FlashmanFlashman
Score Classic
What it's about
Harry Flashman, the bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays, tells his own story: expelled from Rugby School, he joins the Light Dragoons and, despite his best efforts to avoid any fighting, becomes a national hero in the Anglo-Afghan War.
Why it's worth reading
It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It's a comic novel.
You'll love it if you liked
Catch-22
Scoop
A Confederacy of DuncesGood to know
It's written as Flashman's own memoir.
By the numbers
- Readers30 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics30 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller12 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #401 of the 504 fantasy books we rank
- #807 of the 924 classics we rank
- #2585 of the 3,056 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Adventurous, Epic, Funny
If you like this, read next
The Lord of the Rings
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Godfather
The Hobbit
The Pillars of the Earth
FoundationExplore the best-of lists
All 47 best-of lists →
Fantasy booksTop 25 · 504 ranked
Classic booksTop 25 · 924 ranked
Books of the 1960sTop 25 · 104 ranked
Mysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 623 ranked
Literary novelsTop 25 · 325 ranked
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelsTop 25 · 63 ranked
Memoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 ranked
Science fiction booksTop 25 · 333 rankedQuick answers
Is Flashman worth reading?
Yes. It's on the Guardian's list of 1,000 novels everyone must read. It ranks #2,585 of the 3,056 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 59.4 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Flashman about?
Harry Flashman, the bully from Tom Brown's Schooldays, tells his own story: expelled from Rugby School, he joins the Light Dragoons and, despite his best efforts to avoid any fighting, becomes a national hero in the Anglo-Afghan War.
How long does it take to read Flashman?
About 6 hours (260 pages), or about 2 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after Flashman?
If you liked it, try Catch-22 by Joseph Heller, Scoop by Evelyn Waugh or A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole.