"Flashman" author dies after cancer battle

By Andrew Hough

LONDON, Jan 3 (Reuters Life!) - The author of the hugely popular "Flashman" books, George MacDonald Fraser, has died at the age of 82, his agent and publisher said on Thursday.

The former journalist and soldier died after a year-long battle with lung cancer, his British literary agent Vivienne Schuster said.

He passed away in the early hours of Wednesday morning at a hospice near his home on the Isle of Man, surrounded by his wife Kathy and his three adult children.

Schuster led the tributes for the creator of the fictional adventures of womanising Victorian cad Sir Harry Flashman.

"He was a very much a modest and an immensely private man," she told Reuters, adding that he was rarely seen in public despite the accolades.

"I have to say he was a man of great integrity, principles and he was very clearly sighted about right and wrong. His books were wonderfully funny. I shall miss him terribly."

In a statement, HarperCollins chief executive, Victoria Barnsley, also paid tribute.

"(He) was a long-standing and much loved ... author who gave pleasure to millions -- and not only for his Flashman novels, for which he will inevitably be best remembered," she said.