Flashman's Lady Paperback – April 1, 1988

In this volume of his memoirs, Flashy, the Ace of Cads, ranges from the legendary cricket field of Lords to the pirate infested seas of the East Indies to the bizarre hermit kingdom of Madagascar ruled by the mad and murderous Queen Ranavalona. How does he survive? As usual, he cheats. By dint of lying, bluffing, running, hiding behind better men and the judicious use of his talents for languages and fornication, Flashman triumphs over such menaces as a cuckolded Duke, tong hatchetmen, Borneo headhunters, Malay pirates and the aforementioned Queen Ranavalona (whose methods of disposing of a flagging lover tends to involve creative variations on flaying and impalement).Flashman's wife, Elspeth (the "Lady" of the title), has a major role in this story. Flashman's relationship with her (the only woman he could be said to have ever loved) adds an interesting dimension to his character. For her he even displays a few flashes of heroism. Fortunately for Flashman fans, these lapses from his true character are brief and soon repented of.We also get to see Flashman as a sportsman. As a cricketer he combines natural athletic talent with self discipline and with plenty of his usual low cunning. He uses these to win games at Lords and also invents brothel cricket ("...it turned into an impromptu innings on the landing, whores versus patrons (I must set down the rules for brothel cricket some day, if I can recall them; cover point took on a meaning that you won't find in "Wisden", I know.)").Once again, George MacDonald Fraser gives us a book that is a page turning delight from beginning to end. The pleasures of reading Flashman's adventures are all the greater knowing that their setting and characters are solidly historical. Never neglect reading the appendixes and notes!

Flashman's LadyThat I give Flashman's Lady only four stars is misleading as I am judging it against other books in the Flashman series and not on an absolute scale where it would deservedly receive a full five. Flashman's Lady is George Macdonald Fraser's sixth book in the series, but third chronologically as it fills in gaps from 1842 to 1846.Flashman's Lady includes three tales all centering to some degree around his beloved wife Elspeth (don't worry, that doesn't keep Flashy from straying). Flash first encounters Tom Brown in London, which leads to Flash's involvement in cricket matches involving some of the great names of the sport (or so I am informed). Elspeth attracts unwanted but not unwonted male attention (unwanted by Flash anyway) that leads to a cruise to Singapore where Elspeth is kidnapped. Flash follows the trail to Borneo with the great pirate fighter James Brooke, the White Raja of Sarawak. Harrowing battles on the Batang Lupar River leave Harry and Elspeth captive on board ship in the Indian Ocean. Harry `escapes' into slavery and the not-so-tender mercies of Queen Ranavalona of Madagascar. The reader is treated to the oddities and savagery of that island; a land that is outwardly European-influenced, but Ranavalona has kicked out all whites. Ranavalona's portrayal is doubtless distorted by Harry's pro-imperial Victorian views, but it makes for fascinating fun. (Elspeth also lands there, but is mostly out of sight.)The book was edited by one of Elspeth's sisters, who kindly excised the swear words, but left in the blood and gore, all the naughty bits. It also contains brief notes from Elspeth's own journal.Flashman's Lady will not disappoint fans of Flashman (and if you have not read it, then go buy the original Flashman: A Novel (Flashman)) and some will argue it's the best in the series. In my estimation, the book slips to four stars on the Flashman Scale only because adding the Madagascar adventure seems contrived. Ending the book with the adventures in Borneo would have been tidier. One speculates that Fraser wanted to write a tale involving Ranavalona, but lacked enough material for a full book. Too much Flashman, not much of a beef, is it? Let's hope the rumor that Fraser is working on another Flashman book proves true.The reader should also try out Fraser's McAuslan stories (McAuslan in the Rough or The General Danced at Dawn) for a whimsical look at post-war life in a World War Two regiment of Scottish Highlanders.Note: Flashman's Lady ends with Flash being summoned to India where he gets thoroughly mixed up in the first Anglo-Sikh war, a story that is told in Flashman and the Mountain of Light (Flashman), the ninth book published in the series.

The book was delivered quickly, on time, and undamaged> Flashman forever!

Fabulous story. One of my favorite authors. Gave this as a gift to my nephew and he loved it

The Flashman novels are not going to be wildly popular in today's rather facist PC political and social climate, but that happens to be why I get off on Flashy so much. Up The Establishment, baby! I like how in FLASHMAN'S LADY we get part of the story told from the POV of his completely stupid (and annoying) wife. She actually makes Flashy look intelligent, by comparison. If you're a Millenial or a 'Special Snowflake' you are guaranteed to hate this, but anyone with a sense of humor and intelligence will dig any of the Flashman books.

This addition to the Flashman series isn't as good as other volumes. It's still good enough for us Flashman fans not to miss it, but it probably won't be your favorite one. Since Elspeth (Mrs. Flashman) is generally an amusing character, I expected this book, which feature her a lot, would be a lot of fun, but it was a disappointment. First of all, there is too much about cricket at the beginning. Maybe a cricket fan would understand and enjoy all the references to great cricketers, but it was too much for me. Then Flashman and Elspeth end up in pirate's hands, but it's not very dramatic, and the pirate is a bit of a wuss--not very pirate-like. In the final part of the book, Flashman ends up a sex slave in Madagascar, which wasn't as interesting as I just made it sound. The book lacks clever plot twists and excitingly devious characters that are found in other Flashman books. This won't deter me from reading other Flashman books. Every chain has its weak link.