Flashman in the Great Game Chapter 9

The 9^th chapter of Flashman in the Great Game is an action packed one, maybe a little too action packed.

Just when things looked dire for the besieged defenders they received a note from the Indian leader; Nana Sahib, offering to treat with them. Flashman was sent along with another officer to meet and assess the offer. Attending Sahib were his chief general Tantia Tope, who although Flashman made very little reference to, was a tough proposition for the British forces, the other person was one of this extraordinary characters who seemed to pop up in the sub continent back during the days of the Raj, his name was Azeemoolah Khan. He spoke French and English, had spent time in Britain, knew all about Harry and his reputation and even seemed to be acquainted with one of Flashman’s friends; the journalist Billy Russell. Russell and Khan were actually enemies, but Harry was unaware of that at the time.

The offer seems genuine and even without Flashman’s histrionics, as he plays the noble hero card to the hilt, the British forces had little choice, but to accept it. The alternative is to be overwhelmed where they are. At least this way, even if they are betrayed, they may get the women and children to safety.

As it turns out they are played by Nana Sahib and his forces do massacre the surrendered British. They’re indiscriminate about it too. They kill soldiers, defenceless women and children. Very few escaped. Harry believes that he and a handful of men were possibly the only ones.

Prior to Harry fleeing for his life two incidents occur. Harry’s present at one and hears about the other. Before the actual betrayal some British officers and their retinue which consisted of some loyal native officers, one being Ilderim Khan, were murdered. Ilderim had been given the opportunity to leave and had refused, largely due to his concept of honour. When Flashman is told that Ilderim was shot and left to die in a ditch by the side of the road he can’t initially believe it. Ilderim had always been so indestructible, even when Harry first met him as a teenager. He does appear to be quite angry with Ilderim, because all his honour bought him was an ignominious death by the side of the road. This is probably yet another incident in Flashman’s career that forms his lowly opinion of concepts like courage and honour. The other incident is that East is stabbed in the back during the massacre and dies. His last thoughts and words are about a doctor, the other officers think he’s asking for the doctor. Flashman knows he means Arnold. Flashman never showed anything but contempt for East and his friends, but he is moved by the death of someone he’s known since they were a child and I think angered in the manner of it.

Once he and his fellows escape from the mutineers they are set upon by savages, stirred up by the madness engulfing the country and in running from them find themselves fighting crocodiles in the Ganges. There is some musing by Flashman that the crocodiles may have been a species known as gharials, but that’s unlikely as the notes explain that gharials only hunt fish.

As with many of Harry’s escapades it’s pretty hard to believe that this could all happen to the one group of people and they’d still come out of it alive, but there is documented proof from some of the actual survivors that it did all happen as related by Flashman in his memoirs. Of course the historical people who this happened to weren’t dealing with the twin blows of losing long time friends, although it’s reasonable to assume that some of them did lose people they were close with during the massacre.

Ilderim’s death affected me, and I wished that the news was incorrect and he survived somehow, but he didn’t. I liked the character and was sad to see him go and to have it happen in such a way only rubbed salt into the wound.

Flashman in the Great Game Chapter 7

A lot of chapter 7 of Flashman in the Great Game is more of the same from the previous chapter.

Jhansi did not escape the conflagration that was engulfing India at the time. The first half of the chapter is given over to descriptions of the atrocities in Jhansi. They’re very similar to those Flashman has seen elsewhere in the country. The main difference with this one is that Flashman didn’t see it first hand, but has to settle for Ilderim’s lurid commentary, told in his lyrical middle ages Arabic. A point of interest was that Fraser chose to lay the blame for what actually did happen in Jhansi squarely at the feet of the Rani. In actual history she always protested her innocence in these matters, there is considerable doubt about her innocence, and obviously Fraser sides with that camp.

Due to his attachment to Lakshmibai and his encounter with her Harry says that what Ilderim is telling him can’t be true. Ilderim puts Harry’s reluctance to believe down to his infatuation with the Rani. What he doesn’t understand is why Flashman is besotted with Lakshmibai when she’s one of Harry’s many conquests and he doesn’t feel that way about all of them. This brings up two points. My belief is that of all the many women Harry has encountered and bedded he only really had feelings of love for three of them. Elspeth of course, Lola Montez and Lakshmibai. Takes Away Clouds Woman may also qualify, but it’s hard to tell with her.  That feeling is why he can’t believe Lakshmibai would preside over the sort of massacre, which included women and children, that Ilderim tells him about. The other point is that I think it’s highly unlikely Harry ever slept with the Rani. He was very drunk that night and she was veiled for much of it. Even he says she moved like a nautch dancer, and I think that’s what she was. A lady Lakshimbai hired to impersonate her and make it easy for her assassins to take care of the British diplomat she saw as a threat. Harry would however go to his grave believing he shared a night of passion with Lakshimbai herself.

Harry, Ilderim and the big Pathan’s men decide to go to Cawnpore to join the British garrison there fighting against the mutiny. On the way they encounter a group of irregulars. They’re composed of former civilian British clerks and businessmen and a handful of loyal Sikhs. They’ve banded together for the express purpose of hunting down and killing mutineers. They initially think Harry’s an enemy, and dressed and looking the way he is, along with the company he’s keeping, little wonder. He’s only able to escape becoming one of their victims by remembering the first name of the son of one of the band, whom he was named as the godfather of in Flashman, young Flashman O’Toole, that was a nice little touch, putting that in.

It’s rather disturbing to see the relish with which these civilized men pursue their vengeance. Understandable, but still disturbing. They’re attacked when not far from Cawnpore and only the courage and strength of Ilderim Khan saves Harry’s life. Once safe behind British lines Harry is offered that most genteel of British customs; nuts or a cigar as a rifle is thrust into his hands. Flashman looks down the line, and wonders if he’s not dreaming, because not too far from him is Harry ‘Scud’ East.

Flashman in the Great Game Chapter 6

If the chapters in the Flashman books had titles chapter 6 of Flashman in the Great Game could very well be entitled Everything Turns to Shit.

Flashman knows immediately on arriving back at the British officers camp that something is wrong. He sends his female companion, one of Mason's relatives back to the house and goes to check out the jail, which is where he believes the trouble will be. Depending on how back the situation is he has every intention of getting out as quickly as he can, going somewhere he can safely reveal himself as a British officer and get on the first boat back to England.

While trying to get through the town he sees a mob literally tear apart a British officer and knows that he probably won't get out of this as easily as he would like. The notes indicate that this was one of the first British officers killed by the rebelling locals. Going to the jail is out, if anyone there recognises him as one of Mason's servants they'll tag him as a British sympathiser and kill him.

Flashman heads back to the houses. The scenes that greet him are right out of one of the circles of Hell. This is where the mutineers hit hardest. They killed indiscriminately, men, women, children, even their own if they thought they were working for the British.

Flashman goes to the veterinarians house and finds the vet, a soldier called Tommy and a dead woman, who seemed to have been named Mary. The two men panic and don't recognise Harry. There's a brief struggle from which Flashman is lucky to get away alive, and as it is he receives a nasty facial wound.

This incident decides him to go back to Mason's house, because Mason has a revolver in a drawer in his office, and that could come in very useful. Another hellish scene greets him. The lady with whom he had spent a delightful afternoon has been beheaded and the strict Scottish woman who used to advise him on how to manage the servants has been pinned to the wall by a tulwar. Harry takes the revolver, loads it, and leaves the house as angry as he has ever been in his life.

On the way out he meets a drunken mutineer who boasts of murdering the 6 year old daughter of the saddlemaster. Flashman knows the girl, and he liked her. He shoots the mutineer in the groin and leaves him there to die in pain.

What follows is a mad delirious journey through a strife ridden countryside. He has a fever dream that features Arnold and Charity Spring. These two men seem to be in more of Harry's fever dreams than any other figures, and I think it indicates just how much they terrified him. I'm not sure why Arnold, but he really does put the wind up Harry. John Charity Spring was a psychotic lunatic, so that doesn't surprise. He does find out that the entire country has gone to hell and is now being ruled by someone who has seized their chance and named themselves King.

Harry has to get out of the country, but where can he go? At some stage his disguise is going to fail and then he's as good as dead. The idea comes to him that Jhansi was well run and Lakshmibai wouldn't have given up her rule easily. Besides Ilderim had promised to wait for him and keep an eye out at a temple nearby.

Ilderim and his men are there as promised, although it looks like they've been in fighting as well, Ilderim's arm is in a sling. That's when the Pathan delivers the bad news, all the British are dead. Jhansi has become the same sort of hell hole as the rest of the country.