Flashman and the Dragon
First edition
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| Author | George MacDonald Fraser |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Arthur Barbosa |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Collins |
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Publication date
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1985 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 352 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 12520104 |
| Preceded by | Flashman and the Redskins |
| Followed by | Flashman and the Mountain of Light |
Flashman and the Dragon is a 1985 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.
Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from Tom Brown's School Days. The papers are attributed to Flashman, who is not only the bully featured in Thomas Hughes' novel, but also a well-known Victorian military hero. The book begins with an explanatory note detailing the discovery of these papers.
The present novel takes place shortly after Flashman's service with John Brown in the United States (detailed in Flashman and the Angel of the Lord). There is no explanation as to how he ends up in Hong Kong, but it is from here that he begins his adventures in China. Flashman meets both the leaders of the Taiping Rebellion and members of the Qing Dynasty who resisted the British march to Peking in 1860 - part of the Second Opium War.
In Hong Kong, Flashman is convinced by Phoebe Carpenter, a lovely minister's wife, to take a shipment of opium into Canton, with the promise of a later, more pleasant meeting. On the way he discovers that instead of opium he is carrying guns to the Taiping rebels. In Canton, Flashman manages to convince Harry Smith Parkes that he was trying to stop the shipment. However, instead of being able to head for home as he originally intended, he is put on the intelligence staff in Shanghai. From Shanghai he travels to Nanking and meets the leaders of the Taiping rebels, in order to convince them not to march on Shanghai.
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Wikipedia