Uncivil Wars opens in 1857 and takes the reader through the horrors of the Indian Mutiny to China and the Second Opium War, during which Speedicut is captured and tortured in the notorious Board of Punishments. Back in England, Speedicut remarries and he and his new wife spend their honeymoon in the United States, where they get caught up in the American Civil War along with Scarlett OHara, Ashley Wilkes and Rhett Butler, all of whose real characters he ruthlessly exposes

Two main storylines run through Book 4 of The Speedicut Papers: Speedicuts quest to identify the traitor within the British establishment, who has already occasioned him considerable personal problems, and his involuntary and often disastrous involvement in the geopolitical affairs of the Emperors of Austria, Mexico and the French and the future Emperor of Germany. Speedicuts behind-the-scenes revelations in Book 4 shed a new light on the fall of the Mexican Empire, the Franco-Prussian War, the Paris Commune and a great deal more besides. There are such things as vampires ... and the records of the past, such as The Speedicut Papers, give proof enough for sane people. Bram Stoker If this book was a horse it would be by Rider Haggard out of Dorian Gray and I say that advisedly. Archibald Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery The Speedicut Papers prove that when you want to fool the world all that you have to do is tell the truth. Otto von Bismarck Bodice rippers dont come much more ripping. Georgette Heyer

The Speedicut Papers recounts in very frank detail the life, loves, and adventures of Jasper Speedicutcharmer, sexual libertine, reluctant hero, and friend of the self-styled brigadier general Sir Harry Flashman, VC. Comprising a nine-volume series of linked adventures and anecdotes in memoir format, The Speedicut Papers lifts the lid from a veritable cesspit of Victorian and Edwardian upper-class debauchery that makes Downton Abbey look like a vicarage tea party. It is also a unique account of Speedicuts involvement in some of the greatestand also some long-forgottenevents in the British Empire and beyond during the period of 18211915. In Flashmans Secret, the first volume of the saga, Speedicut throws a searchlight onto some very murky corners of the nineteenth century, including the early careers of the notorious courtesan, Lola Montez, and the demon barber of Fleet Street, Sweeney Todd. New insights are also provided into the formation of the IRA, the first Anglo-Afghan War, and the dubious acquisition by the British crown of the Koh-i-Noor diamond. If this were not enough, Flashmans Secret also reveals Nelsons actual last words and the existence of a sinister and murderous secret society at the heart of the British establishment.

As the subtitle implies, Book 5 of The Speedicut Papers is largely concerned with Speedicuts unsought role as a part-time courtier to Prince Albert Edward, The Prince of Wales, whilst at the same time he tries to track down the traitor in the British establishment. Along the way he witnesses the battle of Isandlwana, is present at Rorkes Drift and is framed for the death of the Prince Imperial.

Book 2 of The Speedicut Papers continues the first hand account of the life, loves and adventures of Jasper Speedicut: charmer, sexual libertine and reluctant hero. It is also a unique account of events in the British Empire and beyond, comprising a series of linked adventures and anecdotes which, when taken together, comprise a fascinating insight into many of the half-remembered or wholly-forgotten events of the second half of the 19th century. It is a matter of considerable regret to me that The Speedicut Papers were not available to me when I wrote my History of the English Speaking Peoples. Sir Winston Churchill This book contains the only lucid explanation of the Schleswig-Holstein question ... to which Ive completely forgotten the answer. Henry Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston I was delighted to discover that, like me, Speedicut has committed every sin in the Decalogue. Sir Richard Burton Having read this remarkable narrative I would swim the Hellespont to meet the man who wrote it. George, 6th Baron Byron Speedicuts adventures in Berlin have given me an idea for a book. Bram Stoker

In the last volume of The Speedicut Memoirs, Charles Speedicut relates his involvement, as a member of the Special Operations Executive, in many of the highly successful deception strategies masterminded by the cross-dressing Colonel Dudley Clarke, including Operation MINCEMEAT. He also discloses his role in the high-profile assassinations of the Protector of Moravia & Bohemia, Reinhard Heydrich, the Vichy French Admiral, François Darlan, and the abduction of General Heinrich Kreipe. In the post-war period, Speedicut is principally concerned with uncovering Soviet spies in the British Establishment although, along the way, he recounts the true story on which The Third Man was based. He also reveals that he was responsible for stealing the Duchess of Windsor’s jewels, his pivotal role in the Vassall and Profumo scandals, the true identity of the ‘headless man’ in the notorious Argyll divorce case and the reason why his memoirs were written whilst serving time in HM Prison Ford. “The activities of the Special Operations Executive have been described as ‘ungentlemanly warfare’ entirely because of the exploits of Charles Speedicut.” The Rt Hon Sir Winston Churchill

Book 8 of The Speedicut Papers is primarily concerned with Speedicuts involvement with the young Winston Churchill on the North-West Frontier of India, in the Sudan at the Battle of Omdurman and in the Second Boer War, during which Speedicut is captured along with Churchill. When not acting as nursemaid to Britains future greatest Prime Minister, Speedicut plays a central role, invariably with disastrous consequences, in the notorious Jameson Raid, Queen Victorias Diamond Jubilee and the assassination of the Empress of Austria. Speedicuts opinions on the great figures of our time give a whole new meaning to the word iconoclast Dr Samuel Johnson If all the men and women Speedicut slept with were laid end to end, I wouldnt be at all surprised. Dorothy Parker In defeat, defiance; in victory, magnanimity; in peace, goodwill except where that shit, Speedicut, is concerned. Winston S Churchill