The great mass of manuscript known as the Flashman Papers was discovered
during a sale of household furniture at Ashby, Leicestershire, in 1965.
The papers were subsequently claimed by Mr. Paget Morrison of Durban, South Africa, the nearest known living relative of their author.
A point of major literary interest about the papers is that they clearly
identify Flashman, the school bully of Thomas Hughes' Tom Brown's
School Days, with the celebrated Victorian soldier of the same name.
The papers, are in fact, Harry Flashman's personal memoirs from the day
of his explusion from Rugby School in the late 1830's to the early years
of the present century. He appears to have written them some time between
1900 and 1905, when he must have been over eighty. It is possible that
he dictated them.
The papers, which had apparently lain untouched for fifty years,
in a tea chest, until they were found in the Ashby sale-room, were carefully
wrapped in oilskin covers. From correspondence found in the first packet,
it is evident that their original discovery by his relatives in 1915
after the great soldier's death caused considerable consternation; they
seem to have been unanimously against publication of their kinsman's
autobiography - one can readily understand why - and the only wonder
is that the manuscript was not destroyed.
Fortunately, it was preserved, and what follows is the content of the
first packet, covering Flashman's early adventures. I have no reason to
doubt it is a completely truthful account; where Flashman touches on
historical fact he is almost invariable accurate, and readers can judge
whether he is to be believed or not on more personal matters.
Mr. Paget Morrison, knowing of my interest in this and related subjects,
asked me to edit the papers. Beyond correcting some minor errors,
however, there has been no editing to do. Flashman had a better sense
of narrative that I have, and I have confined myself to the addition of a
few historical notes. - Flashman
Various packets of the Flashman Papers have been published under
the following titles and are all still in print:
*Published together in Flashman and the Tiger and Other Extracts from
the Flashman Papers. Flashman and the Tiger was
originally published as a serial in the Daily Express
(Monday 29 September - Friday 3 October 1975) Flashman plays a minor role in Mr. American.
Also, Flashman's father, Buck, appears in Black Ajax