Flashman, Holmes, and the Tiger: A Scoundrel Meets a Sleuth
What happens when the world's most notorious coward crosses paths with literature's greatest detective? In Flashman and the Tiger, George MacDonald Fraser’s roguish antihero collides—hilariously—with Sherlock Holmes. From South Africa to 221B, it's a wild ride through history, scandal, and sly parody. Here's a closer look at the book and its raucous film cousin, Royal Flash.
Beyond Baker Street II
The Salacious Scoundrel
The Adventures of Harry Flashman
The Flashman series of books by George MacDonald Fraser chronicles the adventures of the notorious antihero Harry Flashman, who first appeared as a bully in Thomas Hughes’s 1857 novel Tom Brown’s School Days. Expelled from Rugby School for drunkenness, Flashman embarks on a series of escapades around the world, often finding himself in the midst of significant historical events while managing to survive through sheer luck and cunning. Flashman is depicted as a coward, a womanizer, and a scoundrel, yet he rises to fame and military glory through a combination of deceit and circumstance.
The series, presented as Flashman’s memoirs, spans his various adventures, including the First Anglo-Afghan War, the Charge of the Light Brigade, and the American Civil War. The books are notable for their meticulous historical research, blending real events and figures with Flashman’s fictional exploits.
Flashman and the Tiger (1999), the eleventh book in the series, contains three short stories, being The Road to Charring Cross, The Subtleties of Baccarat, and Flashman and the Tiger. It is Flashman and the Tiger which is of most interest to Holmes enthusiasts. In the story, Harry Flashman encounters Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson, intertwining Fraser’s bawdy, roguish character with Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective duo.
The tale opens in South Africa, with Flashman escaping the Battle of Isandlwana in a wagon. After his getaway, he encounters Tiger Jack Moran about ten miles from the battlefield, and together they make their way to Rorke’s Drift.
Fast forward to 1894, Flashman learns that Moran has blackmailed his granddaughter, Selina, into a compromising situation. Moran reveals a shocking past: as a cabin boy aboard the slave ship Balliol College, he was sold as a white slave. His adult life has since been consumed by revenge against the ship’s crew. To protect Selina, Flashman disguises himself as a drunken tramp to ambush Moran. Instead, he stumbles into The Adventure of the Empty House, meeting Sherlock Holmes, who has had Moran arrested. Watson recognises the scoundrel, but is corrected by Holmes, who produces an entirely inaccurate deduction.
Flashman and the Tiger had previously been serialised in the Daily Express in 1975.
Film Review: Flashman (1975)
Flashman has appeared on the screen many times, notably in adaptations of Tom Brown’s School Days, where actors such as Laurie Leslie (1916), Billy Halop (1940), John Forrest (1951), Richard Morant (1971), and Joseph Beattie (2005) played the character. However, George MacDonald Fraser’s Flashman has only made it to the screen once, portrayed by Malcolm McDowell.
Royal Flash was based on the second Flashman novel—of the same name—which had been published in 1970, and in turn was loosely based on Anthony Hope’s The Prisoner of Zenda (1894).
After insulting Otto Von Bismarck (Oliver Reed), Captain Harry Flashman (Malcolm McDowell)—a man who believes anyone who isn’t English is beneath him—is tricked into travelling to Bavaria where he is forced to impersonate Prince Carl Magnus (also, McDowell), who he happens to be a dead ringer for. The prince is set to marry Duchess Irma (Britt Ekland), and Flashman is told the prince has contracted a “social disease” which will take several months to cure. Von Bismark wants the marriage to proceed on schedule.
Flashman is reluctant to play the role, but has little choice, and is indoctrinated in the prince’s mannerisms. The marriage goes ahead as planned and Flashman begins to enjoy the trappings of princedom. However, his life of luxury falls apart when several attempts are made on his life, and he discovers he’s an innocent dupe in a larger scheme orchestrated by Von Bismarck.
Royal Flash is a film that, in days gone by, would be described as “bawdy.” The humour is broad, crude, and very “English.” While I found a lot to enjoy in the film, I think it’s fair to say it wouldn’t be seen as socially acceptable today. It’s difficult to critique Flashman because he’s not a hero—he’s a cowardly scoundrel who exhibits all the worst traits of story-book Imperialism—which means in turns he’s racist and sexist. While Flashman has never been politically correct, the question needs to be asked, in laughing at Flashman’s distasteful antics, are we as viewers or readers tacitly encouraging that behaviour? Of course, Flashman is historical fiction, and there can be no doubt that kind of cockeyed world view occurred back when the stories were set. But should these views be presented as comedy?
Beyond Baker Street
I’ve always been fascinated by the shadow cast by Sherlock Holmes—a figure so iconic that his influence seeps into unexpected corners of pop culture. Beyond Baker Street is where I chase those echoes. Whether it’s a villain who once faced Holmes or a story that feels like it should’ve, this series lets me explore the strange tributaries that flow from the great detective’s world.
If you’ve enjoyed this piece, you’ll find even more to explore in my book Baker Street: The Curious Case Files of Sherlock Holmes—a deep dive into 100+ years of Sherlock Holmes in print, film, television, and beyond. From Conan Doyle’s original stories to pastiches, parodies, and pop culture echoes, it’s a must-read for Holmes fans and curious minds alike.
Yours in the Spirit of Adventure
David Foster is an Australian best-selling author who writes under the pen names James Hopwood, A.W. Hart, and Jack Tunney. Under the latter, he has contributed three titles to the popular Fight Card series. His short fiction has been published in over 50 publications worldwide, including by Clan Destine Press, Wolfpack Publishing, and Pro Se Productions, to name but a few. In 2015, he contributed to the multi-award-winning anthology Legends of New Pulp Fiction, published by Airship 27 Publishing.
Foster’s non-fiction work appeared in the award-winning Crime Factory Magazine, as well as contributing numerous articles exploring pulp fiction in popular culture to Girl Gangs, Biker Boys, and Real Cool Cats: Pulp Fiction and Youth Culture, 1950 to 1980 (2017, PM Press) and Sticking It to The Man: Revolution and Counterculture in Pulp and Popular Fiction, 1950 to 1980 (2019, PM Press). He has also contributed articles on the ANZAC war experience to Remembrance (2024, Union Street 21).
Foster lives in the old Pentridge Prison Complex, behind high grey stone walls, in inner-suburban Melbourne, Australia.
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