"The Road to Charing Cross"
The longest novella in the book, "The Road to Charing Cross" begins in 1878, when Flashman is invited by the famous journalist, Henri Blowitz, to help get a copy of the Treaty of Berlin. During his trip to Germany, Flashman will a beautiful member of the French Secret Service named Caprice. Five years later in 1883, Flashy is invited by Blowitz to journey on the inaugural trip of the Orient Express. Flashman accepts the invitation as an excuse to avoid being sent to the Sudan. During the train journey, he is introduced to Princess Kralta of Germany, who has expressed interest in him of the romantic nature. As it turns out, Kralta's interest in Flashman is nothing more than a ruse devised by his old nemesis from , Chancellor Otto von Bismarck, in order to get the British Army officer to help prevent Emperor Franz Josef from being assassinated and prevent a major European war. One of Flashman's colleagues in this plot turns out to be Willem von Starnberg, the son of Rudi von Starnberg, another former nemesis from the 1970 novel. In the end, it turns out that von Starnberg has other plans of his own.
For me, "The Road to Charing Cross" turned out to be the best of three novellas. Regardless of its length, I thought it was a well-written adventure set during the political upheavals of Central Europe. Fraser did an excellent job in re-creating the first rail journey of the Orient Express. He must have did his homework in researching this piece of history. And the sequence featuring Flashman's efforts to save the Austrian emperor and his own hide were truly outstanding. His characterizations of Princess Kralta, Henri Blowitz, and Emperor Franz Josef were first-rate. Fraser's pièce de résistance turned out to be Willem von Starnberg, the son of Flashman's old nemesis, Rudi von Starnberg. Dear old Willy turned out to be a chip off the old block . . . and a lot more. He possessed Rudi's wit, joie de vivre and ruthlessness.
Did "The Road to Charing Cross" have any flaws? Well . . . it had one. And that flaw had a lot to do with the character of Willem von Starnberg. Although Willem was well written by Fraser, the latter described him as being half-German (Prussian) and half-Hungarian. Which meant according to this story, Rudi von Starnberg was Austrian. Apparently, George MacDonald Fraser seemed incapable of determining Rudi's nationality. Fraser described him as an Austrian in "ROYAL FLASH", as a Hungarian in the 1975 movie adaptation of the novel, and as a German in this story. Whatever. Despite this major flaw, "The Road to Charing Cross" is still an excellent story.
"The Subtleties of Baccarat"
This novella finds Sir Harry Flashman and his wife, Elspeth, Lady Flashman; visiting Tranby Croft, the estate of one Sir Arthur Wilson in early September 1890. Sir Arthur is hosting a house party in honor of his royal visitor, Albert Edward, Prince of Wales. During the house party, both Flashman and Elspeth witness a baccarat game, which was considered illegal in Britain. The legalities were brushed aside, due to the Prince of Wales' love of the game. During the days between September 8 and 9, several guests claimed that one of the players, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, cheating. Guests informed the Prince of Wales, who confronted Gordon-Cumming. To the very end, the latter claimed that he was innocent and even sued the Prince of Wales and a few others for defamation of character. Alas, the label of cheat stuck and Gordon-Cummings became a social pariah. But "The Subtleties of Baccarat" did not end with Gordon-Cumming's downfall. Instead, it ended with a surprising revelation that left Flashman in total shock.
"The Subtleties of Baccarat" was an interesting little tale. But I cannot say that I would ever love it. At least most of the story. The problem is that I am not a card player. And I found it difficult to follow the card games, while the scandal unfolded. It was not until Flashman learned the truth about the scandal from the surprising figure of Elspeth that the story truly became interesting to me. If I must be honest, Elspeth's revelations on what really happened during the baccarat games not only shocked me, but made me become an even bigger fan of Lady Flashman. The novella had a surprising, yet satisfying finale to an otherwise bearable story.
"Flashman and the Tiger"
The book derived its title from its third novella set in both 1879 and 1894. "Flashman and the Tiger" is mainly about Flashman's encounters with a character named Tiger Jack Moran, who had been originally created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle for his SHERLOCK HOLMES stories. Flashman first meets Moran during the Zulu War, when both experience the retreat from the Battle of Isandlwana and the defense of Rorke's Drift. The pair does not meet again until fifteen years later, when Flashman discovers that Moran is blackmailing his granddaughter, Selina, in order to sleep with her. Moran turns out to be the same cabin boy who had propositioned Flashy aboard Captain John Charity Spring's ship, the Balliol College, and traded to King Gezo as a white slave in the 1971 novel, "FLASH FOR FREEDOM!". Moran spent years seeking revenge against the Balliol College's surviving crewmen. He found his opportunity to seek revenge against Flashman, when he learned that the latter's engaged granddaughter was a mistress of the Prince of Wales. The story ended with Moran's arrest and Flashman's brief, yet humorous encounter with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.
This novella was a problem for me. One, I found the addition of Flashman's experiences during the Zulu War unnecessary. Fraser could have used the Zulu War as a major novel, instead of adding this useless scene that really had little to do with the main narrative. What made the use of this topic even more unnecessary was that Flashman's first encounter with Moran occurred in 1848, aboard Captain Charity Spring's ship. It was this encounter that had a much bigger impact on the story. I have the deep suspicion that Fraser may have used this story as an excuse to indulge in a little Imperial flag waving. After all, "Flashman and the Tiger" did not focus on the Battle of Isandlwana, in which the British suffered one of their worst defeats at the hands of the Zulu. Instead, it focused on the following battle at Rorke's Drift, in which the British managed to repel several attacks by the enemy.
My second problem with this novella was the fact that Fraser used Tiger Jack Moran, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. John Watson as supporting characters. I found that rather cheap. I found it bad enough that Fraser used Sir Anthony Hope's novel, "THE PRISONER OF ZENDA" as a premise for his 1970 novel, "ROYAL FLASH" and a historical character as Flashman's illegitimate son in "FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS". Using literary characters created by another author as supporting characters in one's own story? Hmmm . . . cheap.
Finally, Fraser must have done a piss poor job in researching the love life of Albert Edward, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII. The latter's mistresses had usually been sexually experienced women who were either married society women, actresses or high-priced prostitutes. I do not recall the Prince of Wales ever taking the virginity of a 19 year-old debutante . . . especially one who was engaged. Yet, we are supposed to believe that Flashman's unmarried granddaughter was one of Bertie the Bounder's mistresses. The only redeeming trait of this story was Fraser's description of the Isandlwana retreat and the Defense of Rorke's Drift. Apparently, he saved all of his top-notch research for this particular sequence.
"FLASHMAN AND THE TIGER" was not a bad piece of literature from George MacDonald Fraser's pen. It possessed a first-rate novella, "The Road to Charing Cross", and a mildly entertaining story with a juicy, surprise ending in "The Subtleties of Baccarat". The book's only misstep . . . at least for me . . . proved to be the last story, "Flashman and Tiger".
