Flashman's Lady

Flashman #6 - the one that starts with the cricket match...

Yes the cricket, unfathomable for the non-British and non-colonials. It wasn't that bad - at least it was only fifty or so pages long - from other reviews I had read I pictured it taking up a third of the book. But yes, I can see that it would not be required reading - and it did take a little longer than normal to set the stage for Flashman's adventure. Famous cricketers of the time (Pilch, Mynn and Felix) are cleverly written into the story.

This is the first of the Flashman Papers to drop back and infill a missing time period when the books are read in published order. This book covers the period 1842 to 1845, making it the third book chronologically.

I do my best not to spoil the story, so sticking to what the Blurb already gives away - Flashman spends time in Borneo (Saba mostly) and Madagascar, and for a large part of the story is joined by his beautiful but brainless wife Elspeth (although she proves to have her moments of clarity). The majority of the plot unfolds having arrives in Singapore, where historical figures are plentiful but largely play small parts.

Borneo is all about pirates and James Brook - the White Rajah, the British adventurer who suppressed piracy in Sarawak and as part of this story attacked pirate strongholds in Saba - assisted by Flashman. Brook is already the ruler of Sarawak by this point, but that is not the purpose of this interlude by Flashman. Suleiman Usman, pirate king features heavily in the first half of the book. Flashman of course is not such a willing participant, but he is perhaps more motivated than usual. The end of this fracas is sudden, and Flashman and Elspeth are whisked away from Borneo...

Landing in Madagascar, Flashman is enslaved by Queen Ranavalona I, who had made Madagascar inaccessible to foreigners, had tortured and murdered a great number of the people she ruled over and was quite mad. Any European found on Madagascar was deemed ‘shipwrecked' and permanent slavery was the punishment for this. With skills on offer, Flashman is made military advisor and lover to the Queen, but will she tire of him before his ‘skills' give out...

Another fantastic weaving of historical events.
4 stars

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Other reviews from this series:
Flashman
Royal Flash
Flash for Freedom!
Flashman at the Charge
Flashman in the Great Game