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| -Obits- |
| Author George MacDonald Fraser dies |
| 2008-01-03 |
| George MacDonald Fraser, author of the "Flashman" series of historical adventure yarns, died Wednesday, his publisher said. He was 82. Fraser died following a battle with cancer, said Nicholas Latimer, director of publicity for Knopf, which will release Fraser's latest work "The Reavers" in the United States in April. Latimer was unable to provide details of where Fraser died. He lived on the Isle of Man, off the coast of northwest England. "Flashman," published in 1969, introduced readers to an enduring literary antihero: the roguish, irrepressible Harry Flashman. The novel imagined Flashman — the bullying schoolboy of 19th-century classic "Tom Brown's Schooldays" — grown up to become a soldier in the British army. In the book and 11 sequels, Flashman fought, drank and womanized his way across the British Empire, Europe and the United States, playing a pivotal role in the century's great historical moments. A vain, cowardly rogue, Flashman nonetheless emerged from each episode covered in glory, rising to the rank of medal-garlanded brigadier-general. Fraser thought his antihero's appeal was not surprising. "People like rascals, they like rogues," Fraser told the British Broadcasting Corp. in 2006. "I was always on the side of the villain when I was a child and went to the movies. I wanted Basil Rathbone to kill Errol Flynn." The Flashman books were also praised by critics for their storytelling flair and attention to historical detail. Each installment of the series purported to come from a faux-biographical trove of memoirs — The Flashman Papers — discovered in an English attic in the 1960s. Fraser proudly pointed out that a third of the first book's American reviewers believed the Flashman papers were real. Some readers and critics found Flashman's 19th-century racism and sexism disturbing. But by the time the final Flashman book, "Flashman on the March," appeared in 2005, the critical tide had turned in Fraser's favor. Fraser also had heavyweight literary supporters. Kingsley Amis called him "a marvelous reporter and a first-rate historical novelist," and P.G. Wodehouse was also a fan. Born in Carlisle, northern England in 1925, Fraser served as an infantryman with the British Army in India and Burma during World War II, and in the Middle East after the war. He worked as a journalist in Britain and Canada for more than 20 years before turning to fiction. Fraser was the author of screenplays including "The Three Musketeers" (1973), an adaptation of his novel "Royal Flash" (1975) and the James Bond movie "Octopussy" (1983). Fraser also wrote several works of nonfiction, including a wartime memoir, "Quartered Safe Out Here," "Steel Bonnets: The Story of the Anglo-Scottish Border" and "The Hollywood History of the World." His final book, "The Reavers," is a a historical romp featuring espionage and intrigue during the reign of Elizabeth I. There was no immediate word of funeral arrangements or whether Fraser left any survivors. The Flashman novels are truly extraordinary in their level of historical accuracy, and are a must if you are a fan of the world of the 19th Century. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #8 He was also a member of the British anti-metric society, along with J.K. Rowling. I've often wondered whether someone would do to her books what Fraser did to Tom Brown's Schooldays. |
| Posted by: Eric Jablow 2008-01-03 23:47 |
| #7 Oh, please, I have to decry your lack of comment about the best Dumas rendition ever! "The Three Musketeers" is the funniest, wittiest, and most accurate time-piece put to film. En garde! |
| Posted by: Elitist Washington Bureacrat 2008-01-03 22:39 |
| #6 George MacDonald Fraser was my favorite author. While I liked the Flashman novels, "Mr. American," the McAuslan series and "Quartered Safe Out Here" are extraordinarily good books. This is a very sad day. On the other hand, anyone who has read the preface to "The McAuslan Omnibus" will know Fraser was pretty contemptuous of most of modern Britain anyway. Maybe his not living to see the UK subsumed in the EUSSR without even a vote was a blessing. I'm sure he thought Brown was a "wee shilpit nyaff." Mr. Fraser, when you report in to 14th Army HQ, please render the 'Burg's best regards to "Uncle Bill." |
| Posted by: Jomosing Bluetooth8431 2008-01-03 16:44 |
| #5 Here's to McAuslan. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2008-01-03 12:31 |
| #4 I agree with Sgt Mom, in fact I was a bit put off by the last two simply because they weren't the Civil War novels and I think he gave short work to the battle of Roarkes Drift. Of course on his side the number of experts, even amateur experts on the civil war is incredible and he'd probably have to do ten times the number of footnotes as usual. I've never been a big fan of books finished from the authors notes and all but if that Civil War book is even started I'd hope some relative or something would pick up the mantel. Damn, this makes me sad. His books were awesome. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2008-01-03 10:41 |
| #3 I am sincerely grieved to hear of Fraser's passing. I have read everything he ever wrote. I have always felt a deep spiritual kinship with Harry Flashman. Its almost as if we were brothers. I always regarded Harry as a very sensible man, my kind of guy. I always wanted Basil Rathbone to kill Errol Flynn too. Idealistic heroes are idiots. Rogering and taking the money and running is where its at. Always look for the main chance and have a fast horse. I will miss you Harry Flashman. |
| Posted by: Angleton 9 2008-01-03 09:31 |
| #2 I've already heard several people bemoaning the loss of Flashman's US Civil War tales. It will rank as one of the great "lost novels". |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2008-01-03 09:12 |
| #1 Oh, damn... the Flashman books are terrifically good and terrifically funny. How many other comic/historical novels came with footnotes? Now we shall never get the story behind Flashman's service in our Civil War - on both sides. (unless he was working on it, or left notes or something.) |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2008-01-03 08:55 |