Harry Flashman: the unrepentant bully of Tom Brown’s schooldays, now with a Victoria Cross, has three main talents – horsemanship, facility with foreign languages and fornication. A reluctant military hero, Flashman plays a key part in most of the defining military campaigns of the 19th century, despite trying his utmost to escape them all.

In addition to the other famous adventures come three episodes in the career of this eminent if disreputable adventurer.

Plumbing the depths of dishonour, Flashman’s up

to his old tricks again. Whether embroiled in a

plot to assassinate Emperor Franz-Josef, saving the

Prince of Wales from scandal, or being chased by a

horde of Zulus, Harry Flashman never disappoints.