![]() George MacDonald Fraser was an exceptional writer and he developed a character that he took from Tom Brown's School Days into a truly legendary figure. The concept of a fictional character witnessing and participating in real historical events, while not unique, has rarely been done better. Most of what I know of the Victorian era was prompted by his books. When I thought of a vehicle to do so, the Flashman series from George MacDonald Fraser came to mind. History is full of amazing stories and in my books I try to do my bit to tell some of them. ![]() ![]() The Begum of Samru from my second book is another: a fifteen-year-old nautch dancer who gained the confidence of an army, had a man literally kill himself over her and who led her soldiers with skill and courage, before becoming something of a Catholic saint. Thomas Cochrane who features in my first book is one of those, his real life adventures seem ridiculously far fetched for a fictional character. There are countless times when I have come across a character or incident that has been so hard to believe that I have had to search out other sources for confirmation. I am a firm believer in the maxim that history is stranger than fiction. ![]()
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