Tom Brown's School Days was set at Rugby School and Flashman is the notorious school bully, who persecutes the book's hero Tom Brown.
George MacDonald Fraser had the conceit of writing a series of further fictional adventures of this coward and bully as he cuts a swathe through the wars and uproars (and the boudoirs and harems) of the 19th century. Though Flashman constantly betrays his friends, runs from danger, or hides cowering in fear, he arrives at the end of each book with medals, praise from the mighty, and the love of one or more beautiful and enthusiastic women. Flashman becomes one of the most notable and honored figures of the era.
The series is a classic use of false documents. The books describe the discovery of Flashman's memoirs in a Leicestershire saleroom in 1966. Posing as the editor of the papers, Fraser produces a series of historical novels that give a racy, colorful, and decidedly cynical view of British and American history in the 19th century. Dozens of major and minor characters from history flit in and out of the books, often in an inglorious or hypocritical guise. In fact, Fraser's research is extensive and the books illuminate the historical events they depict.
To date the following extracts from the Flashman Papers have been published: