Reputation vs. Reality

The reputation of Flashman that seems to precede him everywhere he goes and the real man Harry Flashman that he presents to us in his memoirs are two very different individuals. The Flashman of reputation is a daring and brave, seemingly invincible character who can slay entire armies and out-think the greatest strategists. The real man Flashman is one who believes first and foremost in self-preservation and second in pleasure and leisure. These contrasting traits of the legend and the real man tell us more about ourselves than about Harry Flashman.

People like to see things in black and white. We like simple, straightforward answers. We love, even need, heroes, and we despise cowards. We need heroes so much that we have a tendency to manufacture them. Most of Flashman's reputation rests on tales others have told about him and less on the way he presents...