Diamonds really are forever!

Today Lexington Books published “The Many Facets of Diamonds Are Forever.”

Edited by Florida Atlantic University professor of English Oliver Buckton, and featuring ten original essays written by established scholars, bloggers, and new emerging critics, the book is the first to examine every aspect of Ian Fleming’s fourth James Bond novel in-depth, as well as explore the glitzy 1971 film adaptation.

The ten original essays in this collection focus on diverse themes such as the central role of Tiffany Case—one of Fleming’s most memorable “Bond girls”—in novel and film; Fleming’s fascination with diamonds, reflected in this novels intertextual connections to the non-fiction book The Diamond Smugglers; the author’s ambivalent relationship with American culture; the literary style of Diamonds Are Forever, including its generic status as a “Hollywood novel”; and the role of homosexuality in the novel and film version of Diamonds Are Forever.

Bringing together established Bond scholars and new emerging critics, this collection offers unique insight into one of the most influential works of modern popular culture, casting new light on the many facets of Diamonds Are Forever.

What joy! A collection on my favourite Bond book, the one with most wit. This sparkling collection offers interesting perspectives both on the film and on the more lacklustre but still worthwhile novel of that title. Both novel and film focus on America during its age of unrivalled power.

— Jeremy Black, University of Exeter, author of The World of James Bond: The Lives and Times of 007

Table of contents:

Foreword by Tom Cull
Introduction: Oliver Buckton

Part I: Sound, Affect, Adaptation, and Intertextuality in Diamonds Are Forever

• Chapter One: Elyn Achtymichuk-Hardy, “The Scorpion as Emblematic of Affect in Diamonds Are Forever”
• Chapter Two: Jesc Bunyard, “The Sounds of Diamonds Are Forever”
• Chapter Three: James Chapman, “Transforming Bond: Diamonds Are Forever in its Contexts”
• Chapter Four: Oliver Buckton, “James Bond, Meet John Blaize: Identity Theft and Intertextuality in Ian Fleming’s Diamonds Are Forever and The Diamond Smugglers”

Part II: Gender and Sexuality in Diamonds Are Forever

• Chapter Five: Grant Hester “My Adversary, Myself: An Examination of James Bond and How Wint and Kidd Reflect His Own Psyche in Diamonds Are Forever”
• Chapter Six: Jennifer L. Martinsen, “The Devolution of Tiffany Case”
• Chapter Seven: Ihsan Amanatullah, “The Eyes of Tiffany Case: And What they Tell About Ian Fleming’s First Successful Female Character

Part III: Culture, Consumption, and America in Diamonds Are Forever

• Chapter Eight: Matt Sherman, “Attitudes Are Forever: America Disdained”
• Chapter Nine: Mark David Kaufman, “The Desert of the Real: Diamonds Are Forever as a Hollywood Novel”
• Chapter Ten: Edward Biddulph, “Brizzola, Brandy and Bond: Representations of food and drink in the book and film of Diamonds Are Forever”

The book can be ordered on Amazon here and at Lexington Books here.

NB: For orders placed with Lexington Books, enter this code to get a discount of 30%: LEX30AUTH19

Incidental Intelligence

Oliver S. Buckton was born in London, England, and educated at Cambridge University. He received his PhD from Cornell before taking a teaching position in English at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton. At FAU he teaches courses on Victorian literature, spy fiction, critical theory, and world literature.

Interview with Oliver Buckton on JamesBondRadio (external)

Exclusive Interview with Oliver Buckton on Espionage in British Fiction and Film Since 1900

Field Report: “Diamonds Are Forever at 60 (and 45)”

Diamonds are Forever: ‘The Trouble with Tiffany’ by Gerald Wadsworth

The Hidden Gems in ‘Diamonds Are Forever‘