This week’s hapless castaway is ALR favourite Edward Biddulph who might be able to survive with plenty of coffee while working on his golf game! 001. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service OHMSS is the first James Bond novel I read. It was my grandparents’ copy of the Book Club edition, and I was 11 or…
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…
We continue with our dispatches from the Spies on British Screens conference at Plymouth University from one of our top agents in the field – Edward Biddulph. *** Day 2 at the ‘Spies on British Screens’ conference at Plymouth University promised to be every bit as exciting as day 1. I was there to give…
In his foreword to the book The Seven Deadly Sins, published in 1962; Fleming declared that the traditional seven deadly sins — PRIDE, ENVY, ANGER, SLOTH [accidie], COVETOUSNESS, GLUTTONY and LUST — were no longer sufficient. Thereupon, he proposed seven deadlier sins more worthy of a one way ticket to Hell, which were: AVARICE, CRUELTY, HYPOCRISY, MALICE, MORAL…
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…
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…
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 Edward Biddulph During his career as the author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming received hundreds of letters from his readers. Readers wrote to express their admiration for the latest novel or to point out errors or an incorrect reference to some luxury product. Some readers simply wrote to ask for Fleming’s…
Written by James Bond Memes blog author Edward Biddulph, this cookbook is full of exciting recipes inspired by the food that Bond eats in the novels and short stories of Ian Fleming. The recipes, devised by the author, are modern, but have a period twist. This book is very well written with attention to detail…
So much for Ian Fleming’s top ten books. What about James Bond’s? Kingsley Amis (writing as Bill Tanner) might have thought it a struggle to find ten books at all, let alone ten of Bond’s favourites, as he considered Bond’s library to be modest. But careful reading of the Bond novels brings up a respectable…
1. What is your favorite Richard Chopping cover and why? They’re all wonderful, of course, but I have a particular soft spot for The Spy Who Loved Me. The cover is a lesson in composition. The commando dagger is a nice nod to Fleming’s past, and Richard Chopping presents the dagger with such skill that…
Article by Edward Biddulph Fleming is famous the world over for his writing, and there is increasing appreciation of his experiences during the Second World War. Fleming’s interest in books, however, is not so widely known, despite his listing of ‘first edition collecting’ under ‘Recreations’ in Who’s Who, and his founding of The Book Collector…
Artistic Licence Renewed 