A Worthy Installment in a Great Series

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	• Flashman and the Angel of the Lord George MacDonald Fraser Plume, 1996 - 400 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Disappointing

I enjoy this series and have had many enjoyable hours laughing at the 19th century's most outrageous cad. But this one is a bit thin and takes a lifetime to finally get to Harper's Ferry. When Harry and Co. finally make it there, even then it drags a bit. Not Flashman's best by any means.

A Worthy Installment in a Great Series

George MacDonald Fraser is a superb action writer who never loses his sense of humor as he moves his readers through great historical events. And in FLASHMAN AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD, Fraser takes you into the moment as Flashman takes the lead in John Brown's assault on Harper's Ferry, witnesses the drunken and angry siege of the engine house, and is on hand for the final bloody attack by the marines. This is my sixth Flashman novel. And throughout, Fraser's work as an action writer is absolutely first-rate.

Fraser also has a knack for developing his narrative so that Flashman exposes the reader to all sides of an issue--in this case, the abolitionist, pro-slavery, and government's perspective on John Brown. And, he is adept at moving Flashman in and out of the historical event so that the reader has the best possible view.

In ANGEL OF THE LORD, this skill is most apparent as Fraser moves Flashman out of Brown's raiding party, into the body of siege, and back to Brown's beleaguered band for its final futile defense. On reflection, Flashman's movements during the raid are improbable. But Fraser makes them seem plausible, and even character-driven, as he presents a complete historical tableau to his readers. With this talent, Fraser becomes a fine historical novelist as well.

In ANGEL OF THE LORD, Fraser also provides a thoughtful essay in the first appendix where he wrestles with the character and exploits of John Brown, who he elsewhere calls "the most violent and ruthless abolitionist in the country." In this appendix, Fraser acknowledges that Brown was "devious, foolish, vain, unscrupulous, and irresolute in crisis." But he concludes: "He is part of history and historic legend, and if what he tried to do was not heroic, then the word has no meaning." For me, this appendix added a lot.

At the same time, there are two negatives in ANGEL OF THE LORD. First, Fraser takes 50 pages to insert Flashman into ante-bellum America. This section works but I found it slow and creaky and very self-referential. The section might not work for readers who have missed Flash for Freedom! (Flashman).

Second, there are many references to details in other Flashman books, which this fan of the series often found obscure. This, I suppose, is a byproduct of Fraser's intentions. Certainly, Fraser intends, and is successful, in his effort to entertain. But, he also intends to explore great historical events and their personages. But, what happens when Flashy makes a reference to his own fictional interaction with a historical figure, such as Bismarck? Well, I remember Bismarck in history from ROYAL FLASH. But I've often lost the fictional context that makes Flash's comment witty.

Likewise, I'm befuddled when Flash refers to many of Fraser's secondary characters, probably because Fraser has created them to move Flashman in and out of events, not really to live beyond the narrative. Admittedly, there are a few memorable characters in the series, such as Captain Springs. But many of his fictional characters, even the prurient Elsbeth, are a little gray. (Of course, I haven't yet read Flashman's Lady (Flashman).) Still, these references do cloud the work.

Regardless, FLASHMAN AND THE ANGEL OF THE LORD is a worthy installment in this terrific series and a great pick-me-up for anyone caught in the doldrums.

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Flashman Does it again!

Wonderful story as usual. A 19th Century Forest Gump (a little brighter but more cowardly and more lecherous) finds himself at the center of history's most important events hobnobbing with the memorable charcters and real life men of greatness. Don't miss it!

Confusing title

When I first saw this book in the store, I thought it was about Flash Gordon. It wasn't until half-way through the book, that I realized this book had nothing to do with the eighties film I saw as a kid. So uh, I dunno, it's not that bad. Flashman is not very nice, but he scores a lot with the ladies, and that's pretty cool.

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A great series

For those of you who aren't familiar with his exploits, please allow me to introduce you to Sir Harry Flashman, literature's most unrepentant scoundrel. Flashman (whom some may remember as the bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays), is the hero of twelve (as of 2007) novels by the literate and witty George MacDonald Fraser. The setting for these novels is the Nineteenth Century, a time filled with countless skirmishes and disasters, with Flashman seemingly involved in most of them. Fraser, in an explanatory note, says it best:

"From the day of his expulsion from Rugby School in the late 1830s, Flashman the man fulfilled the disgraceful promise of Flashman the boy; toadying bounder and bully matured into the cowardly profligate and scoundrel, who, by chance and shameless opportunism, became one of the most renowned heroes of the Victorian age, unwilling leader of the Light Brigade, fleeing survivor of Afghanistan and Little Big Horn, tarnished paladin of Crimea and the Mutiny, and cringing chronicler of many another conflict, disaster, and intrigue in which he bore an inglorious but seldom unprofitable part."

Flashman's memoirs were purportedly discovered in an attic in Leicestershire in 1965, half a century after his death at the age of 93. Flashman and the Angel of the Lord, the tenth packet of the "Flashman Papers" to have been edited and published by Fraser, chronicles Sir Harry's second trip to America. The last time around, he was sold as a slave, worked as a plantation foreman, met a young congressman named Abraham Lincoln and smuggled an escaped slave via the Underground Railroad. This time, through misadventure, coincidence, and the consequences of his own cowardice and womanizing, he is forced into acting as John Brown's right hand man, training Brown's followers for their disastrous 1859 raid on Harper's Ferry, the kickoff to the Civil War. Flashman, incidentally, served on both sides during that conflict, the details of which I can only hope will be revealed in a forthcoming volume.

In this age of political correctness, Flashman's bawdy adventures are a breath of fresh air. These books deserve every ounce of the praise they've received over the years---the only drawback of being a Flash-fan is enduring the long intervals between installments. Each novel stands by itself, but if you read one, you'll want to read them all. Sample one and join the ranks of rabid Flashmaniacs all around the world.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4

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