Royal Flash (Flashman) Paperback – March 1, 1985

There is a whole series of Flashman books. All pure entertainment. I am very fond of them all but this, in my most humble opinion, is the best. Like a warm tub, once you put a foot in, the rest must follow.

Our intrepid hero, Harry Flashman, is back for volume two of the Flashman Papers, a narrative of the life and times of one of the most ne'er-do-well wastrels to ever grace the pages of a published autobiography.This installment picks up where the first volume left off; Harry returns from his Afghan adventures, quite the conquering hero and the toast of London. Soon, however, the bloom is off the rose and further adventures await, this time among the nobility of the continent. Soon, Flash matches wits with one of the greatest statesmen of the 19th century, Otto von Bismarck, and changes the course of European history as a result.As in the original Flashman novel, our Harry is revealed as the premier coward and opportunist of his era; faults which he quite willingly admits and even boasts of. This passage, relating to his beautiful, vacuous wife Elspeth gives a glimpse into the Flashman psyche:"At that moment I was overcome again with that yearning affection for her that I sometimes felt, in spite of her infidelities; I can't explain it, beyond saying that she must have had some magical quality, something to do with the childlike thoughtful look she wore, and the pure, helpless stupidity in her eyes. It is very difficult not to like a lovely idiot."Uproariously funny and entertaining, this sequel is every bit the equal of the original.

The blurb in the front of George MacDonald Fraser's Royal Flash - the second book in the Flashman Papers - is a New York Times quote that says: "If anyone is looking for a successor to James Bond, Flashy is the one." This is inaccurate; if anything, Harry Flashman is the anti-Bond: cowardly where Bond is courageous, self-serving where Bond is selfless, but human where Bond is superheroic (although the literary Bond is considerably less so than the cinematic one). Flashman, in short, is one of the great cads in fiction, and gleefully unrepentant in his roguishness.Royal Flash starts where the first volume (Flashman) ended, with the narrator resting on his laurels from his campaigns in Afghanistan. Of course, readers of the first volume are well aware that his heroics are essentially pure fiction, but the British public of 1842 is not onto him. For around 70 pages, Harry is relishing his status while antagonizing various historical figures, most particular, a young Bismarck. This will come back to haunt him years later, when he receives a mysterious summons to come to Germany.Harry smells a trap, but the scent of money is stronger, so he goes, only to be forced into a scheme of Bismarck's. As it turns out, Flashman is a virtual twin for Prince Carl Gustaf, who is soon to marry a princess that will solidify certain political alliances that Bismarck wants. Unfortunately, Gustaf has taken ill with a sexually transmitted disease and the cure will take too long; the wedding would be threatened and with it, Bismark's plans. Enter Flashman, who will impersonate Gustaf temporarily. Harry suspects there's more to this than what he's been told, but he has little choice to go along with the plot.I enjoyed the first book in this series, but I like this one even more. The book Flashman is a bit more episodic, while Royal Flash has more of a single plot, allowing a better narrative flow. A wonderful blend of history and satire, Royal Flash will continue to entertain those who found the first book a pleasure.

When Flashy uses people, he's quite OK with that. When the Karma kicks in, and Fashy is on the receiving end, hilarity ensues. The screw tightens throughout the book.

Harry Flashman is just the kind of rogue you can enjoy. An avowed coward, he nonetheless finds ways to extricate himself from danger. This book is set against the backdrop of the 1840's revolutions in Europe and features two very memorable characters: Otto von Bismarck and Lola Montez. It is a fun read and I highly recommend this book!

One bloody narrow escape after another! Flashman, Aubrey/Maturin, Jack Bauer! It must be atavistic, the thrill I feel from them, hormonally encrypted by my neanderthal evolution! Plus Flashman comes with 'entremeses' of lechery between the entrees of fish and foul!If you are so much as considering RoyaL Flash, you should - you must - have read the first of the series, titled simply Flashman. If you haven't, I'll tell you only that Harry Flashman is the most cynical craven con-man to slither through historical fiction since the picaresque adventures of Lazarillo de Tormes. Wny it's almost plausible that such a scoundrel might have skulked in the crevices of history, playing a necessary but unrecorded role! And you may be sure that nearly all the historical allusions and settings of the Flashman books are quite authentic. In Royal Flash, our anti-hero's opponent is none other than Otto von Bismark; I'm dead certain that anyone who read RF before the age of 25 would never be able to conceptualize Bismark other than as portrayed by George MacDonald Fraser.This second book of the Flashman Papers takes a good thirty pages to build up speed, but then it's.... one bloody narrow escape after another, as our Harry lucks out against the blondest blue-eyed beasts all Germany can muster, without ever being forced to act courageously.Read it! You know you can't resist! If you've come this far, you're doomed to read them all.

So glad I was introduced to Harry Flashman by a British colleague.Language of the book is wonderful, the adventures themselves are riveting, AND one learns history -- real history -- in the bargain.Really fun.

First class !!!!!

None better. The greatest.

The second instalment in the exploits of the most fascinating of characters, Harry Flashman, begins as the first finishes in 1842, but then leaps forward to a period some 4 years later.Flashy, fortuitously lauded after his yellow-bellied antics at the First Afghan War has become somewhat of a national hero, having been decorated by the Queen, and though he has clearly done nothing to deserve it, he will certainly not complain. Flash is still married to the beautiful but vacant Elspeth, who he now concedes is cheating on him ('You would never have thought, to see her angelic face, golden hair, and expression of idiotic innocence, that she was the biggest trollop that ever wore out a mattress'). After escaping a police raid on a brothel in London, Flash is rescued by Spanish dancer Lola Montez (and future mistress of King Ludwig I of Bavaria), insulting a young Otto Von Bismarck ('foul-mouthed foreign dog!') in the process. Flash beds her, naturally, and years later he accepts an offer he can't refuse and follows her to Munich. Yet again his propensity for wanton fornication lands him in deep water and he unwittingly becomes embroiled in an evil plan devised by the dastardly Otto, to swap him with a Danish Prince to satisfy his own political agenda.MacDonald Fraser writes with the same wit and dedication to historical accuracy that made the first volume such a joy to read. Royal flash is just as damned funny and informative, if not more so. It has in fact encouraged me to read up on this period of history and particularly about the quite incredible story of legendary femme-fatale Lola Montez, from her Irish beginnings to Countess of Landsfeld.We are again drawn by MacDonald Fraser to inexplicably liking a protagonist who toadies, cheats and copulates his way across Europe with little regard for anything or anybody except saving his own skin. Flashy's instinct for survival is what makes us root for him, and he will do absolutely anything, beg, lie and flee, to ensure that he does. He even exhibits the occasional bout of uncharacteristic bravery, when no other option is available to him of course.Just like the first outing, Royal flash features a slew of real historical figures that are woven skillfully into the story, though this is the only Flashman novel to be set in a fictional setting. Aside from Von Bismarck and Montez, the boxer John Gully, Prince Edward, Ludwig I, even composer Franz Liszt all feature among others. He is a wonderfully complex character, Flashman, delightfully honest, witty and crass, and superbly constructed by MacDonald Fraser in another winning installment of the Flashman papers. Absolutely brilliant.

Having loved "Tom Brown School Days" since I was young, I finally decided to read the Flashman stories.I enjoyed the first book...unfortunately after the first book it quickly got repetitive. In short enjoyable but best read with long intervals between reads