Mr American
Written by George MacDonald Fraser
Narrated by William Hope
4/5
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About this audiobook
Repackaged to tie-in with hardback publication of ‘The Reavers’ and to appeal to a new generation of George MacDonald Fraser fans, ‘Mr American’ is a swashbuckling romp of a novel.
Mark Franklin came from the American West to Edwardian England with two long-barrelled .44s in his baggage and a fortune in silver in the bank. Where he had got it and what he was looking for no one could guess, although they wondered – at Scotland Yard, in City offices, in the glittering theatreland of the West End, in the highest circles of Society (even King Edward was puzzled) and in the humble pub at Castle Lancing. Tall dark and dangerous, soft spoken and alone, with London at his feet and a dark shadow in his past, he was a mystery to all of them, rustics and royalty, squires and suffragettes, the women who loved him and the men who feared and hated him. He came from a far frontier in another world, yet he was by no means a stranger… even old General Flashman, who knew men and mischief better than most, never guessed the whole truth about “Mr American”.
George MacDonald Fraser
The author of the famous ‘Flashman Papers’ and the ‘Private McAuslan’ stories, George MacDonald Fraser has worked on newspapers in Britain and Canada. In addition to his novels he has also written numeous films, most notably ‘The Three Musketeers’, ‘The Four Musketeers’, and the James Bond film, ‘Octopussy’. George Macdonald Fraser died in January 2008 at the age of 82.
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Reviews for Mr American
59 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5After having read the twelve Flashman novels and enjoying them immensely, I order this book along with Black Ajax, penned by the same author. The story follows Mark Franklin, an American prospector who hit it rich in the Nevada silver rush and has relocated to his ancestral home in England. Though Franklin is by no means an ignorant hillbilly, he is unfamiliar with upper class British ways, though he adopts far more gracefully than would most in his circumstances.Of particular enjoyment is the periodic appearance of Sir Harry Flashman, now over 90 years old, but none the worse for wear. Flashman plays a relatively minor role in the story, but certainly casts a long shadow. There are several undercurrents at play during the course of the book, which I found intriguing and which did not always resolve as might be expected. While this does not rise to the level of some of the better Flashman installments, it is still an enjoyable read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Worth reading if you are Flashman fan, if only for the fun appearances by 80-90 year-old Sir Harry. It's well written and the first half is really engaging, but as noted by many others here, the second half is a bit of letdown. Reads more like a William Boyd novel than typical Fraser one.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ooo, this is a hard one to rate.
I loved the first part - Mr American's arrival in England, instantly falling over 3 beautiful women, having a meet-cute with the king, the teasing flashbacks to his life in the Wild West, the reappearance of Curry... I was eating it up.
And then we skipped 3 years in as many pages, his marriage is in crisis and we're bogged down in the Irish home rule problem. What happened?
I could genuinely believe that Fraser died halfway through writing this and the latter half was reconstructed from notes found in his desk after his passing.
This one won't be staying on my shelves. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not nearly as much fun as the Flashman books. Mr. Fraser doesn't shine in this story about love betrayed.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I've read this novel three times and love it more every time. The way it begins and ends, with Mr American's life and adventures in between, is so well done. MacDonald's wit, teasing humour, and sheer style of writing is so very, very good.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I so thoroughly enjoyed the first half of this book that I couldn't put it down. From the halfway point though, I found the plot slower and unsatisfying in light of this novel's early promise. Frazer does develop some fantastic opportunities for conflict and crisis around the central character, Mark Franklin, any one of which might have provided tension and excitement enough to compel a reader throughout the story. However he also created, in Mark Franklin, a character so sensible and self-contained as to ensure that every crisis is tackled head-on with quick, calm efficiency. In short, the key events fail to grip as they might have done. That said, Mr American is still well worth reading for Frazer's impecable depiction of Edwardian England and its people, and a cameo appearance by an aged Flashman (in his nineties) is a real treat.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wild West rough diamond comes to bucolic Britain to set himself up in a country house. Straight fiction, unlike many of MacDonald Fraser's other titles. Enjoyable enough but the characters seem underwritten. Leaves you, in many ways, with the same feeling you get when you watch the Cohen Brother's "The Man Who Wasn't There" - that you weren't really there yourself.