The General Danced At Dawn

McAuslan

by George MacDonald Fraser

General Danced at Dawn Fraser, George MacDonald

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Humor, Short Stories, Military Fiction, Audiobook, Comedy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

George MacDonald Fraser 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.”

Reviews

[Jane Jago · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are clever, perceptive and at times laugh out loud funny.

Love them

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the ponderous tome Blue Mars, I read this hilarious little short story collection in a couple of hours. It centres on fictional Highland battalion in the years after WWII. The attitudes are therefore, shall we say, of their time. There’s bit of racism, antisemitism, and general colonial arrogance, however as it is invariably white men who come off looking like idiots, this can be treated as historical. The stories follow roughly chronological order, as the narrator gets into officer training, is assigned a battalion, and learns their quirks. Once said quirks become clear, the stories become very funny indeed. I even found a football match entertaining, mainly because of how much money was riding on it.

If you’ve enjoyed M*A*S*H in film, TV, or book forms, you’ll also enjoy ‘The General Danced at Dawn’. The tone and spirit are very similar, albeit Scottish rather than American. Thus the importance of kilts, whisky, and Highland dancing. Edinburgh Castle is the setting for the latter few stories. The most entertaining recurring character is Private McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the world. He stars in the final and best story, ‘McAuslan’s Court-Martial’. This farcical triumph of the underdog demonstrates the fundamental absurdity of the army and made me laugh aloud several times. The whole book is worth reading for that story alone, but to get its full impact you must be aware of everything that came before. I seem to recall reading the first Flashman book, also by George Macdonald Fraser, many years ago and finding the main character very unpleasant. ‘The General Danced at Dawn’ is much more fun, as it undermines the dignity and pretensions of every character with great wit and verve.

[Rob Kitchin · Rating 3 out of 5]

The General Danced at Dawn is the first book in a set of three semi-fictional memoirs of Lieutenant Dand McNeill, based on the first-hand experiences of George Macdonald Fraser. The book has a weak overall story arc, consisting of a set of anecdotes about various incidents, as McNeill makes his way from Burma, via the Middle East, to Edinburgh. Told in a light-hearted fashion, each of the stories has a humorous tone, being more amusing than laugh-out loud, as McNeill blunders through various scrapes and japes with an odd assortment of characters that populate his regiment and those they encounter. Fraser uses the same memoir technique to much better effect with the Flashman series, where the overall story arc and hook is much stronger both in relation to the main character and historical framing. Overall, an amusing set of anecdotes, but little more.

[Peter Tillman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reread, and not quite so good as I recalled. But still, a solid 3-star book. He was quite a writer, and if you missed these books, you may want to seek them out.

Memorable moments: Private McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the Army. Who redeems himself (somewhat)) at the end. The unknown Arab who stops the Cairo-Jerusalem train, to warn of a sabotaged(?) loose rail. The Highland Dances! The junior officers had to practice them every week!

As always, read the head blurb first. What it doesn't tell you (at least for this edition) is that the stories are linked, mostly pretty closely, and the young officer is a fictional stand-in for GMF.

OK, a chance for a short rant. I've noticed that there are different blurbs for different editions of the same book, some better than others. Has Goodreads made any effort to harmonize these? It would be a big effort, especially for old books with many editions.

[Matt Barker · Rating 5 out of 5]

GMF has been one of my favourite authors for years. His dialogue is just fantastic. Not sure if this book will have universal appeal, but I’m certain anyone with any military knowledge or any understanding of the Glasgow accent will absolutely love it. I’d like to think that those without the specific knowledge would enjoy it too.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love George McDonald Fraser’s Flashman stories when I was younger. Some of them are absolutely riotous. The Private McAuslin stories don’t quite hit the spot for me. Humorous, but not particularly funny.

[Elliot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply brilliant. This collection of inter-connected short stories is the most entertaining book I think I have ever read (although I usually don't read humor-based books like this one). Fraser is a masterful storyteller.

The stories are narrated by Lieutenant MacNiell of a highland regiment shortly after the end of World War II, as the regiments makes it way back to Edinburgh from North Africa and the Middle East. It's never stated which regiment he's in, but I think it's based of the Gordon Highlanders. There are a few clues, such as the stag crest and the discussion of Piper Findlater. Regardless, I think having even just small knowledge about highland regiments, or even just the British army in general makes the stories that much more enjoyable.

From the exuberant pipe-majors, to the dependable sergeants, to the doubts of the junior officers, to the veteran privates, and more, each story is a gem filled with laughs, frighteningly realistic conundrums and occasional moments of solemnity.

[Ian Anderson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book in a trilogy. It is a series of short stories that make up a fake memoir of a junior officer in a Highland Regiment at the end of World War II, based on the author's experiences in the army. The stories are told with a mix of dry humour and nostalgia. Many of the characters are easily imagined, even if they are also so over the top as to be unbelievable.

This is a quick read and military knowledge is not required. But I have trouble believing Scottish soldiers really say "Aw-haw-hey".

[Linda Chrisman · Rating 5 out of 5]

While better known for his Flashman books I truly love these stories of "Dand" MacNeil and the regiment. A vastly under rated and should.be much more appreciated suthor

[Dale · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laugh out loud funny. Follows the exploits of a young subaltern in a Scots Regiment at the conclusion of WWII.

[Ian McKinley]

I wonder if this book could get published in 2020. There are some amusing anecdotes in here, especially the last one.

[Viva · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was introduced to George MacDonald Fraser by the Flashman books and because GMF was close to CS Forester on library shelves.

This book is the first of 3 in the series. The series is a fictional biographical sketch of Dand MacNeill of a Highland Regiment just after WW2. It's not stated in the book and I can't remember which of six Highland regiments it's based on.

This and (all the books) consists of short stories (not strictly chronological) and generally non-military. All the stories are based on every day military life, whether on home territory or overseas. The books are comedic, light hearted and serious.

I own the books and I've read this series many times. They are fun to read and yet you understand how serious of a business soldiering is, but it's all related in a light hearted manner. You see the traditions, the history, the ethos of these men and soldiers.

This is a great series and it can be read on many levels. I highly recommend it to any serious readers of military subjects, Highland or British military subjects and people who like a good book.

[Tim Schneider · Rating 3 out of 5]

Having finished up with Flashman I thought I'd give Fraser's McAuslin stories a go. Loosely based on Fraser's time as an officer in the post-WWII British army each book is a collection of humorous short stories. Overall this book was fine. It had its humorous moments. It was certainly a change of pace from Flashy. However, I think it may have been just a touch too Scottish for me. It's not that I got completely lost. But there was a lot going on both in language and in custom that was foreign to my experience and wasn't explained in a way that made it more accessible. I don't have to be spoon-fed my non-American cultures but it tended to bog down the progress, which might have been okay in a more serious work but is probably not as easy to forgive in a humor book.

I didn't dislike the book. It was, overall, funny and an interesting read, particularly in comparison to Flashman. But it wasn't compelling enough that I'm going to hop on the next two volumes any time soon.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely hysterical, laughed so much I nearly fell out of bed, wording way to complicated for my 12 year old, but he certainly had a good time watching me roll around trying to breathe through the laughter!

A collection of short stories from the second world war. This guy has a dry sense of humor, the scenarios and shenanigans made an otherwise less than humorous subject - humorous!

Definitely recommend

[Anne Matheson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is funny and has a certain historic charm - I'm sure there aren't any Scottish soldiers who can't read and don't bathe these days. And you can't catch a train from Cairo to Jerusalem with a stops at Gaza now. I expanded my vocabulary , to include words like cromach and I was pleasantly entertained.

[Lila · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of these not-published-in-the-US books by the author of the Flashman series. A follow-up is McAusian in the Rough. These are a collection of comic short stories, with Scots dialect, focused on Highland Scottish guards stationed in Palestine. Quite funny.

[Jonathan McKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

A treasure

Beautifully written, with laugh out loud moments throughout. An absolute gem from a seriously underrated author, should be compulsory reading in every school. Just glorious

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stories about the peace-time Scottish army that are amusing in their attention to the raucous side of military life.

[Sarah Holland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read these books as a teenager, and delighted to find them again. The title story is one that has always stuck with me.

[Wayne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy this authors writing. After having read several Flashman novels, this one was just as enjoyable.

[Berta Kleiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really funny

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's not flashman, but the author's military experience shines through, and there are some generally humourous moments

[Andy Hewitt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read this, many moons ago and forgot about it over the years. Having a Scottish Infantry background (now far behind me) it brought back some wonderful memories. Frasers (God Rest Him) style of writing and his obvious grasp of the absurd and ridiculousness of authority and the establishment is wonderful to witness. He has written other books, concerning his (thinly disguised) Highland Regiment and Pte McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the world, who is almost certainly, the thinking behind 'Pte Baldrick'.

I've never read any of Frasers 'Flashman' books, but may give them a go, when I finish the current crop, again! (and maybe even again!)

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of stories is told from the point of view of a very junior British officer in the years just after World War II, assigned to a Scottish regiment in Occupied North Africa. All the stories are hilarious, one way or another. Dand MacNeill gets selected for officer training in the first story, by way of an obstacle course, gets acquainted with his new regiment in the second story, and from there things get even funnier. You meet the regimental characters, and learn a lot about Glaswegians and football (soccer). You find out that dancing is required of officers in Scottish regiments, and how passing a general’s inspection is the easier if you have good dancers. You also pick up a bit of Scottish dialect, and meet Private McAuslan, the dirtiest soldier in the world. I really like this book, and wish we had the rest of the McAuslan books. Fraser is best remembered for his Flashman books, but I like McAuslan better.

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of stories about the military life.

There's a note that it's all fiction, but if you read the whole series, the afterword to the third book explains the meaning of it. (His old colonel regarded that statement as a libelous lie. He wasn't fictitious.)

How our narrator came to be an officer; it involved losing his pants. Also Hogomanay Night, various discipline problems within the ranks -- one of them with a full-blown court martial -- and our narrator's adventures with a train and a board of inquiry that omitted a great deal. His great uncle who had also been in the regiment leads to one story

And there's a general. That story does indeed involve dancing.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book - about 'the bonnie lads, no-longer-warring warriors in their sporrans, kilts and Glengarry bonnets, of Colonel Elphingstone-Hamilton's crack Highland Regiment' at the close of WWII ’as they make their hilarious odyssey homeward from the Middle East to Edinburgh Castle' - was made even better by my father's annotations from when he was in a Scottish regiment in WWII (later Egypt) attesting to the reality of this funny work of 'fiction' from the explanations of army speak (turn on stag...) right down to the raunchy army songs sung in the book. Great read for anyone with the slightest affection for the Scottish regiments before they were so ingloriously disbanded in recent times.

[Nick Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monsoon Selection Board audio adaptation read by Tom Fleming, review.

Corporal David MacNeill attempts to become an officer, as the Second World War draws to a close in India.

The reader does a good job of realising the pathos and humour of an ordinary Scotsman applying for a role as an officer but coming up against a panel of stuffy English gentlemen. The applicants face a number of challenges from psychological analysis to an assault course drenched in mud.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a set of linked short stories about an officer's experiences in the British army (Highland regiment) right after World War II. It was given to me by someone who knows I played the bagpipes, and the book is definitely for a reader who likes 1) Scottish personalities and dialects, 2) British army life, or 3) regimental humor. It IS funny, especially knowing some of the inside jokes, and I enjoyed reading the story about a legendary piper, because I knew all the tunes referred to.

[Andre BFG · Rating 5 out of 5]

If George MacDonald Fraser wasn't dead, I'd be wanting to bear his bairns. This is perfectly weighted writing, and will touch a nostalgic nerve with anyone who has ever been lumbered with a billet full of Glaswegians.

[Ns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mistook this as a Flashman series book, oops! Enjoyable, nevertheless.