''Flashman and the Dragon'' is a 1985

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

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, ...

. It is the eighth of the Flashman novels.

Plot introduction

Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describes the bully Flashman from ''

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 ...

''. The papers are attributed to Flashman, who is not only the bully featured in

Thomas Hughes Thomas Hughes (20 October 182222 March 1896) was an English lawyer, judge, politician and author. He is most famous for his novel ''Tom Brown's School Days'' (1857), a semi-autobiographical work set at Rugby School, which Hughes had attended. ...

' 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 John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

in the United States (detailed in ''

Flashman and the Angel of the Lord ''Flashman and the Angel of the Lord'' is a 1994 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the tenth of the Flashman novels. Plot introduction Presented within the frame of the supposedly discovered historical Flashman Papers, this book describe ...

''). There is no explanation as to how he ends up in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, but it is from here that he begins his adventures in

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 ...

. Flashman meets both the leaders of the

Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a massive rebellion and civil war that was waged in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Han, Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. It lasted fr ...

and members of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

who participated in the

Second Opium War The Second Opium War (), also known as the Second Anglo-Sino War, the Second China War, the Arrow War, or the Anglo-French expedition to China, was a colonial war lasting from 1856 to 1860, which pitted the British Empire and the French Emp ...

Plot summary

In Hong Kong, Flashman is convinced by Phoebe Carpenter, a lovely minister's wife, to accompany a shipment of

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

into Canton, in exchange for a large sum of money and 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 Sir Harry Smith Parkes (24 February 1828 – 22 March 1885) was a British diplomat who served as Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary and Consul General of the United Kingdom to the Empire of Japan from 1865 to 1883 and the Chinese ...

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 Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

. From Shanghai he travels to

Nanking Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

and meets the leaders of the Taiping rebels, in order to convince them not to march on Shanghai. Flashman then proceeds to the mouth of the

Peiho The Hai River (海河, lit. "Sea River"), also known as the Peiho, ("White River"), or Hai Ho, is a Chinese river connecting Beijing to Tianjin and the Bohai Sea. The Hai River at Tianjin is formed by the confluence of five watercourses: the S ...

to join

Lord Elgin Earl of Elgin is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1633 for Thomas Bruce, 3rd Lord Kinloss. He was later created Baron Bruce, of Whorlton in the County of York, in the Peerage of England on 30 July 1641. The Earl of Elgin is the h ...

's staff for his march to Peking. After being captured by the Imperials, he meets

Xianfeng Emperor The Xianfeng Emperor (17 July 1831 – 22 August 1861), or by temple name Emperor Wenzong of Qing (), given name Yizhu (), was the eighth Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the seventh Qing emperor to rule over China proper, reigned from 1850 t ...

and becomes the prisoner and lover of Yehonala, the imperial

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

. When Lord Elgin's army arrives at Peking, he witnesses the destruction of the

Imperial Summer Palace The Old Summer Palace, also known as Yuanmingyuan () or Yuanmingyuan Park, originally called the Imperial Gardens (), and sometimes called the Winter Palace, was a complex of palaces and gardens in present-day Haidian District, Beijing, China. I ...

. But after that event, while heading for home, he is drugged and apparently kidnapped (perhaps shanghaied, given the dress of his kidnappers) while attempting to fulfil his promise with Phoebe Carpenter. There the story ends, and it is never revealed in any subsequent volume what then became of him immediately afterwards. However, there are several references in other books to his service in the American Civil War, suggesting that he must have returned to that country before 1864, and we know (from

Flashman on the March ''Flashman on the March'' is a 2005 novel by George MacDonald Fraser. It is the twelfth and last Flashman novel. Plot introduction As in all of Fraser's Flashman novels, the story is presented as part of the Flashman Papers, supposedly written ...

) that he was in Mexico in 1867.

Characters

Fictional characters

*Harry Paget Flashman - The hero or

anti-hero An antihero (sometimes spelled as anti-hero) or antiheroine is a main character in a story who may lack conventional heroic qualities and attributes, such as idealism, courage, and morality. Although antiheroes may sometimes perform actions ...

*Reverend Josiah Carpenter *Mrs Phoebe Carpenter

Historical characters

James Hope Grant General Sir James Hope Grant, GCB (22 July 1808 – 7 March 1875) was a British Army officer. He served in the First Opium War, First Anglo-Sikh War, Indian Rebellion of 1857, and Second Opium War. Early life Grant was the fifth and younge ...

- British general and commander of the British forces during the Second Opium War. Flashman says, "He wasn't much of a general; it was notorious he'd never read a line outside the Bible; he was so inarticulate he could barely utter any order but 'Charge!'; his notions of discipline were to flog anything that moved...But none of this mattered in the least because, you see, Hope Grant was the best fighting man in the world." *

Frederick Townsend Ward Frederick Townsend Ward (; November 29, 1831September 22, 1862) was an American sailor and soldier of fortune known for his military service in Imperial China during the Taiping Rebellion. Early life and education Ward was born in Salem, Massa ...

- American soldier of fortune and initial commander of the

Ever Victorious Army "Ever Victorious Army" ( ''cháng shèng jūn'') was the name given to a small imperial army that fought rebels in late-19th-century China. It was directed and trained by Europeans. The Ever Victorious Army fought for the Qing dynasty against th ...

. Flashman tries to shoot him at one point, but later says, "while Gordon finished the Taiping business, it was young happy-go-lucky Fred who broke the ground for him." *

Hong Xiuquan Hong Xiuquan (1 January 1814 – 1 June 1864), born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary who was the leader of the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdo ...

- Founder and leader of the Taiping Rebellion, referred to as Hung Hsiu-chuan. Flashman meets him at a time when his mind has deteriorated from excess debauchery, and refers to him as a "raving, dangerous, dreadful madman, and one of the most diabolical powers ever loosed on a suffering world." *

- British diplomat *

John Arbuthnot Fisher John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped ...

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

when Flashman meets him on the

Pearl River The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...

, but later Admiral of the Fleet. *

Garnet Joseph Wolseley Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Garnet Joseph Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley, (4 June 183325 March 1913), was an Anglo-Irish officer in the British Army. He became one of the most influential and admired British generals after a s ...

- British army officer on Hope Grant's staff in China. * Charles Montauban - Commander of the French forces during the Second Opium War. *

- High Commissioner to China and the ambassador whose job it was to go to Peking and see that the Treaty of Tientsin was honoured. He was also responsible for the destruction of the Summer Palace, which was vilified by many as an uncivilised act of vandalism. Flashman, however, liked him and called him, "the shrewdest diplomatic of his day, hard as a hammer and subtle as a Spaniard." Flashman sees the destruction of the Summer Palace as a way of punishing the cruel and decadent court rather than the populace. * John Moyse - the "Private of the Buffs" who refuses to kow-tow to a local mandarin. Flashman has no such scruples. *

Li Xiucheng Li Xiucheng (; 1823 – August 7, 1864) was a military rebel commander opposing the Qing dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion. He was born to a peasant family. In 1864, he was captured and interrogated following the third and final Battle of ...

- Military commander of the Taiping Rebellion, referred to as Loyal Prince Li. Flashman says he could "feel the force that had brought him in ten years from apprentice charcoal-burner and private soldier to the third place in the Taiping hierarchy...It was there, in the cold soft voice and hard unwinking eyes; he was a fanatic of course, and a formidable one." *

Chen Yucheng Chen Yucheng (), born Chen Picheng (; 1837May 1862), was a Chinese general during the Taiping Rebellion and later served as the Heroic (Ying) Prince (or Brave King) of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the later stages of the rebellion, nicknamed " ...

Hong Rengan Hong Rengan (; 18 February 1822 – 23 November 1864) was an important leader of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a distant cousin of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Hong Xiuquan. His position as the Gan Wang (干王, lit. "the Shield K ...

- cousin of Hong Xiuquan and Prime Minister of the Taiping movement, referred to as Hung Jen-Kan. Flashman calls him an "extraordinary man". *

Charles George Gordon Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General Charles George Gordon Companion of the Order of the Bath, CB (28 January 1833 – 26 January 1885), also known as Chinese Gordon, Gordon Pasha, and Gordon of Khartoum, was a British Army officer and ...

- British army officer; Flashman meets him briefly during the destruction of the Summer Palace. * Henry Loch - Secretary to Lord Elgin. *

Felice Beato Felice Beato (1832 – 29 January 1909), also known as Felix Beato, was an Italian–British photographer. He was one of the first people to take photographs in East Asia and one of the first war photographers. He is noted for his genre works, ...

- A semi-official photographer to the British forces of the expedition. * Prince Yi * Sushun *

Sengge Rinchen Sengge Rinchen (1811 – 18 May 1865) or Senggelinqin ( mn, Сэнгэринчен, ᠰᠡᠩᠭᠡᠷᠢᠨᠴᠢᠨ) was a Mongol nobleman and general who served under the Qing dynasty during the reigns of the Daoguang, Xianfeng and Tongzhi em ...

- Mongol general leading the Manchu forces, referred to as Sang Kol-in-sen. *The Xianfeng Emperor - Eighth emperor of the

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

Qing Dynasty, referred to as Emperor Hsienfeng. *

Empress Dowager Ci'an Empress Xiaozhenxian (12 August 1837 – 8 April 1881), of the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner Niohuru clan, was a posthumous name bestowed to the wife and empress consort of Yizhu, the Xianfeng Emperor. She was Empress consort of Qing from 1 ...

Empress Dowager Cixi Empress Dowager Cixi ( ; mnc, Tsysi taiheo; formerly Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Empress Dowager T'zu-hsi; 29 November 1835 – 15 November 1908), of the Manchu people, Manchu Nara (clan)#Yehe Nara, Yehe Nara clan, was a Chinese nob ...

- Yehonala, the imperial concubine, when Flashman meets her. Flashman at one point refers to her as a monster, although he reconsiders and instead says, "With Yehonala everything was extreme; whatever she did was done with every fibre of her, and enjoyed with sensual intensity - whether it was nibbling a sugared walnut, or half-killing a partner in bed, or flaunting a new dress, or having an offender flogged nearly to death..." He later says she was one of three women he ever felt more than lust for (excluding Elspeth), the other two being

Lola Montez Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld (17 February 1821 – 17 January 1861), better known by the stage name Lola Montez (), was an Irish dancer and actress who became famous as a Spanish dancer, courtesan, and mistress of King Ludwig ...

and

Rani Lakshmi Bai Lakshmibai, the Rani of Jhansi (; 19 November 1828 — 18 June 1858),Though the day of the month is regarded as certain historians disagree about the year: among those suggested are 1827 and 1835. was an Indian queen, the Maharani consort of ...

. She was also one of the three most beautiful people in the world according to Flashman, the other two being

and Elspeth. *The

Tongzhi Emperor The Tongzhi Emperor (27 April 1856 – 12 January 1875), born Zaichun of the Aisin Gioro clan, was the ninth List of emperors of the Qing dynasty, Emperor of the Qing dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China proper. His reign, from 1 ...

Prince Gong Yixin (11January 1833– 29May 1898), better known in English as PrinceKung or Gong, was an imperial prince of the Aisin Gioro clan and an important statesman of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty in China. He was a regent of the empire from 1861 to 18 ...

* Szu-Zhan - A very tall female bandit - member of the Provident Brave Butterfly Triad. {{DEFAULTSORT:Flashman And The Dragon 1985 British novels Flashman novels Novels set in the Qing dynasty William Collins, Sons books Cultural depictions of Empress Dowager Cixi Novels set in Beijing