Chapter 1 Summary

Figuring that if Gladstone and his ilk can be politicians, Harry ("Flashy") Flashman considers standing for Parliament. Arriving in England just ahead of the wave of royal refugees fleeing revolutionary Europe, Flashy listens to his skinflint father-in-law, John Morrison, bemoan the coming of violence to Britain. Eight years earlier, stationed in Paisley, Scotland, Flashy seduces and marries Elspeth. Eight years later, she is finally pregnant, and refuses to have sex, for fear of harming Harry Albert Victor - about whose paternity Flashy has doubts. Flashy is confident nothing will happen when the Chartists march and goads his anxious in-laws. A soaking rain breaks up the crowd.

Morrison decides that having an MP in the family makes good business sense, and Flashy sees it as a quiet life. By age 26, Flashy has seen enough horror. He demands £2,000 a year in upkeep from Morrison and...