From his ambition for a seat in the House of Commons, he has to settle instead for a role in the West African slave trade, under the command of Captain John Charity Spring, a Latin-spouting madman. It also contains a number of notes by Fraser, in the guise of editor, giving additional historical information on the events described.įrom Dahomey to the slave state of Mississippi, Flashman has cause to regret a game of pontoon with Benjamin Disraeli and Lord George Bentinck. Fraser hints that the article supports the papers' authenticity, although the opposite is true.įlash for Freedom begins with Flashman considering an attempt at being made a Member of Parliament and continues through his involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, the Underground Railroad, and meeting a future president, detailing his life from 1848 to 1849. A reference is made to an article in The New York Times from 29 July 1969, which puts these claims to rest. The book begins with an explanatory note detailing the discovery of these papers and also discussing the supposed controversy over their authenticity. The papers are attributed to Flashman, who is not only the bully featured in Thomas Hughes' novel, but also a well-known Victorian military hero. Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's School Days. Flash for Freedom! is a 1971 novel by George MacDonald Fraser.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |