I must the the only person around who did not pick this up because of the Flashman series. Rather, I noticed it and the first thing that popped into my head was Tomkinson's Schooldays, from Ripping Yarns. So I was reading it for a lark. And because it was free on my Kindle.

To my surprise, I'm rather enjoying the book. I don't really need the insights into Victorian life or background for Flashman; in fact, I'm enjoying the writing itself. The tone is jovial and thoroughly modern (for the 19thc). The closest in style that comes to my mind is Tolkien when he's describing life in the Shire. It's that same sort of fond, paternalistic tone. I'm only about a third of the way through the book, but I'm glad I stumbled across it.

Update 3/2015: I probably won't finish this. By mid-book or so, it started to become rather predictable and maybe a little too clever. Whatever the case, I lost interest and wandered away. Since I've not been back to it in almost three years, it's safe to say I'm done, if not finished.