Article by Dr. Wesley Britton Most fans of the literary 007 know something about the history of the lost James Bond continuation novel, PER FINE OUNCE. Without question, the researcher who’s provided us with the most credible background information is writer and novelist Jeremy Duns. But now that we have Peter Vollmer’s new PER FINE…
Words by Revelator After reading Mathew Parker’s book it will be impossible to over-estimate the importance of Jamaica to James Bond. Beginning with Fleming’s wartime discovery of the island, Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born is a chronological countdown of his years there, interlaced with a concurrent history of country. Goldeneye, Fleming’s Jamaican residence, mirrored the…
Words by Edward Biddulph There are two books that represent the holy grails for fans of Ian Fleming. One is Ian Fleming’s account of Kuwait and its oil industry, State of Excitement, which was suppressed by the Kuwait government. The other is what might have been the first continuation Bond novel, Per Fine Ounce, by…
Anthony Horowitz will be in conversation with Sir Trevor McDonald where he will be discussing his writing work on James Bond and will be reading an exclusive extract from the new Bond novel due for publication in September. He and Trevor will be talking openly about their extensive writing and media careers, and there will…
Words by Benjamin Welton Born Frank Morrison Spillane in Brooklyn, Mickey Spillane cultivated a type of working-class snarl that was always directed at those numerous critics who frequently labeled him popular culture’s chief cheerleader for Fascism. In turn, Spillane took potshots at his supposed betters, and once quipped that: “Those big-shot writers … could never…
Words by Edward Biddulph My ambition is to own every Bond-related book that exists, but I realise the task will be unending, as there is a constant flow of new books, and a deluge with the release of each new Bond film. There are books to suit every cultural standpoint, and books that examine the…
First published on The Trebuchet Britain – it could be argued – invented the archetypal spy novel. Born out of political fears and insecurities during two World Wars and a subsequent Cold War, heroes and anti-heroes were dreamt up by a distinguished line of novelists including Erskine Childers, John Buchan, Eric Ambler, Somerset Maugham and Graham…
A special treat for our readers this week, as we welcome renowned historian and documentary producer Henry Chancellor in from the cold. In the canon of James Bond reference books, Henry’s book in collaboration with Ian Fleming Publications, stands as one of the best. We asked him how this book came to be. 1. Why…
There are literally hundreds of books about Ian Fleming and James Bond, so here at Artistic Licence Renewed, we have made life easier for you and winnowed it down to the pick of the litter. Earlier in the year we published a Top 10 Books on Ian Fleming and James Bond part 1, so it…
2014 has been a great year for Artistic Licence Renewed and it could not have happened without many helping hands. This blog is a labor of love and from humble beginnings, has been welcomed into the Bond community by you all and we thank you all. Our agents in the field have contributed fabulous work…
The common perception of a Bond girls, as damsels in distress waiting for our hero James Bond to save from the clutches of the villain and also themselves, is not without its flaws. In a recent interview I did with Robert Caplen, author of Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond, when asked this same question he…
Article by Revelator After For Your Eyes Only Bond was no longer a wonderful machine. Nor was he a fully-dimensional, complex human being—that would involve surrendering his role as a male-fantasy projection—but he was considerably more human than before. Why? Because Ian Fleming failed. He explained why in an interview with Counterpoint: Now, you’ll notice that…
Words by Edward Biddulph Ian Fleming described him as “one of the great secret agents of the last war”, and a man that “has a magnetic personality and the quality of making anyone ready to follow him to the ends of the earth.” No, not James Bond, but Sir William Stephenson, who in 1940 on…
Article by Revelator After the narrative slack of Diamonds Are Forever, Fleming decided to better himself with From Russia with Love. Because its story was entirely structured around a deathtrap for one man, it was important for that man to be human enough to hold the audience’s empathy. This demanded a more rounded Bond, and…
Words by Revelator Here is part 1 of 3 that we’re calling “the three ages of Bond.” Thanks to Daniel Craig (and his underrated predecessor Timothy Dalton) we’ve heard a lot of the phrase “Fleming’s Bond,” as in “Craig comes closest to Fleming’s Bond, the ruthless government assassin” and so on. This phrase has always rang…
If James Bond was on Facebook, you could be sure his relationship status would be set to ‘it’s complicated.’ Of course Ian Fleming famously hadn’t married until he was 43, so putting it off for Bond was easy. Much like his own life, Fleming’s man can count being married once and nearly once prior. In Diamonds Are…
Review by Benjamin Welton Biographers, like translators, often don’t get credit for their work. In the hierarchy of paperbacks and hardcovers, chronicling the life of another is usually placed somewhere below that of a standard history, whether popular or academic. Partially this is a problem of subject, for more often than naught, people buy biographies…
With a flurry of James Bond continuation novels in recent years, literary Bond seems to have picked up some steam in the slipstream of the rejuvenated film franchise. This is good news of course and the quality of the continuation novels is getting better. William Boyd‘s Bond outing – Solo – was a solid thriller…
Article by Benjamin Welton As a general rule, I try to refrain from reading the comments on my articles. But, since I am a glutton for punishment, I read ever single comment that was posted to my last piece in The Atlantic (“James Bond’s World War I Origins,” March 12, 2014). One negative comment stood…
The name Goldfinger is probably the most synonymous title in the Bond canon with the most famous Bond girl, Bond villain, Bond film and Bond line: “No Mr. Bond, I expect you to die.” But what about the book as a whole in the collective memory? It stands as one of the longest in the…
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