| George MacDonald Fraser | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 April 1925 Carlisle, England |
| Died | 2 January 2008 (aged 82) Isle of Man |
| Occupation | Author |
| Known for | Flashman novels; McAuslan short stories; screenplay for Octopussy |
| Spouse | Kathleen Hetherington |
| Children | Caro Fraser, writer |
George MacDonald Fraser, OBE (2 April 1925 – 2 January 2008)[1] was an English-born author of Scottish[2] descent, who wrote both historical novels and non-fiction books, as well as several screenplays.[3]
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Fraser was born to Scottish parents in Carlisle, England. His father was a doctor and his mother a nurse. It was his father who passed on to Fraser his love of reading, and a passion for his Scottish heritage.[4]
Fraser was educated at Carlisle Grammar School and Glasgow Academy;[5] he later described himself as a poor student due to "sheer laziness".[4] This meant that he was unable to follow his father's wishes and study medicine.[6]
In 1943, during World War II, he enlisted in The Border Regiment. He was assigned to 9 Section, B Company, 9th Battalion (Bn) in the Indian 17th Infantry Division, known as the Black Cat Division from 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 demobilisation. He has written semi-autobiographical stories and anecdotes of his time with the Gordon Highlanders in the “McAuslan” series.
After his discharge, Fraser returned to the United Kingdom. He worked on the Carlisle Journal and married another journalist, Kathleen Hetherington.[7] They travelled to Canada, working on newspapers there, before returning again to Scotland. Starting in 1953, he worked for many years as a journalist at the Glasgow Herald newspaper[7] where he was deputy editor from 1964 until 1969. He briefly held the title of acting editor. Fraser resigned and gained fame as a novelist and a screen writer. He is best known for his Flashman series of 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 and praise from critics. P.G. Wodehouse said of Flashman, “If ever there was a time when I felt that ‘watcher-of-the-skies-when-a-new-planet’ stuff, it was when I read the first Flashman.”[8]
Fraser also fictionalised his post-war military experience as the adventures of the rather unassuming "Dand" MacNeill in a Scottish regiment of the line. This series of short stories is noted for the strong and strange characters surrounding McNeill, including an aged and prototypical Colonel, a Wodehousian Adjutant, an active and dedicated pipe sergeant, a die-hard Algerian revolutionary, various blackguards and spivs, and, most memorably, Private John McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the world. Featuring games of golf, scrapes and run-ins with the police both military and civil, the transfer of the die-hard to the French (of all people), and McAuslan's various disasters, these works form a picture of the British army in the period immediately after World War II.
George MacDonald Fraser was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1999.
A traditionalist, he was an Honorary Member of the British Weights and Measures Association, which opposes compulsory conversion to the metric system.[9]
He died on 2 January 2008 from cancer, aged 82.
He is the father of novelist Caro Fraser. Husband to Kathleen, three children - Simon, Caroline and Nicholas. Grandfather to eight.
The Flashman series constitute Fraser's major works. There are 12 books in the series:
Fraser's other works include:
Fraser wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for:
George Macdonald Fraser's Flashman at the Charge was in the April and June 1973 Playboy issues.
| Media offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by James Holburn |
Acting Editor of The Herald 1964–1965 |
Succeeded by Alastair Wilson |