Of Richard Chopping’s many beautiful illustrations, paintings and book jackets, none stand out more as his work for the 1955 volume 15 edition of the yearly The Saturday Book. These books of miscellany – published from 1941 to 1975, reaching 34 volumes – provided literary and artistic commentary about life in Britain during the Second World War…
![Moonraker: "Disinformation Served…Coffee and a Cover-up" [Painting by Gerry Wadsworth] ...in which we find Bond back in London after a hair-raising escape from ex-Nazi Hugo Drax. Bond, with the help of agent Gala Brand, recalibrates the guidance system of the rocket, Moonraker (and its nuclear payload) back to its original coordinates and away from London. The two agents successfully foil Draxs’ plans for the destruction of the City. Draxs’ attempt to escape in a Russian submarine proves disastrous for him, his 50 ex-Nazi Werewolf assistants, and the Russian crew. The rocket crash lands at the recovery site and blows up the sub as it passes under the target zone. Whitehall then goes into full damage control and spins the death of "National Hero" and "Great Patriot" Hugo Drax as a tragic loss to the nation. The PM convinces the Press to publish Whitehall's version of the truth and they comply. M tells Bond that the government is "going to try the biggest cover-up in history." Back at his Chelsea flat, Bond enjoys his favorite meal of the day - breakfast - and reads the government's disinformation campaign on the Moonraker disaster in the only paper he ever reads...The Times.](https://literary007.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/moonraker-rgb.jpeg?w=220&h=126&crop=1)
We are delighted once again, to unveil Gerry Wadsworth latest creation! Here in his own words, Gerry discusses the creative process behind his tribute to Moonraker. One of the many joys of the creative process and working with the Bond stories is the “what if” opportunities the character offers us. We can imagine some event…
Article Benjamin Welton In Jules Dassin’s classic crime film Rififi, Louise (played by Janine Darcey) chides her husband, the gangster Jo le Suedois (played by Austrian actor Carl Möhner), for moral cowardice. Specifically, Louise, in a fit of frustration, tells her husband that it’s not the criminals or those who have chosen to flee the responsibilities…
This week we are thrilled to welcome Dr. Christopher Moran in from the cold. He is the author of Classified: Secrecy and the State in Modern Britain and was a historical consultant to the International Spy Museum in Washington DC, assisting on the popular exhibition ‘Exquisitely Evil: 50 Years of James Bond Villains’, sponsored by the makers of…
This month The Folio Society, in conjunction with Ian Fleming publications, release a lavish edition of Ian Fleming’s classic début novel ‘Casino Royale‘. The beautiful artwork was commissioned for acclaimed illustrator Fay Dalton with an introduction by Booker-Prize winning author John Banville. Another must-have item for devoted literary James Bond collectors! We spoke with Sheri Gee, the…
Article by Edward Biddulph If you were asked to name the places with which Ian Fleming is most closely associated, you would almost certainly put Goldeneye, Fleming’s the winter home in Jamaica where he wrote all the Bond books, on the top of your list. Further reflection might bring to mind his London properties, among…
***THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED*** In conjunction with our interview with Jeremy Duns, we are giving you the chance to win 4 prizes signed by the author! Just simply submit your answer to a simple question in the form below. A signed copy of Duns on Bond Duns On Bond is an omnibus edition of…
2015 was a stellar year and you helped us to keep striving forward. We had the superb continuation novel Trigger Mortis from Anthony Horowitz and the film Spectre, which both provided us with plenty to talk about. It was a golden year for Ian Fleming’s legacy too, with multiple books coming out about his life…
In the last few months, the James Bond universe has given us some new ‘Bond Women’ to the canon from Trigger Mortis to Spectre. On the fifth anniversary of his ground breaking book about feminism and the representations of women in the 007 novels and films, we checked in with Robert Caplen to get his opinions. What are your reactions to…
2015 has been a bonanza year for Ian Fleming fans with multiple book releases about his life and a surge in interest in James Bond’s creator. One book that might have slipped under the radar for some, is the established author Andrew Cook’s The Ian Fleming Miscellany. A small volume in comparison with the more…
To many literary Bond aficionados, Mr. Duns’ research into the world of James Bond and Ian Fleming provides indispensable intelligence to Bondologists. Here we catch up with him on the eve of his new spy thriller – Spy Out the Land out on January 14, 2016. Has Ian Fleming influenced your own thriller writing, notably your…
By Michael May It’s easy to see why Ian Fleming had a hard time with self-righteous people. Anyone with the impulse to overthrow the Seven Deadly Sins with his own set of Deadlier ones clearly has a personal stake in seeing the original list replaced. Fleming admitted to struggling with Sloth, but even a shallow…
Article by Patrick Vagg The campaign of a James Bond novel is often an important way to kick-start sales while also announcing to the world that the arrival of a new adventure of the super spy is imminent. The size and momentum of a campaign is often an indication of the expectation of the novel’s…
With the kind of work rate that Anthony Horowitz would be proud of, we are proud to publish an exclusive look at Gerry Wadsworth latest James Bond inspired piece – Trigger Mortis! First, let me state unequivocably, that I loved Trigger Mortis. In fact, I couldn’t put it down and read it in one go. Not…
The rich history of James Bond book cover jackets include such established artists as Richard Chopping, Raymond Hawkey and Trevor Scobie. For Anthony Horowitz’s 2015 Bond novel Trigger Mortis, the publishers chose a very different path in many ways. Not only did they choose to make the cover interactive, whereby it could be cut up to…
On this day in 2000, the writer and actor Mark Burgess performed a one man show about James Bond’s creator Ian Fleming in Brighton called ‘Fleming’s Bond’. It was well received and toured the UK between 2001 ans 2003, but Mr. Burgess decided to give up acting to concentrate on writing and the play was retired.…
To a 1950s postwar audience, Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels were an escape. For the war-weary man, Bond’s adventures represented the ultimate fantasy down to the finest detail — including food, a facet largely absent from the nearly two dozen 007 films. With Dying to Eat, food stylist Charlotte Omnès and photographer Henry Hargreaves return…
In conjunction with the suitably named New Bond Street Pawnbrokers, who specialise in brokering luxury assets, we have culled some of the top brands from Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels in a handy infographic!
Review by Jonathan Hopson ‘Who was Robert Harling?’ asks Fiona McCarthy in her foreword. The answer is a man of mystery who played many roles – type designer, advertising executive, sailor, commando, novelist, architectural critic, magazine editor, lothario in fedora and tight trousers. Fellow typographer Ruari McLean summed him up as ‘one of those people…
The Man with the Golden Typewriter by Fergus Fleming, contains numerous unpublished letters by Ian Fleming, which have been sourced from the Fleming Archive, the Cape Archive and private collections from around the world On 16 August 1952, Ian Fleming wrote to his wife, Ann, ‘My love, This is only a tiny letter to try out…
Artistic Licence Renewed 