George MacDonald Fraser brought delight to a generation of readers throughout
the English-speaking world with his Flashman books. He wrote confidently on
a range of themes, but Flashman made his name.
He had hit on a deceptively simple idea that proved to be a bestselling
formula at the end of the Swinging Sixties. The public still wanted to sit
down with a good rip-roaring yarn — but did not want heroes. So why not make
the central character a cad? A cad the reading public already knew about —
Harry Flashman, the bounder of Tom Brown’s Schooldays?
What happened to Flashman after the good Doctor Arnold expelled him from
Rugby? Fraser decided that he must have gone into the Army. Bully, liar and
coward he may still have been, but the Victorian military authorities did
not mind. Or perhaps they were simply too stupid to notice, as he whored and
cheated his way around the British Empire. The resulting stories became one
of the great tongue-in-cheek achievements of popular fiction.
The standing joke between Fraser and his readers was that these were genuine
memoirs: they had been discovered, “wrapped in oilskin” and stuffed into a
tea chest, during a house sale at Ashby, Leicestershire, in 1965. They
described how, after a long, eventful life, loved by the ladies and lauded
by the Establishment — Flashman was a brigadier-general, a VC, a Knight of
the Bath, a Chevalier of the Legion d’Honneur and, amusingly, holder of the
San Serafino Order of Purity and Truth — the old scoundrel mused in old age
about how he had got away with it: “The ideal time to be a hero,” he wrote,
“is when the battle is over and the other fellows are dead, God rest ’em,
and you take the credit.”
It was all rollicking nonsense; but it had a sterling quality that went to the
heart of many sophisticated readers who like to relax with a rubbishy book
provided it is well written rubbish. Fraser was a thoroughly professional
literary craftsman.
The books could be enjoyed at different levels. They sold in airport bookshops
and they found their way into the hands of solemn Americans who could not
understand why they were unable to find General Flashman in the reference
books. Letters came from people who claimed to be related to Flashman as a
result of one of his irregular liaisons. One serving British officer claimed
that his grandfather lent Flashman $50 and a horse during the American Civil
War — and never saw either again.
Fraser loved military history and he loved browsing through Victoriana. He
decided that the “Flashman Papers”, like all well-edited memoirs, deserved
to have scholarly references at the back of the book. Thus, when Flashman,
passing through London between postings, is taken unawares in disreputable
premises with his breeches down at his ankles the reader is told solemnly,
when he flicks through the pages to the end notes, that “Raiding of
gambling-hells was common after the Police Act of 1839 (see L.J. Ludovici,
The Itch for Play.)”.
The genial Fraser himself had not a glimmer of caddishness, and his own
military experience was very unlike Flashman’s. He served in the ranks in
General Slim’s 14th Army in Burma in the Second World War before being
commissioned in the Gordon Highlanders.
His time in Burma resulted in a memoir, published in 1992 under the title
Quartered Safe out Here, which ranks among the best of the kind of modestly
understated barrack-room books that provide a picture, more vivid than the
military historians can provide, of the harshness, squalor and black humour
of war on the ground. Here is the young Fraser in the jungle: “As the
section scout, I found myself advancing alone, safety catch off and one up
the spout, across a hundred yards of open ground to a silent screen of palm
and thicket concealing a village where there might or might not be a
Japanese position. There wasn’t, as it happened, but I remember every step.”
He found himself “wishing to God I’d passed Lower Latin and got into
university in 1943”.
He noted drily that when the 1945 general election came (after the war in
Europe ended but the soldiers of the Japanese Emperor showed no sign of
surrendering) he was not old enough to vote, although he was old enough to
lead jungle patrols.
Born in 1925, George MacDonald Fraser, the son of a doctor, was educated at
Carlisle Grammar School and Glasgow Academy. Back from the war, he became a
journalist, first in Canada and finally with the Glasgow Herald, of which he
became deputy editor.
For years one of his interests had been been the heroic world of Victorian
adventure yarns for boys, and one of his sidelines at the Herald was to
provide agreeable little articles aimed at middle-aged readers who enjoyed
recalling the derring-do of school stories. Another interest was the
American pioneer days, and in due course Flashman enjoyed adventures among
the redskins.
Fraser was in his forties when he wrote Flashman (1969) — and realised the
dream of all journalists, of telling his editor he could not afford to carry
on with a newspaper career. He moved to the Isle of Man — as a tax haven
that was not too outlandish — and there he settled down to write, in a house
large enough to contain a snooker table, to indulge the only vice that he
might have shared with the cad of Rugby.
His first novel, based on a real episode in the First Afghan War, ends with
Flashman being welcomed home by the Great Duke himself and taken to
Buckingham Palace to be decorated by Queen Victoria (who, it emerged in the
later books, had something of a soft spot for Flashman).
The great and good, and the less good, of Victorian times moved effortlessly
across the pages of the Flashman books. Second in the series was Royal Flash
(1970), a Ruritarian romp in which the villain was the young Bismarck.
Subsequent volumes took the rascally Flashman around the globe.
Through it all, sabres glint in the sunlight and the white man comes out top
in the end; bosoms heave, bodices are ripped; foreigners strut and sneer and
simper and generally prove their inferiority. Part of the delight of the
stories, when they appeared in an age of women’s liberation and campaigns
against racial discrimination, was the shameless way Fraser ignored
political correctness. In spite of ill-health in his latter years — he had
been suffering from cancer — he continued to write: The last of the dozen
Flashman books, Flashman on the March, appeared in 2005.He also produced a
couple of collections of short stories.
Fraser was also a scenarist for a number of films. He wrote the screenplay
when Royal Flash became a movie in 1975, and wrote half a dozen other film
scripts, notably (in co-
operation with Richard Maibaum) that of the James Bond movie Octopussy (1983),
which starred Roger Moore.
He had made his debut as a screenwriter in 1973 with the sleek Richard
Lester-directed The Three Musketeers, which starred Oliver Reed, Raquel
Welch and Michael York. He performed the same service in 1974 for the
somewhat perfunctory sequel, The Four Musketeers, also directed by Lester
and featuring the same cast as its rip-roaring protagonists. He was in
harness with Clive Exton on the script of the medieval nonsense frolic Red
Sonja (1985), directed by Richard Fleischer, and his final screenplay was
The Return of the Musketeers (1989), again directed by Lester, with Reed and
York now as somewhat mature hell-raisers. Fraser was appointed OBE in 1999.
He married, in 1949, Kathleen Hetherington. There were two sons and a daughter
(the novelist Caro Fraser).
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE, novelist and screenwriter, was born on April
2, 1925. He died on January 2, 2008, aged 82
Sometime it takes awhile to get one's thoughts together. For me to pick up the McAuslan series is to visit with old friends. My father was of the generation that went to war, and played soccer in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy. He too was a Scottish soldier.
I will greatly miss GMF.
Here's tae us
Jim Curr, Fort Frances, Canada
You omited his book, "The Steel Bonnets" in which he described our family, the Elliot Border raiders as "slick professional gangsters who made the Chicago Mob look like bumbling amateurs." He brought them to life for us and gave our 500 years in crime a new respectability. God bless him!
Michael Elliot, Blackhaugh. , Richmond, Canada
I must apologise for mistakenly referring to GMF as Sir George in my earlier missive.I was under the impression that he had been knighted some years ago.In any event he jolly well deserved to be made a knight.Once again I doff my hat to you Mr. Fraser.
Shamsher Singh, Chandigarh, India
No books have given me as much pleasure as the Flashman series, and Mr American will surely come to be regarded as a great work of literary fiction. Thank you, Mr Fraser, for the words.
Simon Rogerson, Wokingham, England
Truly a tremendous loss to all his fans. I read my first Flashman in college back in the nineties and since then have read and re-read every one of his stories,including Mr. American,several times over.I raise a silent toast to Sir George and offer my deepest sympathies to his family.
Shamsher Singh, Chandigarh, India
To the Fraser family: I wrote to him three times and, to my astonishment, he answered every letter. These notes in their blue, air mail envelopes with the Isle of Man stamps are some of my most treasured possessions. To G. M. Fraser: Thank you. And all good wishes to you and the brigadier.
Jim Barnett, Natchez, MS, USA
As an American teenager back in the 70s, I had my first look at the hay-day of the British empire in the Victorian era from GMF. Over the years he has brought me great joy and a real appreciation for the UK and the people in it -- (a bit ironic, when you consider how reprehensible Flashman could be). Through his writing, I was led to C. S. Forester, Ian Fleming, James Clavell, and numerous others -- and in the end, it showed me that no people on earth are better at 'just getting on with it' regardless of the hardships, than the British.
I wish Mr. Fraser well in the next life, my only regret is that he someone else will have to finish Flashman's story for us.
J B Condon, Berthoud, USA / Colorado
Thanks Kathleen, for encouraging him to continue writing back there in the 60's. And thanks George, for listening to a sensible and loving wife. Your Kathleen must have a great sense of humor.
Bill Parlette, Goldiwil / Thun, Switzerland
I enjoyed all of George Macdonald Fraser's books, and I still enjoy reading them. He has been my favourite writer for many years. As a school Principal for 37 years, I believe I learned more about leadership and management of people from Dand MacNeill and his wonderful Colonel than from any other mentors. Quartered Safe Out Here is a piece of writing that deserves to live forever. The Reavers demonstrates that Fraser's muse was still with him right up to the end.
I am sad that I never met him. I was sure I would have found him to be a wonderful man.
Con O'Brien, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
I discovered George MacDonald Fraser back in the 1970s when I was a young journalist working at the Regina Leader-Post newspaper in Regina, Saskatchewan (where GMF had worked for a time 20 years earlier). One of his old friends at the L-P gave me a letter of introduction when I was travelling to the U.K. for an extended holiday. So I journeyed to the Isle of Man, where Fraser lived, I sought him out in order to write a piece about him for the Leader-Post. We sat down for lunch and a pint in a little pub in Douglas, the main town on the island. Fraser was everything I hoped he'd be: witty, funny, and great company. He was also something of a rascal. I recall him cordially buying me several pints ( I lost count), and by the time we left the pub late that afternoon, he was still in fine form (being used to the strong brew), but it was all I could do to make my way back to the B & B where I was staying and fall into bed.
Ken Cuthbertson, Kingston, ON , Canada
Saddened as I am at the passing of this great historian/novelist, I am at the same time filled with gratitude to George MacDonald Fraser for his immense creativity, wit, humor, and honesty. From the Flashman books, to the Three and Four Musketeers films, to my current read Quartered Safe Out Here, my life is all the richer for having made his (literary) acquaintance.
Dennis Spadini, Pacifica, California, USA
Is there any, any, any chance that the Civil war story is in an as-yet-unopened packet? Paget Morrison, can you kindly check your luggage?
T. McKearn, Arlington Heights, IL, USA
One of the best has left us. He'll be deeply missed.
Schierer, Bamberg, Germany
What?!! Flashie was fictional? And I have spent the last 40 of my life trying to be just like him? Tis a grave moment, to lose my innocence about Flashie and the wonderful pen of George MacDonald Fraser at the same time.
I believe I have read every one of his books but one of the MacAslin stories, and do not think there is any writer I have enjoyed more. And I learned so much--I loved the end notes in the Flashman books almost as much as the tales themselves.
If Mr. Fraser had half as much fun writing his books as we did reading them, he must have lived a full and happy life! God Bless him--may he rest in peace, with our thanks for the wonderful stories.
Gary Davis, Monterey, California
A very favourite author, I am so sad he is gone, but shall remember him constanly when I re-read all my 'Flashy' novels and quote them to my friends as actual histroy of the those times!!
Harvey McCormick, Vancouver, BC, Canada
A superb writer and a gentleman. Flashman is one of the great literary characters. George will be missed. Yours aye!
edward chapman, manchester,
I once sent George a parcel of 1st edtions which he duly inscribed for me, he even sent a cheque for " the change from the postage" A mark of the man . The books will one day be my son's and the cheque i use as a bookmark when i'm re-acquainting myself with some old friends.
GMF a true gentleman !
David Parr, Co Armagh,
Of all the books and authors I have read, George MacDonald Fraser is the only one who has made me laugh uproariously outright at the antics of his anti-hero Flashman. I deeply regret that I will no longer be able to look forward to another instalment of Flashman,and that I never had the pleasure of meeting him to thank him for all the happy hours of reading enjoyment he gave me.
G. H.. Bell, SILVERDALE., Lancs LA5 0SD
I first met MacAuslan whilst browsing through a hotel bookcase on a wet afternoon in Great Dunmow. From then on I was hooked and after great effort, managed to read all 3 three of the volumes dealing with this "Dirtiest soldier in the world".
Why the affection? As a regular officer (admittedly in the "Light Blue") I was fortunate enough to serve briefly with 2 Scottish Regiments and GMF perfectly captured that steady relationship between all good officers, SNCOs and their Jocks, and the fine, thin thread of comedy that runs through all military life. From "Quartered Safe out Here" we learn what it was really like to be a foot soldier in a nasty, unpleasant war, a tale told with much black humour and false modesty. GMF was a man I would have very much liked to serve alongside.
God keep you safe on your latest "journey" Mr Fraser and thank you for so much reading pleasure.
Geoff Iliff-Rolfe, Padbury, England
Not mentioned in all the kudos about Fraser and his Flashman character is the final appearance of Sir Harry (chronologically, that is). He is a major supporting character in Fraser's 1980 novel " Mr American," which takes place in the years leading up to the Great War. Flashie's final appearance, in August 1914 as the crowds throng the Buckingham Palace area in celebration (!) of the coming of war, is a tour de force not to be missed. Read it in tribute to Flashie, and especially to Fraser. My "militaristic" wife says it is the only Fraser novel she loves. There you go!
Fraser, DAMN YOUR EYES! Mark Esche is right! You never gave us Flashie in the US Civil War; you just taunted us over the decades. Are you grinning now, from writer's heaven?
John Bessette, Springfield, Virginia
John Bessette, Springfield, Virginia, USA
I first read Flashman in my teens and now ,twenty years later, I eagerly anticipate anything from the pen of the author. I am saddened to hear of his passing and the consequence that there will be no more to come. I would have loved to have met the man. His robust, unapologetic expression of his morale code, a code borne of experience of real life, was always refreshing to me and I suspect to many others who tire of the hand wringing of so many of our contemporary commentators.
Thank you George MacDonald Fraser, you taught me a great deal. My condolences to your family.
Martin Welch, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
From across the pond, a final tip of the hat to Mr. Fraser. His self professed cad was, at heart, an honest man, as he was able to see the hypocrisy of his fellows. At the risk of being thought a cad myself, is there any chance of the exploits of Flashy during the American Civil War will see the light of day? Please,please, please, please, please!! Caro Fraser, help us now! uM, ERR, Sorry for your loss, ma'am, but maybe someone could edit the manuscript. so Flashy could have one last gallop through the mire of history. I'd beg and grovel more, but I'm a mere amateur next to Harry Flashman.
Mark Esche, Leesburg, fl, USA
Thanks and RIP George. Your writing has given me hours of enjoyment over the last 30 years or so and still does. Flashman's 'exploits' and your footnotes introduced me to further writings on the historical events portrayed. Taken together this has formed an important part of my life. History was never so entertaining! You will be sadly missed. I hope that you have left at least one further package of Flashman papers for us to enjoy in your absence.
Charlie Greenslade, Edinburgh, Scotland
I agree with the contributor above who praises the McAuslan stories. All three volumes are still in print: The General Danced at Dawn, McAuslan in the Rough, and The Sheikh and the Dustbin. McAuslan is not just a fine comic creation but a vehicle for much autobiography, embellished as the author saw fit. Adds detail to Quartered Safe out Here. Funnier and better than Flashman.
David Wilkinson, Dorchester-on-Thames, UK
In two weeks we have had taken from us, two brilliant men who shone supremely in their own sphere: Oscar Peterson and, now, George Fraser. They will be missed by many who yearned to play like Peterson and to write like Fraser. The only comfort is that we lived to enjoy their abilities!
Walter Coleshill. N.C. U.S.A.
Walter Coleshill, Pittsboro, U.S.A.
If Patrick O'Brian was as much a fictional character as his magnificent creations, Aubrey and Maturin, George MacDonald Fraser was the real thing--former soldier and officer, journalist and novelist who could paint as vivid a picture in words as can be imagined. To categorize the Flashman series as historical novels is a disservice. They were a celebration of all that we love to hate and hate to love, damn' fine stories shot through with exquisite historical references that are still laugh-out-loud funny. First recommended to me by the son of a former British soldier when I was 17, I didn't "discover" Flashy until I was a serving officer myself. And, quartered safe out here in Baghdad, Flashman remains an old and dear friend, thanks to the fertile creative genius of George MacDonald Fraser. But let's not overlook Mr. American, which is as fine an English novel as one is apt to read. Period. The reading public has lost a literary light in the death of George MacDonald Fraser.
CDR Scott Rye, USN, Baghdad, Iraq
George MacDonald Fraser was first and foremost a great storyteller. I brought my first Flashman novel in 1974, and apart from laughing about his outrageous behaviour , I was totally impressed by the accuracy of the historical detail.
GMF was also a fine historian, and I agree with C. Feldman's comments that I also learnt more from his books than anything from my A- Level history classes. However, his finest book which has not been mentioned in any of his excellent obituaries has to be "The Pyrates". A comedic masterpiece,
( with some very truly funny moments such as 17th century people dancing to the latin rhythms of Xavier Cuget !), I suggest that it should be re-read again, and in the light of "Pirates Of The Caribbean", it is clear that Hollywood missed a golden opportunity. One could imagine that Johnny Depp as Calico Jack would have made inspired casting.
Raise your glasses to the good man, what- o !
Rob J, Herts, United Kingdom
Mr. Fraser's writing and his ability to find humor in even the most mundane aspects of military life has helped carry me through my own military career. I never make a military movement via plane, bus, or train without thinking of the skills I need to change a nappy or current currency rates for the border currency game. Oh, and to remember my pistol. Quartered Safe Out Here rings true of life in an infantry platoon on active service and is a must read for all. My thanks Mr. Fraser; you will be missed.
W.H. West, Eagle River, Alaska, USA
I learned more 19th and 20th century history (and 19th century British soldiers' slang) from his books than from all the history texts, encyclopediae and classes I've ever been exposed to over the years. He taught me about the First Afghan War and the disastrous retreat from Kabul, the Indian Mutiny, the Sikh Wars, Roarke's Drift, John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, the Jornada del Muerto, Madagascar, "drinking from the soup-plate of honour," the White Raja of Borneo, knouting, the Border Reivers, the Burma Campaign, Bertie the Bounder, the Koh-i-Noor, playing soccer in the Libyan desert, "Bo Geestie," Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi, the night train to Jerusalem, the destruction of the Forbidden City gardens, and much, much more.
I'll be raising a glass to the man.
C. Feldman, Austin, TX
Fraser was a genius, he will be greatly missed.
Harry Flashman carried me through some of the most darkest times of my life, when I had the utmost contempt for women and he made me see that was not a problem. They were all lovely creatures, there to be loved but never trusted.
George in the words of Sir Harry "Drink puppy, Drink"
John Richardson, Kingswinford, England
I was very sorry to read of Fraser's death. I’ve always loved his books! I first found Flashman in a Queens College bookshop rack in Flushing, New York, and fell in, if not love, great fondness for the roguish character. As a history buff (and a Sherlockian) I have had great fun exploring the Victorian Age with Harry Flashman and Elspeth and all the other characters. It’s too bad that there are still so many stories untold. I imagine Fraser shaking his head at the UK and US mired in Afghanistan yet again (Blair and Bush should have read Fraser rather than Tory historians like Roberts and Ferguson). Pyrates is also a favorite, and I look forward to the US edition of his last book The Reavers.
Love that Wodehouse quote: "If there was a time when I felt that watcher-of-the-skies-when-a-new-planet stuff, it was when I read the first Flashman."
Stu Shiffman, Seattle, WA, USA
A great loss. I'll have to be content with reading them all over again - and again.
Surpised that so little reference is made to his other comic creation, McAuslan - the dirtiest soldier in the world. The three books of short stories about a post war Highland Regiment belong in any collection of comic writing. If you have read only Flashman, dig these out.
Alan Parkin, Beverley , East Yorkshire
He wrote a book on the Anglo Scottish Border "Reivers" in the early 70's - The Steel Bonnets. Fantastic - A must read for all Northumbrian, Cumbrian and low land Scots. Never met Mr Fraser, but sad to hear of his passing.
Al, Northumberland, England
Quartered Safe Out Here is the best piece of writing on active service I have ever read. He was a superb writer and an excellent soldier.
Furriskey, Singapore,
I would like to pay my respects to Mr Fraser and thank him for the many hours of pleasure he gave me through his writing. I enjoyed all of his books, but of course Flashman steals the show.
Thank you Mr Fraser – you truly will be missed.
S Williams, London,
What a loss, MR. GMF, I Owe you a debt of gratitude to the man for all the many fine hours I have spent enjoying his superb books.
A great writer who will be missed.
Mitchell Hill,
mitchell hill, basildon, essex
I'll have the knave flogged when he gets to me... I can see him in the check in queue. The papers were the musings of a madman - nothing to do with me; poltroon indeed! His tome, 'Quartered Safe out Here'... might just read it - get the lowdown on the old snitch.
HP Flashman, VC, KCB, KCIE, Gandamack Lodge, Ashby, Leics,
My favourite author has gone into the void.I loved him like a brother although I didn't know him and now my sense of loss is limitless.
I'm also angry because he never told us the story of the Civil W ar in the U.S. .
Rest well my friend.
HarryFlashmanHigson, Fujisawa, Japan
Damn. Damn. Damn.
I know he had to go sometime, but I was hoping it would be after about another 10 Flashman stories.
And "Quartered Safe Out Here" is everything described, i.e., another Must Read.
Damn. Damn. Damn.
Neil Gieleghem, Los Angeles, CA, USA