Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser

(Book Review)

The 5th book in the Flashman series. See also:
Tom Brown’s Schooldays,
Flashman,
Royal Flash,
Flash for Freedom,
And Flashman at the Charge.

“The Great Game” referred to in the title of this book is the 19th Century rivalry between Britain and Russia for influence in Afghanistan and India, played out by secret agents from both countries. It was first popularized by Rudyard Kipling in the novel “Kim”, and the explorer Richard Burton was among its participants. And it was one of my main reasons for picking up the Flasman series to begin with, as several of the Flashman books deal with this theme (such as “Flashman” and “Flashman at the Charge.”)

In the case of this book, however, the title is almost a misnomer. Or at least I thought so. My image of “The Great Game” is a kind of subtle spy-counterspy type intrigue. This book deals with the 1857 Indian rebellion against British colonial rule, and it’s much more about open warfare than it is about secret agents.
Although there are certainly elements of “The Great Game” in this book. There is a rivalry between Flashman and the Russian spy Ignatieff (who is the surviving villain from the previous book “Flashman at the Charge.”)

But the bulk of the book is about the Indian Rebellion. And this book continues the Forrest Gump like theme of Flashman being present at all the important points of the Rebellion (even though he doesn’t want to be, somehow he always ends up at them). So throughout the book he’s jumping from one danger point to the next.

As usual, George Macdonald Fraser shows a talent for unearthing the historical tidbits that are much more fascinating than fiction.
For example, Flashman and a few companions, after surviving the siege of Cawnpore, are led out under a truce agreement to boats on the Ganges. However when the rebels break the truce and start firing on the boats, there’s a vicious battle and only one boat escapes. Downstream, the boat becomes stuck in the mud, and they go into the jungle in search of help, where they are attacked by villagers. The British soldiers barricade themselves in a temple and try to hold off the villagers with rifle volleys. The villagers set the temple on fire, and they’re forced to make a run for it. Miraculously they make it back to the river, only to find their boat gone. But with the villagers in fast pursuit and the arrows flying, they have no choice but to just dive into the river and swim for it. They escape the villagers, but then are attacked by the crocodiles, which they only escape by heading for the rough water, in which they are nearly drowned.

It all sounds straight out of some Hollywood adventure movie, but the story is all backed up with footnotes, indicating that it really did happen. Flashman’s part in the adventure is pure fiction, of course, but everything else is vouched for in the journals of the soldiers.
And these kinds of forgotten historical adventures can be found throughout the whole book. There’s another incident where Flashman is trapped in yet another of the key sieges, and he has to escort out a crazed Irishman (who has spent too much time in the tunnels battling the Indian rebels). Under cover of night they have to sneak through the city and the besieging rebels so that the Irishman can act as a guide to the British army coming to relieve the siege.
Again, aside from Flashman’s part in it, all historical. The footnotes indicate the Irishman T. Henry Kavanaugh really did exist, and really did sneak through the enemy lines at night so he could guide the incoming army.

And, as with his previous books, George MacDonald Fraser also has an eye for fascinating historical figures that have been largely forgotten nowadays. Princess Lakshmibai, the Mararani of Jhansi, who was regarded as something like the Joan of Arc of India at the time, plays a major role in this story.

Also, continuing on the story lines established in the previous book, Harry “Scud” East, Flashman’s old schoolmate from the source material: “Tom Brown’s Schooldays” is again a character in this story.

As always, there’s also a fair amount of comedy mixed in with these stories. Flashman continues his rivalry with Lord Cardigan (the leader of the disastrous Charge of the Light Brigade, and who Flashman has grown to hate for personal reasons over the course of the previous books.) There’s a rumor going around at the time that Lord Cardigan didn’t actually charge with his troops, and when asked about it Flashman tried to imply that it’s true without actually saying so outright. This was a particularly funny scene.
Also returning triumphant from India, Flashman discovers his reputation in England has been completely ruined by the publication of “Tom Brown’s Schooldays.” Fraser did a nice job of imagining how the fictional character would react to reading about himself in the book.
And of course, as in every Flashman book, this continues the theme of Flashman running from every danger, crying and pleading for his life in front of all his enemies, and then somehow managing to still be perceived by his countrymen as the quintessential Victorian hero.

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As someone who is interested in history, but not much of a voracious reader, most of my knowledge of the Indian Rebellion comes from television documentaries and radio programs. I’ve learned about the Indian Rebellion before in the PBS documentary series: Empire: Victoria (A). And the BBC series “This Sceptred Isle”. And in more detail in its spin-off series: “This Sceptred Isle: Empire (A).

If you’ve ever come across anything on the Indian Rebellion, you know that it was an example of incredibility barbarity on both sides: women and children were slaughtered by the rebels, and the British in turn took cruel revenge when their armies came in.

All of this is in the book. Fraser does not let the fact that he is writing satire prevent him from fully taking on these horrors, and trying to examine why they occurred.
The satiric parts of the book are, for the most part, completely separated from the more serious parts of the book. All of it is told through the eyes of Flashman, who is not always the most sympathetic of narrators, but in this case even he is appalled by what he sees.

Still, at times the book struck me as a somewhat uncomfortable mix of genres. And while I’m on the subject, this was true for other books in the Flashman series as well. (“Flash for Freedom” dealt with the horrors of the slave trade.)

I wouldn’t go so far as to say this decreased my enjoyment of the books. In fact in a weird way, being jarred out of your comfort zone can actually make the book more interesting. But it might be reason enough to put in a caveat before recommending these books to someone else.

I should also confess that, since I’m living in an international dormitory at the moment, I did feel at times a tinge of embarrassment whenever an Indian student caught me reading this book at the dinner table. No one said anything to me about it, but if I were from India I might not appreciate having one of the most terrible events in my history retold by such an irreverent narrator.

Although someone did ask me if this book might not be an example of “Orientalism” (That is, stories which use the East as simply an exotic background for Western characters to have adventures in.) At the time I defended this book as a satire, but upon reflection there might be a hint of Orientalism in the Flashman series. And this is probably one of the reasons I enjoy the series so much.

It’s a guilty pleasure to be sure. But perhaps a little bit of Orientalism is not a bad thing. If we weren’t interested in foreign places, nobody would ever do any travelling. It’s always interesting to read about new places. And it helps the reader get into the story more if they can see the setting as the main characters do.

For example, one reason for the success of books like Shogun by Jame Clavell is that the reader gets to discover Japan alongside of John Blackthorne. And the same is true for a lot of the Flashman series.

….Well, for now I’ll just leave that thought hanging. I’ll just say that I enjoyed this book immensely, but admit it probably is a guilty pleasure.

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Flashman in the Great Game by George MacDonald Fraser: Book Review (Scripted)