This week we sent in one of our top field agents David Craggs, to talk with Crime Writer’s Association winner Mick Herron, about his ‘Slough House’ series of spy novels. Mick’s rise to the top of spy fiction aficionados reading pile is remarkable, so we wanted to find out what his secrets are, if indeed…
In the original typescript to Ian Fleming’s You Only Live Twice, held at the Lily Library in Indiana, there is a very interesting “Author’s note” prefixing the manuscript. Fleming wrote that on his second visit to Japan, he followed “as closely as prudence would allow, in the footsteps of James Bond.” He was accompanied by the…
Article by Frieda Toth For armchair traveling, you can’t beat Bond, and there’s no more delightful pastime than retracing the steps of a fictional hero, especially knowing that there is no bad guy trying to kill you during your vacation. In 1955, Diamonds Are Forever took James Bond to Saratoga Springs, New York. Here, Bond…
Article by Edward Biddulph We tend to associate Ian Fleming with Goldeneye, his winter home in Jamaica, and London, where he spent much of his time, for instance at the Admiralty during the Second World War, at the Sunday Times afterwards, in his Mayfair clubs, or his own office in Mitre Court. Weekends, however, would…
This week, we welcome Dan Holloway to share his thoughts on some of his favourite Bond novels and covers. 1. What is your favorite Chopping cover and why? I’ve always been partial to the OHMSS cover. It was somewhat different from the others, and the the artist’s perspective was intriguing. The red stamp title and…
This week we head Stateside to talk to Frieda Toth, to discuss Ian Fleming’s visits to New England and his inspirations for novels such as The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only. 001: What began your interest in Fleming and Bond? My High School boyfriend–whom I eventually married!– loved James Bond movies and…
It is our honour to welcome in from the cold, Ian Fleming’s nephew James Fleming. James’ Russian Blood trilogy of “Cold Blood”, “White Blood” and “Rising Blood” features the Scottish/Russian character Charlie Doig and we caught up with him about this, his stewardship of The Book Collector and naturally, his Uncle Ian. 001 Could you…
The potency of James Bond novel literature is so strong, that many people have blurred the lines in their imagination between fictional and real life spies. A former naval intelligence man himself, Ian Fleming was able to draw from a rich seam of fellow members of the intelligence community. Here is a roll call of…
Article by David Salter Although his notoriety, today, stems entirely from his creation of Britain’s foremost literary spy, Ian Fleming was, essentially and first-and-foremost, a journalist. It was his skill in reportage, honed in his early years during a period with Reuters and polished in his forties as Foreign Manager at the Sunday Times, that…
You know you are going up in the world when you score an interview with the talented Mr. (Mike) Ripley. His non-fiction reader’s history Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang, a survey of the boom in British thrillers 1953-1975 was published in May 2017 and we caught up with Mike in-between book signings to find out more. 001.…
By Matthew Chernov Like the iconic character he created, Ian Fleming has been depicted on screen many times over the years. In 2014, Dominic Cooper was cast in the title role of the BBC miniseries “Fleming,” and just last year Sean Maguire played the author in an episode of the NBC science-fiction show “Timeless.” Others…
Article by Matthew Bellamy On May 25th, 1951, Guy Burgess arrived at the house of Donald Maclean. The two Foreign Office diplomats packed a few bags and boarded the Falaise, a pleasure boat headed to Saint-Malo. Though Burgess shouted “Back on Monday!” to one of the dockworkers as he boarded the boat, neither man would…
