Fenwick "Fenny" Travers is a fictional character and antihero created by Raymond M. Saunders. The character was inspired by the character of

Harry Flashman Sir Harry Paget Flashman is a fictional character created by Thomas Hughes (1822–1896) in the semi-autobiographical ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857) and later developed by George MacDonald Fraser (1925–2008). Harry Flashman appears in a ...

in a series of historical novels written by

George MacDonald Fraser George MacDonald Fraser (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008) was a British author and screenwriter. He is best known for a series of works that featured the character Flashman. Biography Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, ...

, but the character of Travers did not become as successful as his British counterpart.

Overview

The character Fenwick Travers was envisaged by Saunders as the American equivalent of

, having been inspired by the novels written by Fraser during the 1970s onwards. Several Travers books were written during the 1990s, and despite some positive reviews from journalists, they failed to receive the fame of the Flashman novels.

The Travers novels

Each book, like the Flashman novels, is set during a particular event in American history, and follows the actions of the antihero Travers during these events that lead to his becoming an iconic American hero. Below is the name of each book and the events that the book focuses on. * Fenwick Travers and the Years of Empire: An Entertainment - The

Boxer Rebellion The Boxer Rebellion, also known as the Boxer Uprising, the Boxer Insurrection, or the Yihetuan Movement, was an anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty, by ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

(1995) * Fenwick Travers and the Forbidden Kingdom: An Entertainment -

Moro Rebellion The Moro Rebellion (1899–1913) was an armed conflict between the Moro people and the United States military during the Philippine–American War. The word "Moro" – the Spanish word for "Moor" – is a term for Muslim people who li ...

in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(1995) * Fenwick Travers and the Panama Canal: An Entertainment - Creation of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...

in 1903 (1996)

Differences between Flashman and Travers

Although being inspired by the Flashman character, Travers differs from Flashman in several important aspects: * The Flashman novels take place between the 1840s and late 1860s, whereas the Travers novels are set between the 1880s and the early 1900s * Flashman is written to appear as though he was a real person, but Saunders acknowledges that Travers is a fictional character * The Flashman novels were written in the style of a discovered set of memoirs, whereas the Travers stories are written as adventure novels. * Harry Flashman was based on a character of the same name in an earlier book, ''

Tom Brown's School Days ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (sometimes written ''Tom Brown's Schooldays'', also published under the titles ''Tom Brown at Rugby'', ''School Days at Rugby'', and ''Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby'') is an 1857 novel by Thomas Hughes. The stor ...

'', by Thomas Hughes. Travers is an original character, and is not based on any other character.

References

*Saunders, Raymond M. - ''Fenwick Travers and the Years of Empire: A Entertainment'' (1995) *Saunders, Raymond M. - ''Fenwick Travers and the Forbidden Kingdom: An Entertainment'' (1995) *Saunders, Raymond M. - ''Fenwick Travers and the Panama Canal: An Entertainment'' (1996) Literary characters introduced in 1995 Characters in American novels of the 20th century Fictional soldiers Historical novels by series {{novel-char-stub