Adventures of Thomas Flashman

Following the popularity of the memoirs of Harry Flashman, the Victorian scoundrel who got himself embroiled in many events of his age, this book introduces a new generation of the family: Thomas Flashman, whose career covers the Napoleonic and Georgian era. This first book covers his adventures with Thomas Cochrane, one of the most extraordinary naval commanders of all time. From the brothels and gambling dens of London, through political intrigues and espionage, the action moves to the Mediterranean and the real life character of Thomas Cochrane.

Thomas shares many of the family traits, particularly the ability to find himself reluctantly at the sharp end of many major events of his age. Flashman, gives an illuminating account with a unique perspective. It details feats of incredible courage, (not his, obviously), reckless folly, and sheer good luck that were to change the future of India and the career of a general who would later win a war in Europe.

While many people have written books and novels on the Peninsular War, Thomas Flashman's memoirs offer a unique perspective. They include new accounts of famous battles, but also incredible incidents and characters almost forgotten by history. Flashman is revealed as the catalyst to one of the greatest royal scandals of the 19th century, which disgraced a prince and ultimately produced one of our greatest novelists.

Having lost his role as a staff officer, Flashman finds himself commanding a company in an infantry battalion. In between cuckolding his soldiers and annoying his superiors, he finds himself at the heart of the two bloodiest actions of the war. With drama and disaster in equal measure, he provides a firsthand account of not only the horror of battle but also the bloody aftermath.  

This book finds Thomas Flashman, a British army officer, landing on the shores of the United States at the worst possible moment - just when the United States has declared war with Britain! Having already endured enough with his earlier adventures, he desperately wants to go home but finds himself drawn inexorably into this new conflict. He is soon dodging musket balls, arrows, and tomahawks as he desperately tries to keep his scalp intact and on his head.  

This extraordinary tale is aligned with other historical accounts of the Waterloo campaign and reveals how Flashman’s attempt to embrace the quiet diplomatic life backfires spectacularly. The memoir provides a unique insight into how Napoleon returned to power, the treachery and intrigues around his hundred-day rule and how ultimately he was robbed of victory. It includes the return of old friends and enemies from both sides of the conflict and is a fitting climax to Thomas Flashman’s Napoleonic adventures.

This seventh instalment in the memoirs of the Georgian rogue Thomas Flashman reveals that, despite his suffering through the Napoleonic Wars, he did not get to enjoy a quiet retirement. Indeed, middle age finds him acting just as disgracefully as in his youth, as old friends pull him unwittingly back into the fray. He re-joins his former comrade in arms, Thomas Cochrane, in what is intended to be a peaceful and profitable sojourn in South America.

The most fearsome enemy he ever faced. Of all the enemies that our hero has shrunk away from, there was one he feared above them all. By his own admission they gave him nightmares into his dotage. It was not the French, the Spanish, the Americans, or the Mexicans. It was not even the more exotic adversaries such as the Iroquois, Mahratta, or Zulus. While they could all make his guts churn anxiously, the foe that really put him off his lunch were the Ashanti.

When other men might be looking forward to a well-earned retirement to enjoy their ill-gotten gains, Flashman finds himself once more facing overwhelming odds and ruthless enemies, while standing (reluctantly) shoulder to shoulder with some of America’s greatest heroes. A trip abroad to avoid a scandal at home leaves him bored and restless. They say the devil makes work for idle hands, and Lucifer surpassed himself this time, as Thomas is persuaded to visit the newly independent country of Texas.

While many people have heard of the battle at Rorke’s Drift, (featured in the film Zulu), and the one at Isandlwana that preceded it, few outside of South Africa know of an earlier and equally bloody conflict. Under a tyrannical king, the Zulu nation defended its territory with ruthless efficiency against white settlers. Only a naïve English vicar, with his family and some translators, are permitted to live in the king’s capital. It is into this cleric’s household that Thomas Flashman finds himself, as a most reluctant guest.

In 1806, Prussia declared war on France, and in a disastrous campaign lost most of its territory. Russia was forced to come to its aid, and Britain too sent observers to assess how to help. Flashman joins this mission in what should have been a safe diplomatic visit, but of course was anything but.