness. Where Rudolf manfully and indeed eagerly faces his enemies with, "steel," so that he can, "take a slap at 'em," Flashman cowers fearfully behind whatever he can find, or runs away without a thought. Where Rudolf leashes his growing affection for and chastely kisses the hand of the Princess Flavia, Flashman bulls the duchess Irma all over the castle for ten days after hoisting her up on his shoulder and singing an English sea ditty. Where Rudolf refuses to visit Strelsau later in life, so that he may maintain the dignity of his honorable relationship, Flashman returns to Strackenz so that he can steal every royal jewel he can get his hands on.

This is characteristic of all the Flashman novels. The selfless, brave souls found in novels by Doyle, P. C. Wren, Hope and Stevenson, are to Flashman, "vicious little sneaks," and, "toadies." And Flashman himself is as far from the Victorian "ideal" as a human being can get.

Here is another delightful little tidbit in the underappreciated novella, Flashman and the Tiger. Flashman, in disguise as a passed-out, drunken stumblebum, is accosted by the venerable Sherlock Holmes and his sidekick, Watson. Holmes, after some brief study, declares Flashman to be a German seaman, probably engaged in, "menial tasks," shipboard, and whose whiskers, "compensate for the ravages which drink and evil living have stamped on his countenance." This is not only hilarious because the man of logic, Sherlock Holmes, manages to get practically every detail wrong, it is also that he manages to get one right, which is his merciless depiction of Flashman's ignoble character. (Mr. Fraser is clearly not above poking fun at his own creation.)

Flashman, in his narrative, refers to the icon of Victorian literature, Sherlock Holmes, as a, "conceited ass," and possibly, "some kind of maniac," and to Watson as an, "oaf." This is classic Flashman, perfectly in tune with his irreverent personality, but beyond that, it is a perfect example of Fraser's irreverence as well, and only one of the dozens of playful little jabs that Mr. Fraser routinely takes at the Victorian hero throughout his novels.

But make no mistake: these are jabs, made in jest rather than scorn. Obviously, Mr. Fraser loves Victorian adventure stories as much as anybody. Indeed, he has proved it by spending the better part of his life perfecting them--all the while gleefully skewering them at the same time. Maybe he isn't Shakespeare, but there is definitely a certain kind of genius at work here.

Boring.......2005-06-06

I've read this book because I had been recommended Flashman by many people who are (like me) interested in 19th Century history. The idea of the hero meeting all major characters of the period was quite attractive. In fact, while some historical background elements are quite interesting - for example the biography of Lola Montez, which I didn't know - I was very disappointed by the novel. I can't find anything funny, and the story is too lacking in credibility to be interesting. I must be missing something.

I got bored and I did not finish the book. At least at won't have to buy the other books in the series.

Flashman in the Great Game: A Novel (Flashman)

Average customer rating:

One of the best Flashman novels
Flash as sepoy, Pathan and finally, Knight of the Bath, VC
A real book with some meat in it that is well worth the time
Flashy goes native
Flashy's Best?

Flashman in the Great Game: A Novel (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

One of the best Flashman novels.......2006-10-10

Flashman novels so uniformly entertain that it's hard to single one out as the best. But the unremitting action and focused detail of "Flashman in the Great Game", set in India during the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, might qualify it. American readers may know as little about this as they do about the Crimean War, the subject of Flashman's immediately prior adventure. But there is no better way to fill in our gaps of understanding about the British Age of Empire, than to accompany Flashman on his escapades.

Unwilling as always, Flashman is sent to India by Lord Palmerston as a secret emissary to the troublesome Queen Lakshmibai of Jhansi. Flashman is mesmerized by the beautiful and powerful queen, one of the most memorable of Flashman babes, but an assassination attempt sends him into hiding. Disguising himself as a tribesman he enlists in the colonial army, where troops are tense with rumors that they will be given taboo rifle cartridges. They revolt with horrifying violence against British cut off in remote areas with small garrisons. Flashman repeatedly escapes from a frying pan only to find himself in a hotter part of the fire. He witnesses events as synonymous with "atrocity" to the British public of the 19th century as September 11 or Beslan are to us today. Flashman escapes one incident more harrowing than the next. He never loses hope that soon he'll be able to lay low and shirk the rest of his mission, but his hopes are repeatedly dashed until he suddenly finds himself back before the intoxicating Lakshmibai, wondering, with his life on the line, if in fact she actually loves him.

Scrupulously showing colonialism's warts, Fraser depicts brutal British reprisals and suggests with postmodern egalitarianism that each side's violence somehow offsets the other. But in my old-fashioned, post-9/11 opinion the savagery provoking those reprisals was far greater, with barbaric atrocities committed against women, children, surrendering soldiers and the like. Executing a rebel is not the same as hacking a child up with a sabre.

Throughout the Flashman series our antihero's cowardly and bigoted selfishness provide black humor in all manner of grim situations, yet the gravity of the Mutiny necessarily mutes that side of Fraser's writing. The unrelenting violence of this episode limit even Flashman's capacity to be a jerk; he is forced, more often than usual and despite his best intentions, to be noble. As Fraser recreates the Raj in all its glory and inequity, we sense the surreal quality of a few English soldiers controlling a subcontinent with hundreds of millions of residents, and what happens when the resulting powder keg explodes.

Flash as sepoy, Pathan and finally, Knight of the Bath, VC.......2005-06-15

George Macdonald Fraser never ceases to amaze me with the wit, clarity and attention to historical detail of his Flashman series. In _Flashman and the Great Game_, he has truly outdone himself.

Begining as an agent for the Queen, Flashman is sent to India, where he soon finds himself embroiled in the 1857 Mutiny. The historical background and detailed information included is as delightful as it is impressive. That our Harry Flashman shows a more human side (being genuinely moved by the atrocities he "witnesses" by both sides) serves to add depth to the character. As a previous review mentioned, in this book Flashman is much more influenced by events than an actor upon them. In telling of the Mutiny, it works extremely well.

And finally, one also gets a feel for Fraser (through Flashman) as he writes, "you don't deserve it, you know ... not if its courage they're after .. but if they hand out medals for luck, and survival through funk, and suffering ignobly borne ... well, grab 'em with both hands" Written as by a true warrior, even if spoken through a scoundrel, poltroon, braggart and liar.

A real book with some meat in it that is well worth the time.......2005-03-10

GMF has hit his stride with this book! Of all of the Flashman Series that he has "Edited", This is far and away his best work.
I highly commend it as it has it all, What with Flashy hiding, running , lying , fornicating his way thru one of Britains most horrible and bloody Colonial Wars The Sepoy Mutiny.
Flashmans observations and insight were steel on target. I highly commend this book as I have worn out several copies of it in the past 10+ years. Its a pity that some one does not get off their duffs and make a decent movie of this series. The one effort with Roddy Macdowell came close but not quite.
I just hope that we can read of Flashy's adventures in the War between the states that has been hinted at in the other books. I would buy in a second!

Flashy goes native.......2004-12-31

Though the Flashman series by George MacDonald Fraser has been in print for decades, this is the first book that I've read. Ok, I've been inexcusably tardy; I've been busy.

As created by the author, the fictional Harry Flashman is an officer in the British Army during the reign of Queen Victoria. In FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME, Flashy, by this time a colonel, is asked by Prime Minister Lord Palmerston to go to India to investigate unrest among sepoy troops, a potential uprising perhaps being fanned by Harry's old nemesis, Count Ignatieff of Russia. After Flashman arrives, he's forced to go underground by assuming the identity of a native enlistee in the 3rd Cavalry, Bengal Army - just in time to become embroiled in the Great Mutiny of 1857.

Despite Flashy's growing reputation for heroism among the Army and Her Majesty's government, he's actually the greatest of cowards. His only interests are staying out of harm's way and having sex with as many women as possible. He's a rascal and a bounder of the first order. For female readers, Flashman is the man Mom warned about. For male readers, he is, perhaps, Everyman at heart. The charm of his memoirs, "The Flashman Papers", from which each book of the series is an excerpt, derives from the total honesty by which Flashy readily admits to his character deficiencies. It's only through canny opportunism, unwelcome circumstances, and luck that Harry's renown for derring-do increases with each installment.

The appeal of Flashy's rascality aside, the strength of these stories is apparently the historical research that Fraser did to create the backdrop for Harry's adventures. In FLASHMAN IN THE GREAT GAME, the event is the savage 1857 uprising of Indian troops against their British masters that resulted in massacres of whites - men, women, and children - at such places as Meerut, Jhansi, and Cawnpore. The British reprisal was merciless. And Flashy is there to tell us all about it, as well as explain the cultural and religious factors that contributed to the bloodbath. As an instruction about something I knew nothing about, Harry's narrative more than justifies the cost of the book. (OK, so I got it free from an email pen pal. But, you get my meaning.)

As I've no other Flashman novel for comparison, I was torn between awarding 4 and 5 stars. I settled on 4 as the safe option since that leaves room for improvement, which I may discover as I read additional volumes in the series. I do have to say, however, that I found Fraser's McAuslan trilogy more humorous and appealing, perhaps because the time, place, and protagonist are more contemporary.

Flashy's Best?.......2004-01-07

While I read this book as number eight in my chronological survey of the life and times of Harry Flashman and still have three books to go in the series, I can understand why the Flashman cognoscenti consider this book Fraser finest effort of this series.

In this book our toady, womanizing coward ends up in the middle of the great Indian mutiny in the 1858-9 period. As always there is high entertainment with Flashman's picaresque adventures and a lot of historical context thanks to Fraser's meticulous research. What makes the book stand out in this superb series is it's accurate and objective analysis of the events leading to the Indian Mutiny -required reading with regard to the current conflict in Iraq- and the fully three-dimensional rendering of the Indian princess Lakshmibai.

Fraser has responded to questions "how much of Flashman is in you?", "I think like Flashman, but don't follow it up with acting the way he does". As such, It seems like Fraser's esteem for this enigmatic leading lady translates into this book. Furthermore, the expert description of the battle scenes and the sights and smells of India turn this book into a superb example of historical fiction.

Too bad that the Flashman character has so far been so poorly translated to the moving screen. Maybe, just like Dickens, Fraser's writing skills are so evocative that any reenactment ends up disappointing. Yet, since the in my eyes disappointing O'Brien series received the full Hollywood treatment, it may be time for another try to bring Lord Harry to a larger audience.

Flashman's Lady (Flashman)
Average customer rating:

Completely Bonkers

Flashman Rides Again--To Rescue His Lady

Flashy shows a spark of selflessness in spite of himself

Flashman and the Pyrates, or, Flashman in Madagascar

Flashy again

Flashman's Lady (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Royal Flash (Flashman)

Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman)

Flash for Freedom! (Flashman)

Flashman in the Great Game: A Novel (Flashman)

Flashman and the Redskins (Flashman)

ASIN: 0452264898

Customer Reviews:

Completely Bonkers.......2006-02-19

This one is my favourite, partly because of the snippets of long-forgotten Asian history and partly because the story's completely bonkers. We start in a central London watering hole with Flashy being brow-beaten into playing cricket by an old school bore. Then we're at Lord's, batting and bowling against the nation's finest. Along comes a swarthy Oxford type called Suleman who's on the hunt for Flashy's Elspeth, and before you know what's what we're boffing Lady What's-her-name and on a slow boat to Singapore to avoid the London bookies. Blink and you'll miss Flashy getting mugged by knife-wielding triads and Elspeth getting kidnapped by Suleman, who turns out to be an infamous pirate (but with Oxford manners). Then we're off to Borneo with the Royal Navy, fighting pirates and fornicating with their locals and eventually Flashy's reunited with Elspeth after months of enforced servicing of Queen Ranavalona in Madagascar, that nookie-loving despot who ruled by boiling her opponents and force-feeding them chicken bones and poison. Saved by the French Navy after their own one left them to rot, Flashy and Elspeth live to ride again, Flashy with all and sundry, and Elspeth with all of Flashy's mates. Fabulous. Not a moral in sight. 5 Stars.

Flashman Rides Again--To Rescue His Lady.......2006-01-30

Flashman rides again, this time to the rescue of his lady, the beloved and empty headed Elspeth, who has been stolen away by a pirate. Lots of fun is had along the way, including an early 19th Century cricket match where our Harry shines, battles galour (some in the company of the famous pirate hunter Rupert Brooke), and lovely females, dangerous to be sure, but all buxom and bonaire. How many marriages can stand this strain and still endure?

Flashy shows a spark of selflessness in spite of himself.......2005-05-25

In the 1966 screen adaptation of A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS, Sir Thomas More (Paul Scofield) advises his daughter Meg (Susannah York):

"If (God) suffers us to come to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand to our tackle as best we can. And, yes Meg, then we can clamor like champions, if we have the spittle for it. But it's God's part, not our own, to bring ourselves to such a pass. Our natural business lies in escaping."

One of the most endearing qualities of author George MacDonald Fraser's anti-heroic protagonist, Harry Flashman, is his natural cowardice, which he freely admits with a certain degree of pride. Flashy is an expert at escaping; More would have been impressed.

In that volume of his memoirs entitled FLASHMAN'S LADY, Flashy is still young in the mid-1840s. His talent for a prudent and precipitous departure has yet to mature, as evidenced by his delayed response when beset by thugs in a dodgy section of Singapore:

"I'm not proud of what happened in the next moment. Of course, I was very young and thoughtless, and my great days of instant flight and evasion were still ahead of me, but even so, with ... my native cowardice to boot, my reaction was inexcusable ... in my youthful folly and ignorance, I absolutely stood there gaping ..."

The larger portion of this book's plot involves the kidnapping of Flashy's beautiful but scatterbrained wife, Elspeth, by a certain Don Solomon Haslam, a moneyed and mannered member of English high society who's not what he seems. Harry's determination to stay out of harm's way is severely taxed as he pursues Elspeth's rescue into the pirate-infested interior of Borneo, and later into Madagascar, where Flashy finds himself the slave of that island's mad and despotic queen, Ranavalona.

A chief attraction of Fraser's Flashman series is the knowledge it gives the reader about historical and factual, but arcane, events and places. In FLASHMAN'S LADY, the reader is apprised of the private war against the pirates of the East Indies by the eccentric English imperialist, James Brooke, and the reign of terror perpetuated by that female Caligula of the period, Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar. Indeed, the author's research into the latter has prompted me to place a non-fiction history of the subject on my Wish List.

Deep down, I think, Flashy's personal appeal is based on the realization that he's Everyman, whether one would wish to admit it or not. Our natural preference is to escape, and it's only through blundering circumstance, good luck, or an odd quirk of fate that any one of us might, like Harry himself, be perceived a hero by our fellows.

Flashman and the Pyrates, or, Flashman in Madagascar.......2004-02-09

Flashy - after, incidentally, pulling a hat trick on the three most celebrated cricketers of his time - accepts a "friendly" wager in a single-wicket match against Don Solomon, a foreign-born Eton-educated socialite. The tie score results in he and Elspeth accompanying Solomon on a cruise to the Far East, where Solomon's true colors are revealed, and he absconds with Elspeth. Flashman must fight, however unwillingly, to get her back - until they both end up in the hands of the bloodthirsty queen of Madagascar, Ranavalona I. This is a fine entry in the series, possibly a little more heavy on the humor this time around than the adventure. The first half of the book is all cricket and social intrigue; a more thorough look at Madagascar might have been in order, tho' perhaps Fraser was dealing with limited intelligence on that subject. Another minor quibble: At the book's opening, our hero is caught in a damned-if-he-does-damned-if-he-don't trap that pushed him again into adventure (lose the cricket match and see Elspeth go on a cruise with Solomon, or win and be beaten by crooked bookies?). And, as in Flash For Freedom, the dilemma that prompted him into action, when he returns (in that case, cheating at cards), is completely forgotten. I would have liked to see some closure in the matter of the threatening bookie, at least. All that aside, this is, of course, another witty, well-researched adventure. Bravo!

Flashy again.......2003-09-18

At his best. The only fault with Flashman is that Fraser had to squeeze him into a single lifetime. Flashman of Flashman's Lady is a great place to begin the Flashman tour of the British Army during the 19th Century, the roll on the floor laughter of Frazer's characterization, the relatively accurate history that goes with this historical fiction. If you haven't read Frazer's Flashman books you are missing a great lot of evenings.

Average customer rating:

Slow to get going but worth the wait
Fairly Good
In a class by itself
There's a reason some books are classics while others are not
Lilith

Lilith
George MacDonald
Manufacturer: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Phantastes
The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)
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ASIN: 0802860613

Amazon.com

"Lilith is equal if not superior to the best of Poe," the great 20th-century poet W.H. Auden said of this novel, but the comparison only begins to touch on the richness, density, and wonder of this late 19th-century adult fantasy novel. First published in 1895 (inhabiting a universe with the early Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, and Oscar Wilde--not to mention Thomas Hardy), this is the story of the aptly named Mr. Vane, his magical house, and the journeys into another world into which it leads him.

Meeting up with one mystery after another, including Adam and Eve themselves, he slowly but surely explores the mystery of the human fall from grace, and of our redemption. Instructed into the ways of seeing the deeper realities of this world--seeing, in a sense, by the light of the spirit--the reader and Mr. Vane both sense that MacDonald writes from his own deep experience of radiance, from a bliss so profound that death's darkness itself is utterly eclipsed in its light. --Doug Thorpe

Book Description

George MacDonald (1824-1905) was a Scottish author, teacher, and, briefly, clergyman, whose theology was too personal and idiosyncratic for him to remain on the pulpit for very long, but whose imagination led him to write two of the most important visionary novels of the 19th century, "Phantastes" and "Lilith."

Download Description

Lilith, by nineteenth-century Christian novelist, George MacDonald, is the chronicle of five trips taken by its narrator, Mr. Vane, into another world where, under the spell of MacDonald's extraordinary imagination, he explores the ultimate mystery of evil.

Customer Reviews:

Slow to get going but worth the wait.......2007-06-18

I don't usually give a book 7 chapters to get going but it's George MacDonald and I wanted to see it through. The book is wildly imaginative which is what I always like about his work and has some lofty themes. I would recommend it to any fantasy buff.

Fairly Good.......2006-11-24

This was a most interesting story which was entertaining but did not seem to have much meaning behind it. That or I missed it, cause most of MacDonald's stuff has depth. Like I said of Phantastes, this book is pure fairy tale, and should not be treated as a novel or more serious story.

Note that the whole concept of Adam having a first wife before Eve is very odd, but should not ruin the book. Regardless of content, the imagery is excellent, and the story itself is wierd but enjoyable. What tends to stick out most is its sureal events and places, which is precisely the details that make good fairy tales. (that and brief simplicity)

I must admit it is quite engrossing if the reader allows themselves to be drawn in, which tends to happen whether or not you want it to.

In a class by itself.......2006-11-16

This is a book unlike any other I have read. C.S. Lewis calls MacDonald his master but I couldn't figure out why until I read this book. Lilith is complex and stunning in its depth and imagery. I felt awakened after I read it.

There's a reason some books are classics while others are not.......2006-07-30

I had wanted to read this book for some time becaue I understood MacDonald was a favorite of C.S. Lewis, whose books -- both fiction and religious -- I enjoy greatly. Lewis' introduction to "Lilith" in the edition I read is quite accurate. MacDonald has a very difficult prose style. His narrative style is also unusual, and this makes the book somewhat hard to follow, particularly at first. You really need to adjust to the style to get into the flow of the book. However, once that occurs, it does ultimately payoff pretty well in the end. The influences on Lewis own writing can be seen -- falling through furniture into other worlds for example. However, this is ultimately a deeply religious work about a man gradually coming to self understanding and into a understanding of God.
In conclusion, I found the effort to read the book worthwhile in the end. However, it was something of a tough go to get to the point where it started making sense. It is easy to see why Lewis' own works remain widely read and popular, and this more unnecessarily difficult work remains obscure. Thus, while MacDonald's work is an interesting form of art and has a great message, I cannot recommend it to everyone and while some may love this work, can overall only give it a "3"

Lilith.......2006-02-21

Like other George MacDonald books this one takes a long time to get set up and build momentum. But it is well worth it in the end. I love where he goes with his detailed discriptions in this emotional alternate world that he creates. It has been said that C.S. Lewis became a Christian after reading this book, and I can understand why. MacDonald's understanding and inspection of a careing, loving God is set out in this book in a facinating and powerful analgues story. I especially enjoy his charactors called "the little lovers". They are an inocent but enchanting group of childlike people who are great at one, somewhat obvious, thing: loving.
This is one of my favorites books writen by MacDonald and I also highly recomend the collection of his short stories. They are filled with the same intricate imagery and are deliteful to read just like this book.

Unspoken Sermons (George MacDonald Original Works)

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Invaluable
There are no words...
Thought provoking and life changing
Helpful, encouraging, inspiring, practical
INCREDIBLE BOOK!

Unspoken Sermons (George MacDonald Original Works)
George MacDonald
Manufacturer: Johannesen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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George MacDonald

ASIN: 1881084485

Customer Reviews:

Invaluable.......2006-08-16

George MacDonald's collection of sermons has profoundly influenced my spiritual life.

Buy this book. At first you might be intimidated by the paragraph-long run-on sentances and slightly antiquated language, but after reading a couple of sermons you'll grow accustomed (read: learn love) to his verbose yet eloquent style of writing. This collection of Christian writings will edify, challenge, and inspire you regardless of your doctrinal background or spiritual maturity.

There are no words..........2005-09-27

This book quite possibly saved my faith. I have never found a more beautiful, yet simultaneously intellectual and thought-provoking book. After reading this, I have been devouring any George MacDonald text I can lay my hands on, and in all of them, I find a picture of God that is beyond any other I have enountered. MacDonald seems to understand (or at least articulate) better than any other author I have discovered God's character, how God relates to us, and vice versa.

I find myself wanting to give examples of what I mean, but I don't believe any summary I could provide would do his thoughts justice. You'll just have to read the book! You will be amazed, enlightened, and filled with joy, faith, and perhaps relief that there is a deeper way to look at Christianity than we often find in Christian writing.

One specific note: The sermon titled "The Eloi," on Jesus' cry, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" is perhaps the best single piece of writing I have ever read. No, not perhaps. It IS the best single piece of writing I have ever read. If you find yourself in the midst of the proverbial "dark night of the soul," and are not able to find God or feel his presence, I would make this first on your reading list.

Be blessed by this book. I have been.

Thought provoking and life changing.......2005-08-15

Having worked my way through much of MacDonald's fiction and by recommendation of my son, I just recently purchased a copy of "Unspoken Sermons." Needless to say, this book will have a permanent place on my nightstand.
I wonder, has there ever been another man in history who thought as deeply about spiritual things as MacDonald did? I marvel at his ability to see into things. For example, in discussing the third recorded temptation of Christ (in the book of Matthew) in which the adversary offers rulership of the world if Christ will only bow down and worship him (satan), he notes:
"Could it be other than a temptation to think that he might, if he would, lay a righteous grasp upon the reins of government, leap into the chariot of power, and ride forth conquering and to conquer? Glad visions arose before him of the prisoner breaking jubilant from the cell of injustice; of the widow lifting up the bowed head before the devouring Pharisee; of weeping children bursting into shouts at the sound of the wheels of the chariot before which oppression and wrong shrunk and withered, behind which sprung the fir-tree instead of the thorn, and the myrtle instead of the brier. What glowing visions of holy vengeance, what rosy dreams of human blessedness--and all from his hand--would crowd such a brain as his!--not like the castles-in-the-air of the aspiring youth, for he builds at random, because he knows that he cannot realize; but consistent and harmonious as well as grand, because he knew them within his reach. Could he not, transfigured in his snowy garments, call aloud in the streets of Jerusalem, "Behold your King?" And the fierce warriors of his nation would start at the sound; the ploughshare would be beaten into the sword, and the pruning-hook into the spear; and the nation, rushing to his call ... Ah! but when were his garments white as snow? When, through them, glorifying them as it passed, did the light stream from his glorified body? Not when he looked to such a conquest; but when, on a mount like this, he 'spake of the decease that he should accomplish at Jerusalem'! ... 'Thou shalt worship the Lord they God, and Him only shalt thou serve.' Not even thine own visions of love and truth, O Saviour of the world, shall be thy guides to thy goal, but the will of thy Father in heaven."
Although I have read of the temptations of Christ numerous times and heard sermons preached on the subject, NEVER had I thought or heard about what those temptations might have encompassed as MacDonald writes. True, we cannot know for certain just what thoughts Christ had in those temptations, but we do know that they were not insignificant. They were TESTS and as such MacDonald brings meat and bone to them and allows us to experience the depth of them. Yet, in these temptations, Christ chose the will of the Father; that is, he resisted his own desire and chose to be totally obedient to God's plan, step by step as it unfolded, perhaps not understanding the whys but always knowing obedience was his duty first and last.
This is the model and inspiration every Christian needs, and MacDonald brings these things to our understanding so that we can fully relate them to our own lives.
There is no author who has so positively impacted my life the way MacDonald has, and I am forever grateful for the person who first introduced me to his works. Get this book! Read it slowly and carefully and think about what you read as it relates to your own life. You will be forever changed.

Helpful, encouraging, inspiring, practical.......2004-01-14

There are three series of sermons in this book. In each series, each sermon builds on the preceeding one so that they proceed logically. For example, the first sermon ends with the words, ".....written upon that dark wall of his imprisoned conscience, the words, awful and glorious, OUR GOD IS A CONSUMING FIRE." The second sermon is titled," Our God is a consuming fire," and the book continues on in that format.
While MacDonald is most well know for his fiction (Phantastes) his non-fiction is incredible. It is inspiring and written almost as poetry. And I have found that the truths that he demonstrates about God have worked/are working their way into my actual life.
The thing that I most admire about MacDonald is his fearlessness in asking the difficult question and his confidence that God's perfect character will be revealed in all things. He covers a wide variety of topics: heaven, hell, the "atonement", prayer, the unforgivable sin, the temptation of Jesus, etc. He truly believes that God is light and there is no darkness at all in him, and this seems to me to be the overriding theme in the writings here, and of all of his writings as a whole.
Simply put, this is a wonderful book. It may take some time to get used to the language (it isn't super contemporary English) so be patient. If you haven't read MacDonald before, be prepared to be challenged and changed. His emphasis is always on doing, not merely thinking. The one titled "The Truth In Jesus" has become very important to me. I have struggled with reconciling the mercy and wrath of God, and for me, MacDonald has shown how they coexist, and how ultimately, God is love.

INCREDIBLE BOOK!.......2001-01-27

I'm not sure what moved me to buy this book, but I'm thankful beyond words that I did. This man's depth and spirit are truly amazing. I completely lose myself while reading Unspoken Sermons. And I'm afraid that MacDonald has now spoiled me; I can't imagine coming upon another book or writer, other than the Bible itself, that will move me like this does. Read this book!

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Flashman and the Charge of the Light Brigade
A wild ride, just like the Charge of the Light Brigade
SUPERB
Russian Flash
Simply Brilliant

Flashman at the Charge (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452264138

Customer Reviews:

Flashman and the Charge of the Light Brigade.......2006-12-18

In this fourth packet of the Flashman Papers, our man Flash finds himself in the thick of the Crimean War, including the Charge of the Light Brigade at Balaclava. Flash endures the regettable Lord Haw-Haw, the Earl of Cardigan, who led the Charge (although Lord Raglan deserves at least some of the blame for that fiasco). The reader is introduced to William Howard Russell, the famous Times of London who invented modern war reporting (the generals didn't like having a reporter around then either).

Harry also spends some not altogether unpleasant time in captivity in Russia - although a near encounter with the Russian knout leaves him with severe dyspepsia. Later Flash escapes, but ends up in in a Russian dungeon with Central Asian chieftain Yakub Beg and the warrior Izzat Kutebar. Rescued by Beg's people, Flashy shows some shocking signs of acting entirely honorably and contrary to his self-interest, but his odd behavior is soon explained.

If you are unfamiliar with the Flashman series, each book is a packet from the supposedly historical Flashman Papers. Flashman is a character of fictional history twice over, first in 'Tom Brown's Schooldays' published in 1857 and now in the George MacDonald Fraser's rediscovery. Fraser makes Flashman not only a cad, but also a reluctant and serial war hero. If you ever start to think Flashman has turned over a new leaf, just keep reading. If this kind of thing interests you I do suggest that you start with the first book in the series, 'Flashman', although each book stands on its own.

The Flashman series weave historical detail together with spell-binding stories told with frequent hilarity. Highly recommended for fans of British historical fiction or a good ribald tale of any kind.

A wild ride, just like the Charge of the Light Brigade.......2006-10-09

Frazer keeps his series alive with yet one more finely written installment in the Flashman series.

Our Flash Harry is a rotten sort of fellow, but amicably so. Keep him out of harm's way, give him some undeserved glory, warm him with a bottle and a trollop, and he's happy. But in this episode, he meets someone far more rotten, the chilling Count Nicholas Ignatieff in chilly Russia, where Flashman is held after being captured during the Charge of the Light Brigade. Ignatieff is merely the nastiest aspect of a nasty land. Even Flashman, appalled by serfdom's cruelty, sees no difference between it and slavery.

Flashy maneuvers to avoid service during the Crimean War, but has the misfortune to be assigned as mentor to Queen Victoria's German cousin who can't wait to go to the front. Flashman somehow stumbles into three major actions on the same day. After capture, he is held in genteel captivity by a medieval Cossack lord who alternately fascinates and repels Flashy - and who details Flashman to impregnate his married-to-a-weakling daughter. He escapes during a serf rising in a thrilling nighttime sleigh ride, accompanied by his lover clad in nothing but furs, and the priggish Scud East, a fellow officer, prisoner and former classmate obsessed with notions of duty. Flashman is recaptured and watches in horror as Ignatieff has a random prisoner beaten to death with the horrifying knout, merely to intimidate Flashman. After being hauled off to Central Asia in chains to aid in Russia's planned invasion of India, he busts out with local rebels who draft him into yet one more life-risking but glory-generating escapade. He meets another notable babe, the Asian rebels' half-Chinese princess known only as Ko Dali's daughter, a chilling manipulator whose seduction has a deeper motivation.

SUPERB.......2006-03-24

G. M. Fraser's Harry Flashman is a brilliant vehicle for examining Victorian social mores and military history. For the uninitiated, let me explain that Flashman, a rake, craven soldier, and toad-eater, survives and prospers-not without difficulties, mind you-while innocents and idealists are stomped beneath the boot of history.

This is my fourth Flashman novel. While the others-FLASHMAN, ROYAL FLASH, and FLASH FOR FREEDOM!-were exceptional, FLASHMAN AT THE CHARGE offers, word for word, more of Fraser's amazing action writing. YOU ARE THERE at the Battle of Balaclava (the Crimean War for you Yanks) as a petrified Flash holds his ground behind the Thin Red Line and participates reluctantly in Scarlett's Charge and the Charge of the Light Brigade. There are also sensational action sequences as Flash, a prisoner of war, escapes from Russia and supervises the bombardment in the bloody battle at Fort Raim. These spellbinding action sequences go on for thousands of words and their emotional power, in my opinion, exceeds that of any adventure movie.

This time, Flash is in mid-career and is an experienced man of the world. Occasionally, this Flash, a realist with a poetic bent, speaks completely in character and provides wonderful descriptions and insights. These are another great pleasure in this terrific novel. Here, for example, is Flash describing the Russian landscape (page 121 of my Plume edition):

"I've seen big countries before-the American plains on the old wagon-trails west of St. Louis, with the whispering grasses waving away and away to the very edge of the world, or the Saskatchewan prairies in grasshopper time, dun and empty under the biggest sky on earth. But Russia is bigger: there is no sky, only empty space overhead and no horizon, only a distant haze and endless miles of sun-scorched rank grass and emptiness. The few miserable hamlets, each with its rickety church, only seemed to emphasize the loneliness of that huge plain, imprisoning by its very emptiness...It appalled me as we rolled along."

Russian Flash.......2005-08-31

The most surprising thing about this installment of adventures of Harry Flashman (most famous officer, gentleman (well, quite doubtfully) and hero (well, not exactly) of Victorian England) set in Russia, that it is not even popular there, it is absolutely unknown. The Crimean War, together with serfdom, is quite an embarrassment for the Russians and George MacDonald Fraser spares none of his literary talents describing the 'beauty' and 'excitement' of Russian life in the middle of 19 century. Well, Flashman definitely enjoys certain aspects of it (you can easily imagine which ones). What catapults him into the Land of Tsars was, first of all, the Crimean War (which he skillfully tried to avoid but as usual getting himself into the pickle) and, as it happened, an unfortunate Charge of the Light Brigade, where he earns hard a status of a POW through his yet again outstanding cowardice. His life on the estate in a beautifully described southern rural Russia (or Ukraine to be precise) turns into yet another amorous affair with a beautiful daughter of a Cossack noble (with another surprise there too, mind you). Such fabulous captivity is abruptly interrupted by this foul Russian institution -serfdom- which catapults him into another adventure now in Central Asia (which was fighting not to be Russian at that time) where Flashy meets East again with more shocks and surprises for a reader (and Flashman). Prepare yourself for a Russian steambath, eavesdrop on the enemy's secrets after a passionate date and think how to make your sled lighter when you are on the run with a beauty because the chase is on and Cossacks are on the way!

Simply Brilliant.......2005-07-20

George MacDonald Fraser is simply brilliant - the Flashman Papers are part historical fiction, part bodice ripper, part humour. The intrepid Harry Flashman, a "hero" by all accounts is in his own words, a coward, a cheat, a liar and a womanizer. In spite of this, he continues to receive accolades, praise and a chest full of military decorations and titles.

In _Flashman at the Charge_, Flashman (in an attempt to avoid active service), ends up in the Crimea where first he joins "the thin, red line" in preventing the advance of the Russians, before rushing over to lead (farting all the way, incidentally), the charge of the light brigade.

Captured by the Russians, Flashman learns much about serfdom, Cossacks, "the Russian soul" - and of course, their attempts to invade India.

For all the show of cowardice, however, Fraser may be having a joke on us - that is to say, perhaps Flashy isn't the yellow-belly he would have us believe ... after all, the only difference between a "hero" and a "coward" is timing... and no one can doubt that Flashman has had an excellent sense of that.

The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)

Average customer rating:

One of the best fantasy books period
A Classic Fantasy Tale
A Great Story to Read!
Wonderful story full of insight
Wonderful storytelling and story

The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)
George Macdonald
Manufacturer: Puffin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Light Princess (Sunburst Book)

ASIN: 0140367462

Amazon.com

As always with George MacDonald, everything here is more than meets the eye: this in fact is MacDonald's grace-filled vision of the world. Said to be one of J.R.R. Tolkien's childhood favorites, The Princess and the Goblin is the story of the young Princess Irene, her good friend Curdie--a minor's son--and Irene's mysterious and beautiful great great grandmother, who lives in a secret room at the top of the castle stairs. Filled with images of dungeons and goblins, mysterious fires, burning roses, and a thread so fine as to be invisible and yet--like prayer--strong enough to lead the Princess back home to her grandmother's arms, this is a story of Curdie's slow realization that sometimes, as the princess tells him, "you must believe without seeing." Simple enough for reading aloud to a child (as I've done myself more than once with my daughter), it's rich enough to repay endless delighted readings for the adult. --Doug Thorpe

Book Description

Considered by W.H. Auden to be "the only English children's book in the same class as the Alice books," The Princess and the Goblin is a classic example of nineteenth-century children's literary fairy tales. Both this tale and its sequel, The Princess and Curdie, follow in the tradition of the folk tales of Charles Perrault and the Brothers Grimm, yet also impart to the reader a sense of MacDonald's personal vision and unique style. This volume is the only adult edition of these classics currently in print.

Download Description

Princess Irene's discovery of a secret stair to the top turret of the castle leads to a wonderful revelation. At the same time, the miner's son Curdle overhears a fiendish plot by the goblins who live below the mountain. It will take all of their wit and courage, plus the help of Irene's magic ring, to make sense of their separate knowledge and foil the goblins' schemes.

Customer Reviews:

One of the best fantasy books period.......2007-06-18

So it's written for children but I could hardly tell the difference. The simplicity of the storytelling made it all the more appealing and the veins of courage, humilty, and human frailty running through it were impressive and awe inspiring. Like I said it's simple but don't let that word fool you. It's brilliantly written and encourages the reader to look at his or her own character. "As water reflects a face, so a man's heart reflects the man." Proverbs 27:19 It's a lesson we could all learn if not relearn...

A Classic Fantasy Tale.......2007-04-17

Macdonald inspired C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and Lewis Carroll. He is the father of modern fantasy. This is one of his best. Directed more for kids, but like all of his tales, sophisticated enough for adults.

A Great Story to Read!.......2007-04-07

This book is a good classic for everyone to read because it is an enchanting story about a princess named Princess Irene and the adventures she has. She meets a boy miner named Curdie and she finds a great great grandmother living in the top tower room of Irene's house. Her nurse doesn't believe Irene--that she actually has a grandmother living in the top of the house. Irene eventually goes into the mountain and finds Curdie tied up. I really like the story because I like adventure and I also like mysteries and this story was sort of like a mystery (especially when I had to stop at the end of a chapter and wait to find out what happened next). I also think you could learn a lesson or two from this book: you don't have to see to believe (Curdie learned this). Irene learned that if you are not sure whether or not something is a dream or real, it can be real, and it is wonderful when it is.

Review by EGM, age seven.

Wonderful story full of insight.......2006-12-30

My mother read this book to me when I was four or five years old. The book was very memorable and my impressions of two of the main characters, Curdy and the grandmother, stayed with me over the years. I assumed the book had gone out of print and was surprised to come across it while browsing in a bookstore one day.

The story is magical and reading it again after so many years was very enjoyable. It was almost like undertaking a type of archaeological excavation deep into the recesses of my memories.

The author, George MacDonald (1824-1905), lived in Scotland and in addition to writing, was also a Christian minister. I later learned that he was very influential on C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. I personally believe that Tolkien's idea in The Hobbit of a mountain filled with goblins originated with George MacDonald's story of the goblin filled mountain in this book.

The story is a kind of allegory. There is a princess that was sent away from her father's house, a grand and beautiful palace built upon a mountain (her father is a king), to live in a house on the side of another mountain, half-way between its base and its peak. This seems to be a metaphor for the Christian idea that human spirits leave the home of their Heavenly Father, to enter mortal life. (see Wordsworth's poem: "Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting: The soul that rises with us, our life's Star, Hath had elsewhere its setting, And cometh from afar: Not in entire forgetfulness, And not in utter nakedness, But trailing clouds of glory do we come From God, who is our home...") It seems fitting to say that mortal life is found half-way down from heaven.

Curdy is a young miner who works in the mountain with his father every day. The mountain is filled with goblins that can only come out at night. The princess lives in a castle that is very mysterious. Its foundations stretch down into the mountains where the goblins live, but its upper towers are rarely visited, and a wise old woman, who turns out to be a type of symbol of heavenly guidance, lives there.

Curdy learns about the goblins' plot to invade the palace and capture the princess, and with the help of the wise old woman is able to save the princess. Curdy is not able to see the wise old woman at first because he does not believe in her. In one telling scene, the princess brings Curdy to see the old woman, but Curdy has not yet prepared himself to believe and so cannot see her. The princess is hurt because Curdy does not believe her and wants the old woman to show herself to Curdy. To this request, the old woman wisely replies that Curdy "is not yet able to believe some things. Seeing is not believing - it is only seeing." She also admonishes the princess that someone who already sees, (because they have developed faith) must be patient with others who cannot yet see, and therefore "must be content ... to be misunderstood for a while."

George MacDonald is one of my favorite storytellers. The Princess and the Goblin has a sequel, The Princess and Curdie, which is equally enjoyable. Another great book by MacDonald is The Wise Woman. MacDonald said that he didn't write for children "but for the child-like, whether they be of five, or fifty, or seventy-five."

I am in complete agreement with the reviewer who said that anyone will profit by reading this book.

Wonderful storytelling and story.......2006-08-29

This is a story you must read to your children. The author inspired C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and you will learn why (if you're a fan of Narnia and The Ring Trilogy) when you enjoy this book. Good read! Great to read by the fire. Children will be enthralled.

Average customer rating:

Flashman And the Peculiar Institution
Jolly Good Read
One of the best of the series
Layering dark satire onto the diciest of subjects
Flashman comes to America

Flash for Freedom! (Flashman)
George MacDonald Fraser
Manufacturer: Plume
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0452260892

Customer Reviews:

Flashman And the Peculiar Institution.......2007-06-14

One of the finest in what is likely the greatest series of historial comic novels ever. Harry Flashman is one of Victorian England's most decorated heros and its most craven coward and in this book finds himself unwillingly thrust headlong by his own Scottish merchant father-in-law into the slave trade. During this book, Flashy poses as slave raider, government anti-slave agent, overseer and slave stealer. As always, Flashy's quest to entrench himself in the Garden of Earthly Delights along with his unrivaled ability to create enemies propells him from a quiet card game with Disraeli and friends inexoribly along a twisted and tortuous road that will continue on to Africa, Cuba and New Orleans and in other novels will find him accompanying John Brown on the Harper's Valley raid (Flashman and the Angel of the Lord) and eventually to the Battle of the Little Big Horn (Flashman and the Indians) which he survives to his own great astonishment. Among the cast of unforgettable characters he meets is the mad cashiered Oxford Don and slave ship captain, John Charity Spring, who lashes his crew with the cat and numerous classic Latin quotations. Abraham Lincoln makes several unforgettable appearances as well. Not for the prudish or the PC crowd, but there's scarcely any equal to it for both enlightenment and entertainment.

Jolly Good Read.......2007-04-20

Time to write a Flashman review. Historically astute as I am, I've found the Flashman papers an easy and enjoyable method with which to buff up on history in the 19th century. This is my third encounter with Flashy. Had a blast with each one, but the subject matter in Freedom was somewhat more familiar than the first (Flashman) and second (Royal Flash) offerings. Fine with me, I learned much in the first two. Not for the squeamish or prudish, Flash finds his way to America aboard a slave ship and works his way North on the underground railroad. Coward that he is, Flashy let me down in the final packages. What a cur! Regardless, I'll continue with his exploits and let you know how he's doing. All for now... ta-ta.

One of the best of the series.......2006-07-10

Unbelievably funny. From the first brilliant sentence, we have the pleasure of being witness to a series of non-stop, hilariously horrendous mishaps visited upon poor, despicable Harry Flashman. The plot is as tight and the writing as crisp and witty as any book in the series.

In "Flash for Freedom", MacDonald Fraser puts old Flashie through a wringer as incredible as it is unbelievably harsh. From a high-powered political house party, during which he puts the moves on Fanny Duberly and makes mildly anti-Semitic comments to future PM Disraeli, Flashman is politically ruined when he almost murders a man, is then forced by his malicious Scotch father-in-law to lay low on what Flash later discovers is a slave ship, goes on a slaving expedition in Africa, fights the American Navy, is coerced by the Underground Railroad into running a supercilious slave to freedom up the Mississipi, then becomes a slave driver on a Southern plantation, eventually being forced into slavery himself, subsequently escaping to freedom with an attractive octoroon, inspiring "Uncle Tom's Cabin" and running into Abe Lincoln along the way. MacDonald Fraser somehow makes it all seem plausible. Phew! As usual, we learn a good deal about history. Although Flashman couldn't give two pence about slavery, GMF paints a vivid picture of the brutality and corruption of the institution, while pointing out the necessary complicity of the Africans themselves and the naive romanticsm of the Abolitionists towards the slaves. John Charity Spring, one of the best characters in the Flashman series, is introduced in this novel. As with all of these books, you'll learn something through your laughter.

Layering dark satire onto the diciest of subjects.......2005-12-11

Flashman is shown at his vile best in this installment of his saga. Signed unknowingly onto a slave ship by his malicious father-in-law to get him out of the country following a scandal, Flashman plunges up to his whiskers into that century's nastiest business. Sailing under an insane, Latin-quoting captain, who brings his tea-serving, equally insane wife along for the voyage, Flashy's misadventures take him from the Slave Coast of Africa to the whorehouses of New Orleans, from the back roads of Mississippi to the frozen Ohio River. Fraser's research into the slave trade is compelling; this is one of the more detailed fictionalizations of the slave trade in most of its horrors that I've ever read. The author gets credit for layering his dark satire onto this diciest of subjects, not something every author would have dared, and not sparing it in the least. It is, of course, almost the perfect vehicle for Flashman's unPC sensibilities, if the reader will forgive the anachronism. His encounter with Abraham Lincoln is absorbing even while satirical; Fraser presents a Lincoln with a frontier-tuned wit that penetrates further than can the capital's shallower sophisticates .

Flashman comes to America.......2004-05-21

Fraser has created another excellent Flashman adventure. The first half (or so) of the book concerns how Flashman ends up serving unwillingly in the crew of a slaving ship (after running afoul of his despicable father-in-law). The second half of the book - a bit weaker than the strong first half, I think - involves Flashman's exploits in the American South after he gets dragooned into helping the Underground Railroad. Flashman encounters a soon-to-be retiring Congressman Lincoln a couple of times during the course of the novel, and these scenes should be fun for fans of Abe.

The plot is strong, the pacing very fast, as we've come to expect from Flashman, and the dialogue is lots of fun. Fraser's historical accuracy is as good as ever. This is the third Flashman book I've read, and it's almost as good as the first book in the series ("Flashman"), which I liked quite a lot, and it's considerably better than "Royal Flash," the second book in the series. I'd recommend "Flash for Freedom" to anyone who's enjoyed the series so far. As with other Flashman books, if you're easily offended by bawdy - though not obscene by any stretch - language or activities, you should take a pass on this one.

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