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Scoundrels #3
Scoundrels: Her Majesty's Pleasure
Adventure, Danger, Intrigue, Espionage, Violence & Sex... Just another day at Scoundrels Club.
Spanning much of the 20th Century and revolving around the infamous Gentlemen's Club of London, Scoundrels is the jaw-dropping memoirs of disreputable spies Majors Cornwall and Trevelyan.
Volume Three 1970-1986
Britannia is under attack! The Majors find themselves friendless, fundless and cast out of Scoundrels Club. As enemies close in, they gamble with their lives in Monte Carlo, mount a daring jailbreak at London Zoo, and stage a bloody coup under the African sun, and all in the name of revenge. The stage is set for a shuddering climax – a right royal rumble at the very heart of the Establishment.
Historically accurate, morally questionable and absolutely true, Scoundrels is one part Flashman to two parts Mordecai Trilogy, stirred vigorously and dashed in the face of Ian Fleming. It will leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth and horribly hungover.
Spanning much of the 20th Century and revolving around the infamous Gentlemen's Club of London, Scoundrels is the jaw-dropping memoirs of disreputable spies Majors Cornwall and Trevelyan.
Volume Three 1970-1986
Britannia is under attack! The Majors find themselves friendless, fundless and cast out of Scoundrels Club. As enemies close in, they gamble with their lives in Monte Carlo, mount a daring jailbreak at London Zoo, and stage a bloody coup under the African sun, and all in the name of revenge. The stage is set for a shuddering climax – a right royal rumble at the very heart of the Establishment.
Historically accurate, morally questionable and absolutely true, Scoundrels is one part Flashman to two parts Mordecai Trilogy, stirred vigorously and dashed in the face of Ian Fleming. It will leave you with a nasty taste in your mouth and horribly hungover.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
409 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 10, 2021
About the author
Victor Cornwall
3 books26 followersVictor Cornwall, the pseudonym of author, Duncan Crowe, writes fiction with James Peak, producing 'Scoundrels'. The first volume was published by Black Door Press and distributed by Turnaround Ltd in June 2017, and is now on its fourth printing. The second volume, 'The Hunt For Hansclapp' was nominated for the Literary Review's Bad Sex in Fiction Award. The third and final volume 'Her Majesty's Pleasure' was released in December 2021.
Usually, a book with 'scoundrel' in the title is a breathless romantic fiction full of bodice-heaving, muscular chaps in tight jodphurs and trysts in the English countryside.
Our books are not those books: our books are about manslaughter, blackmail, deadly casinos, Turkish bakers, unsavoury gymnasiums, horrible incidents in the Wimbledon changing rooms, Chinese sex-assassins, Stasi spies, showdowns with giant bulls, fights, fixes, chess games gone wrong, accidents involving rickety firearms, gambling, braggadocio, bluster, and generally sordid goings-on from which nobody emerges with any credit.
Be warned, the Scoundrels stories are unapologetically filthy and eye-opening spy-thrillers, starring the disreputable Major Victor Cornwall and Major Arthur St. John Trevelyan, who are approaching their 100th birthdays and keen to relate the unwholesome stories of their youth. These stories centre around Scoundrels Club of Piccadilly, a Gentlemen's Club charged with fixing the sort of diplomatic and espionage crises that can't go through normal channels.
The books have been championed by wonderful authors and artists like Terry Gilliam, Christopher Fowler and Bob Deis. They've been described many times by journalists, bloggers and real people we don't know as "the funniest thing I've ever read", "genius" (The Chap Magazine), "like Flashman on acid" (Men's Adventure Library) and even "immensely satisfying" (Daily Telegraph)
Usually, a book with 'scoundrel' in the title is a breathless romantic fiction full of bodice-heaving, muscular chaps in tight jodphurs and trysts in the English countryside.
Our books are not those books: our books are about manslaughter, blackmail, deadly casinos, Turkish bakers, unsavoury gymnasiums, horrible incidents in the Wimbledon changing rooms, Chinese sex-assassins, Stasi spies, showdowns with giant bulls, fights, fixes, chess games gone wrong, accidents involving rickety firearms, gambling, braggadocio, bluster, and generally sordid goings-on from which nobody emerges with any credit.
Be warned, the Scoundrels stories are unapologetically filthy and eye-opening spy-thrillers, starring the disreputable Major Victor Cornwall and Major Arthur St. John Trevelyan, who are approaching their 100th birthdays and keen to relate the unwholesome stories of their youth. These stories centre around Scoundrels Club of Piccadilly, a Gentlemen's Club charged with fixing the sort of diplomatic and espionage crises that can't go through normal channels.
The books have been championed by wonderful authors and artists like Terry Gilliam, Christopher Fowler and Bob Deis. They've been described many times by journalists, bloggers and real people we don't know as "the funniest thing I've ever read", "genius" (The Chap Magazine), "like Flashman on acid" (Men's Adventure Library) and even "immensely satisfying" (Daily Telegraph)
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
May 28, 2022
The third and final Scoundrels instalment and I don’t feel I’m being dramatic by saying I’m devastated it’s over! I have grown to love Major Cornwell & Major Trevelyan so much.
This book has even more misfortune for our leading men than the other two, but fear not, they always manage to get themselves out of a pickle. Absolutely outrageous, crude, daring and mischievous - exactly what we have come to love from our Major’s. The hunt for Hansclapp is still in full force but I won’t be telling you if that’s finally resolved or not, he is one tricky bugger to catch after all! I have never read a series I love more, genuinely the best set of books I’ve read in years! (Close is Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lector series). I wish these books reached a wider audience and were made into films, although I’m not quite sure the shenanigans the Majors get up to could actually be portrayed on to the big screen haha. I love it so much, but it’s very much bitter sweet because it’s over. Please can James Peak & Duncan Crowe write something else asap!! Everyone should read this trilogy.
This book has even more misfortune for our leading men than the other two, but fear not, they always manage to get themselves out of a pickle. Absolutely outrageous, crude, daring and mischievous - exactly what we have come to love from our Major’s. The hunt for Hansclapp is still in full force but I won’t be telling you if that’s finally resolved or not, he is one tricky bugger to catch after all! I have never read a series I love more, genuinely the best set of books I’ve read in years! (Close is Thomas Harris’ Hannibal Lector series). I wish these books reached a wider audience and were made into films, although I’m not quite sure the shenanigans the Majors get up to could actually be portrayed on to the big screen haha. I love it so much, but it’s very much bitter sweet because it’s over. Please can James Peak & Duncan Crowe write something else asap!! Everyone should read this trilogy.
December 5, 2021
I have waited a long time for Scoundrels 3 - nearly three years- and it did not disappoint. I raced through it. The adventures of the Majors Trevelyan and Cornwall are as outlandish as ever, and this time their story comes to a satisfying finale which is the most hilarious bit of adventure fiction I have ever read. I don’t know how the authors jammed so much toe-curling ribaldry into such a tight storyline- it’s a bit like a Bond film in the way we flit around the globe, as they steal horses in Ireland and go on rugby tours to African dictatorships.
The book, in fact all the Scoundrels books, are by no means perfect (there is not much reflection or character-building) but what there is is tons of laughs and oneupmanship. I really loved this book as much as the other two- but perhaps even more when I consider the absolutely brilliant ending which features some situations that are genuinely crazy. Wonderful stuff.
The book, in fact all the Scoundrels books, are by no means perfect (there is not much reflection or character-building) but what there is is tons of laughs and oneupmanship. I really loved this book as much as the other two- but perhaps even more when I consider the absolutely brilliant ending which features some situations that are genuinely crazy. Wonderful stuff.
October 17, 2022
Although this is the third book in this series, it is my first. On four occasions within the first hundred pages I cast it aside – and then came back to it because I obtained it for nothing and, on that basis, the authors deserved a review from me. This lengthy tome followed the insane nonsense of two passed over majors from the British Army who happen to belong to a privileged class of persons where cash is not an obstacle- furthermore they are members of the Scoundrels Club in St. James, where membership is extremely limited and excessive personal wealth is as taken for granted as much as the applicant is assumed to be wearing underwear. I tittled little throughout the book, but guffawed thrice. I am amazed this book has not achieved notoriety through being sued for the –possibly- libelous absurd activities with peers of the realm and other notable dignitaries who might still be living. Trevelyan’s lawyer has assured me that one cannot libel a deceased person, but this chap’s idea of sitting on a bench is one of those alongside the Thames Embankment.
I very much liked the layout and editing. I applaud the author’s use of language. The many archaic expressions used in the text (and not all of them were of a medical origin) gave the writing precision.
It does go on for too long (for my tastes) and I now wish I had skipped those pages in the first quarter, for I enjoyed the latter three-quarters. There’s some damned good imagination going on inside those leaves.
Will I read another? One can never so never, and it’s an indulgence for a person to have too much of a good thing.
I very much liked the layout and editing. I applaud the author’s use of language. The many archaic expressions used in the text (and not all of them were of a medical origin) gave the writing precision.
It does go on for too long (for my tastes) and I now wish I had skipped those pages in the first quarter, for I enjoyed the latter three-quarters. There’s some damned good imagination going on inside those leaves.
Will I read another? One can never so never, and it’s an indulgence for a person to have too much of a good thing.
December 20, 2021
Just finished the second story, an adventure that climaxes (fnarr) in an underwater casino. Worth buying for that alone.
*****
Chapter 5 is a lock for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, which "Scoundrels: The Hunt for Hansclapp" so senselessly lost to James Frey in 2018. "We raced to find a room - any room - tumbling along the corridor, our hands on each other's bodies, our tongues wrestling like a pair of greased-up Turkish taxi drivers settling an ancient feud over parking infringements on each other's turf."
*****
Chapter 11: What are the chances that two of the best books I've read lately, this and "Dead Men's Trousers" by Irvine Welsh, involve amateur nephrectomies?
*****
Just finished it. I picked up Vols. 2 and 3 expecting a string of spectacularly dirty jokes each time, and was not disappointed, but the amazing thing is how much swashbuckling, plot and actual emotion there is in the series. This is supposedly the final installment, but the Majors are left alive and reminiscing at the end, so here's hoping they turn up elsewhere, maybe the way a very old Flashman cameoed in a few of George MacDonald Fraser's non-Flashman books. Anyway, I'm looking forward to whatever Crowe and Peak write next.
*****
Chapter 5 is a lock for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award, which "Scoundrels: The Hunt for Hansclapp" so senselessly lost to James Frey in 2018. "We raced to find a room - any room - tumbling along the corridor, our hands on each other's bodies, our tongues wrestling like a pair of greased-up Turkish taxi drivers settling an ancient feud over parking infringements on each other's turf."
*****
Chapter 11: What are the chances that two of the best books I've read lately, this and "Dead Men's Trousers" by Irvine Welsh, involve amateur nephrectomies?
*****
Just finished it. I picked up Vols. 2 and 3 expecting a string of spectacularly dirty jokes each time, and was not disappointed, but the amazing thing is how much swashbuckling, plot and actual emotion there is in the series. This is supposedly the final installment, but the Majors are left alive and reminiscing at the end, so here's hoping they turn up elsewhere, maybe the way a very old Flashman cameoed in a few of George MacDonald Fraser's non-Flashman books. Anyway, I'm looking forward to whatever Crowe and Peak write next.
December 11, 2021
And so the Majors tales come to a conclusion, an enjoyable romp with some amusing and thrilling adventures. Not the best book of the series (Scoundrels 2) but still a great read, concluded the trilogy well.
The publishers may not agree but I would happily read more tales of the Majors or other Scoundrels especially those that may be lost in archives.
I would thoroughly recommend the series for people who enjoy a humorous book and not easily offended, perfect for fans of Flashman and that sort of book.
The publishers may not agree but I would happily read more tales of the Majors or other Scoundrels especially those that may be lost in archives.
I would thoroughly recommend the series for people who enjoy a humorous book and not easily offended, perfect for fans of Flashman and that sort of book.
July 12, 2023
More great adventures from Cornwall and Trevelyan!
Still incredibly funny, brutal and rude, but in a slightly different way than with the first two books.
I didn't laugh as frequently as I did with the first book, but this book still had me in stitches at least once a chapter. There's a lot more going on in terms of narrative - the action is more vivid and thrilling. It has the greatest description of a hangover ever written.
Wish there were more books by these guys (Peak and Crowe) - they're brilliant writers.
Still incredibly funny, brutal and rude, but in a slightly different way than with the first two books.
I didn't laugh as frequently as I did with the first book, but this book still had me in stitches at least once a chapter. There's a lot more going on in terms of narrative - the action is more vivid and thrilling. It has the greatest description of a hangover ever written.
Wish there were more books by these guys (Peak and Crowe) - they're brilliant writers.
February 4, 2023
Sadly the Majors tales have ended. Personally,out of the three volumes I didn’t like this volume as much as the two earlier ones. I laughed but not as much as before. This was a bit more raunchy then the other two stories. I guess people need “mom porn”. I perhaps had higher expectations due to the earlier writings. But I do pray It gets picked up for television, it would be smashing. I also the authors do not test on their laurels and write more adventures of the Scoundrel club.
February 19, 2022
WARNING - may cause embarrassment...
…as you feel obliged to explain words like ‘Klunghammer’ when chuckling for no apparent reason in the check-out queue of your local supermarket.
An excellent and fitting end to what has been an outstanding series. I always wondered why our heroes never picked up so much as a British Empire Medal when repeatedly saving the world. Well, now I know. Simply hilarious!
Mind you, given the current Jimmy Carr furore over what is and isn’t ‘acceptable’ comedy these days, maybe there’s room for a fourth book? The two retired majors fighting the forces of political correctness in a nursing home while continuing to claim individual bragging rights over each other and in ever more shockingly inappropriate and impossible ways. The old soldiers must never die – just fade away.
…as you feel obliged to explain words like ‘Klunghammer’ when chuckling for no apparent reason in the check-out queue of your local supermarket.
An excellent and fitting end to what has been an outstanding series. I always wondered why our heroes never picked up so much as a British Empire Medal when repeatedly saving the world. Well, now I know. Simply hilarious!
Mind you, given the current Jimmy Carr furore over what is and isn’t ‘acceptable’ comedy these days, maybe there’s room for a fourth book? The two retired majors fighting the forces of political correctness in a nursing home while continuing to claim individual bragging rights over each other and in ever more shockingly inappropriate and impossible ways. The old soldiers must never die – just fade away.
December 5, 2021
An entirely fitting end to the Majors' story. I don't know why it has taken so long for this book to appear but it is extremely funny and very near the knuckle. Too near the knuckle? Yes, in parts. But that's what makes this so distinctive.
January 9, 2023
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. But what am I going to do without Scoundrels? Perhaps there are a couple of up and coming heroes in the Blue Bar? You couldn't do us a favour and have a look when next in?
January 21, 2023
The final book in this trilogy does not disappoint. Very sorry to have finished all of them - thoroughly enjoyable. Flashman on acid. I will, of course, be careful who I recommend it to - not for everyone!
December 25, 2021
Another cracking book from the Major’s. I really hope that they find someone to document their reunion…
December 30, 2021
Loved it. Packed with many laugh out loud moments. A perfect conclusion to the Major’s trilogy.
May 29, 2022
Another great book in the series that weaves real life events with the absurd. Laugh out loud.
July 12, 2024
Loved all these books
December 11, 2021
Crude, tasteless, hilarious….
The Majors’ exploits continue to amuse and repulse in equal measure. Few books have made me literally laugh out loud - this and the preceding two volumes are the exceptions to that rule.
The Majors’ exploits continue to amuse and repulse in equal measure. Few books have made me literally laugh out loud - this and the preceding two volumes are the exceptions to that rule.
December 13, 2021
I must hand it to you, Majors, either your writing has improved, or your roguish charms alone have successfully managed to reduce this once respectable lady into a shameful fit of giggles at the mere mention of the words ‘lob on’.
You had love (Cornwall’s sweet northern nothings in chapter 3 instantly springs to mind, and now I’m laughing again) and loss (I won’t mention these here as I am still recovering from that rather spectacular finale). There was humiliation, there were heists, and there was arguably the most tactically ingenious ruby match to ever grace the hallowed ground. What more could any woman want? A gun wielding gorilla wearing a flap cap perhaps? Never fear; this epic has them all.
An utterly satisfying end to a riotous ride. And with the Major’s current penchant for lawsuits, I daren’t rate this final instalment of their memoirs any lower than 5 stars.
(PS Major Cornwall, if you are reading this, I hope you manage to resolve the situation with your editors soon, as I await with bated breath for the publication of your poetry anthology.)
You had love (Cornwall’s sweet northern nothings in chapter 3 instantly springs to mind, and now I’m laughing again) and loss (I won’t mention these here as I am still recovering from that rather spectacular finale). There was humiliation, there were heists, and there was arguably the most tactically ingenious ruby match to ever grace the hallowed ground. What more could any woman want? A gun wielding gorilla wearing a flap cap perhaps? Never fear; this epic has them all.
An utterly satisfying end to a riotous ride. And with the Major’s current penchant for lawsuits, I daren’t rate this final instalment of their memoirs any lower than 5 stars.
(PS Major Cornwall, if you are reading this, I hope you manage to resolve the situation with your editors soon, as I await with bated breath for the publication of your poetry anthology.)
February 3, 2022
Waited for a long time for the publication of Volume Three. Wasn’t disappointed. Unquestionably the most brilliant work of absolute nonsense you’ll ever read. Forget Flashman - he’s a choirboy compared to the Majors. The only thing I’m disappointed with is that there aren’t as many volumes of memoirs of the Majors as there are of Sir Harry -which is a shame. 100% addictive.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews