The British Resident of Delhi went so far as to marry a harem of thirteen Indian women who used to parade around the city every evening on elephants.Īs several reviewers have pointed out Thomas is not quite the vicious villainous rogue his nephew became, at least in the first book. While Harry Flashman in India thrashed and abused the natives in Thomas' time many British were in business with Indian partners or had Indian wives. This is not just political correctness but reflects the different times the two fictional characters occupy. Thomas though is not exactly the same character as Harry Flashman, this is partly accidental and partly deliberate.įor example, Harry Flashman makes prolific use of the 'n' word which will never appear in my work. There are similarities between the generations in that they both have the uncanny knack of finding themselves in the hotspots of their time, often while endeavouring to avoid them. For me, the Regency/Napoleonic era was one of even greater colour and extremes and so I have created a new earlier member of the family: Thomas Flashman. While Harry Flashman might not have been a typical Victorian, he certainly brought the period to life. George MacDonald Fraser was an exceptional writer and he developed a character that he took from Tom Brown's School Days into a truly legendary figure.

The concept of a fictional character witnessing and participating in real historical events, while not unique, has rarely been done better. Most of what I know of the Victorian era was prompted by his books.

When I thought of a vehicle to do so, the Flashman series from George MacDonald Fraser came to mind. History is full of amazing stories and in my books I try to do my bit to tell some of them.

The Begum of Samru from my second book is another: a fifteen-year-old nautch dancer who gained the confidence of an army, had a man literally kill himself over her and who led her soldiers with skill and courage, before becoming something of a Catholic saint. Thomas Cochrane who features in my first book is one of those, his real life adventures seem ridiculously far fetched for a fictional character. There are countless times when I have come across a character or incident that has been so hard to believe that I have had to search out other sources for confirmation. I am a firm believer in the maxim that history is stranger than fiction.

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