Flashman and the Cobra

Having had a varied career from banking to biscuits, I am indulging my lifelong passion for uncovering the more incredible stories from history. Why waste time inventing plausible plots when with a little research you can uncover truly incredible characters and feats that actually existed. From the sailor who inspired the Aubrey and Hornblower books to a nautch dancer who became a wily warlord, had a man literally kill himself over her before becoming something of a catholic saint. History is full of amazing stories and in my books I try to do my bit to tell some of them in an entertaining way. When I thought of a vehicle to do so, the Flashman series from George MacDonald Fraser came to mind. Most of what I know of the Victorian era was prompted by his books. The concept of a fictional character witnessing and participating in real historical events, while not unique, has rarely been done better. While Harry Flashman might not have been a typical Victorian, he certainly brought the period to life. 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. The characters are deliberately not identical but I hope that those who enjoyed the original Flashman series will enjoy Thomas' tales as well.