George MacDonald Fraser

George MacDonald Fraser, OBE (born 2 April, 1926 in Carlisle) is a British author of both historical novels and non-fiction books.^[1]

Early life and military career

Born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England, Fraser grew up and was educated in Scotland. In 1943, during World War II, he enlisted the The Border Regiment. He was assigned to 9 Section, B Company, 9th Battalion (Bn) The Border Regiment in the Indian 17th Infantry Division in India, known as The Black Cat Division for the flashes worn by the troops. Fraser was made a Lance-Corporal four times, but was reduced to Private three times for minor offences, one of them losing a tea urn. He finally kept the rank and held it until he went to the War Office Selection Board (WOSB) for a commission. He detailed his active service with the Border Regiment in his autobiographical book, Quartered Safe Out Here.

After completion of his OCTU (Officer Cadet Training Unit) course Fraser was granted a commission into the Gordon Highlanders . He served with them in the Middle East and North Africa immediately after the war. Fraser decided against remaining with the army and took up his demob. He has written mainly factual stories and anecdotes of his time with the Gordon Highlanders in the so-called "McAuslan" series.

Post-war

After his discharge, Fraser worked for many years as a journalist. He was a senior editor at The Scotsman, but was passed over for promotion because of his English birth. Fraser resigned and gained fame as a novelist and a screen writer. He is best known for his Flashman series of semi-historical novels, purportedly written by Harry Flashman, a fictional coward and bully originally created by Thomas Hughes in Tom Brown's School Days. The novels are presented as "packets" of memoirs written by the nonagenarian Flashman, who looks back on his days as a "hero" of the British Army during the 19th century. The series begins with Flashman, and is notable for the accuracy of the historical settings.

George MacDonald Fraser was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999. A traditionalist, he is an outspoken patron of the British Weights and Measures Association, which opposes compulsory metrification. He is the father of novelist Caro Fraser.

Works

The Flashman series constitute Fraser's major works. As of June, 2007, there are 12 books in the series, namely:

• Flashman (1969)
• Royal Flash (1970)
• Flash for Freedom! (1971)
• Flashman at the Charge (1973)
• Flashman in the Great Game (1975)
• Flashman's Lady (1977)
• Flashman and the Redskins (1982)
• Flashman and the Dragon (1985)
• Flashman and the Mountain of Light (1990)
• Flashman and the Angel of the Lord (1994)
• Flashman and the Tiger (1999)
• Flashman on the March (2005)

Fraser's other works include:

• Quartered Safe Out Here (1992), a memoir of his experiences as an infantryman in the Border Regiment during the Burma Campaign of World War II
• The "Dand MacNeill" or "McAuslan" stories, an indirect continuation of Quartered Safe Out Here. Essentially a humorous fictionalised memoir of the author's experiences in the Gordon Highlanders in North Africa and Scotland soon after World War II. Some of the stories were originally by-lined "Dand MacNeill", a play on the regimental motto BYDAND, meaning standfast:
  • The General Danced at Dawn (1970)
  • McAuslan in the Rough (1974)
  • The Sheikh and the Dustbin (1988)
• The Steel Bonnets (1971), a history of the Border Reivers of the Anglo-Scottish Border.
• The Hollywood History of the World: From One Million Years B.C. to Apocalypse Now. (1988, revised 1996) The book discusses how Hollywood deals with history. It concludes that the standard of historical analysis in most movies is far better than one might imagine. The text is illustrated by comparative images of figures from history and the actors who portrayed them in film. In many cases the similarities are striking.
• The Pyrates (1983), a tongue-in-cheek novel incorporating all the possible buccaneer film plots into one.
• Black Ajax (1997), a novel about Tom Molineaux, a 19th century black prizefighter in England. (As in Mr American, this novel is also connected to the Flashman series - in this case Sir Harry Flashman's father plays a minor role.)
• Mr American (1980), a novel about a mysterious American in England, the book comes to life in the hero's dealings with the aged General Harry Flashman.
• The Candlemass Road (1993), a short novel about the Border Reivers of the 16th century.
• The Light's on at Signpost (2002), a memoir of the author's days writing in Hollywood, interspersed with bitter rants against political correctness and new Labour Party.

Fraser wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for:

• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• The Four Musketeers (1974)
• Royal Flash (1975, adapted from his novel)
• Crossed Swords (US) or The Prince and the Pauper (UK) (1977)
• Force 10 From Navarone (uncredited) (1978)
• Octopussy (1983)
• Red Sonja (1985)
• The Return of the Musketeers (1989)

References

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