We are thrilled to welcome former CIA Inspector General Frederick Hitz, in from the cold to answer a few questions! Mr. Hitz experience in The Great Game is extensive, including leading the CIA in the capture of notorious double agent for the Russians – Aldrich Ames – who compromised the second-largest number of CIA assets—second only to…
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…
On Ian Fleming’s 104th birthday, he will hopefully be pleased to have got himself into the smart phone app market! Latest intelligence gathered in the field has come up with this lovely little app for James Bond collectors. There are quite a few James Bond apps on the market but very few dedicated to Ian Fleming,…
It is our delight to put some questions to one of the best spy thriller writers working today. Spy novelist Charles Cumming, is the author of 7 books and counting with his latest ‘A Colder War‘ the second installment of the Thomas Kell series. Charles was kind enough to take some time during the busy…
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…
The Fourth of June is the first novel by David Benedictus. This title was reviewed upon publication by Ian Fleming, who was an Old Etonian with David. In Fleming’s Sunday Times review he described it as ‘One of the most brilliantly written books since the war.‘ Fleming’s review of the book was complimentary of the writer but admittedly seemed out of…
Article by Ben Williams “For me, this is all the world. There is beauty, there is ugliness, and there is death.” – Stromberg, The Spy Who Loved Me. Whilst Stromberg himself was not a Fleming creation, these words sum up the visceral appeal of the dust covers commissioned by him and executed with panache by…
We are delighted to welcome Kate Westbrook a.k.a. Samantha Weinberg, author of the acclaimed series of books – The Moneypenny Diaries. The first diary fills in the gaps between a number of agent 007’s missions including the period between On Her Majesty’s Secret Service and You Only Live Twice, but also includes an entire backstory for Moneypenny. For the…
What to get the James Bond fan who has everything? Here are some gifts the discerning literary Bond fan may not have yet: 10. Ian Fleming’s Stamps by the Guernsey Post Office The life of James Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, was celebrated in a set of stamps and limited edition items to be released by Guernsey Post, to…
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…
We are delighted to interview Robert Caplen, author of Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond with a few questions of our own about Bond’s girls. Or is that women? 1. What is your opinion of The Spy Who Loved Me, which was written from the female perspective of Vivian Michel? The Spy Who Loved Me is a unique novel because Fleming…
Thanks to PizGloria.com for this hand-picked selection. 1) “Casino Royale” (334) published by Pan Books in 1955 – (artist Roger Hall). First Bond paperback and first portrayal of Bond on a cover. Often hard to find in great condition. 2) “Moonraker” (392) published by Pan Books in 1956 (artist Josh Kirby). Again an early cover and…
Richard Chopping was educated at Gresham’s in Holt, where Benjamin Britten and the future Cambridge spy Donald Maclean were his contemporaries. His artistic education came afterwards, at Cedric Morris’s East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing, where Lucian Freud was also studying. Chopping was more factotum than pupil but learnt by observing Morris work, although…
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…
1. What is your favourite Chopping cover and why? My favourite Richard Chopping cover is “The Man With The Golden Gun” simply because it’s so large it wraps around the entire book. It was also the first Fleming / Jonathan Cape I purchased and looks great. Special mention has to go to “OHMSS” though simply because of…
Article by Fleming’sBond.com Even a cursory reading of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels reveals that the author enjoyed using brand placement within his work. Many of these reflected the writers own taste in various areas of life, but it also served to ground the series in reality. Readers could go out and in many cases…
Something a little different this week. I chatted with Matt Spaiser who runs the fascinating website dedicated to the sartorial Bond from the films and books. 1. In which book or books do you think Bond is the best dressed? James Bond’s wardrobe is quite consistent throughout all of the books, so there’s no single…
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. There are of course some great books out there, so please leave a comment at the end of the post…
There is a certain paradox about James Bond’s relationship with all things America. Devoted to the Anglo-American war against Communism, there is a level of contempt that runs through the novels during a time when the British Empire was winding up and the new American one was burgeoning. The contempt tended to be about material…
Artistic Licence Renewed 