In the tenth volume in The Folio Society’s endlessly popular James Bond collection, Fleming sweeps the reader up into the thin and dangerous atmosphere of the Alps in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Bond and his enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld come face to face for the first time in this second book in the ‘Blofeld trilogy’…
Gerald Wadsworth returns in… On Her Majesty’s Secret Service! The Inspirations Inspiration for a painting can come from one of those inexplicable and unexpected parts of Fleming’s writing. Normally, we race through a story, relishing the action and adventure, the seduction and rejections, the wealth of detail surrounding our favorite spy, and invariably, we find…
Article by Revelator This month we conclude our 7 part series inspired by Ian Fleming’s “Seven Deadlier Sins.” Fleming conceived the idea for a series on the Seven Deadly Sins in the Sunday Times, and though it did not materialize for the paper, a book was published in 1962 that contained essays by some of…
Today marks the anniversary of the death of Ian Fleming and the birthday of his only son – Caspar. We pay tribute to them both. 1952 was a momentous year for Ian Fleming. He had begun Casino Royale in January and completed a rough draft six days before marrying Ann O’Neill on March 24. Last…
Recently we celebrated Ian Fleming’s birthday outside his old writing office in Mitre Court in London. Here, Fleming would return from his yearly two month sojourns to Jamaica to polish off the manuscript for his latest Bond adventure. In this elegantly decorated office with Regency-striped wallpaper, was a solid antique desk with a green leather…
On this Bastille Day, we are delighted to welcome our French cousins commander007.net at Station F, to contribute their thoughts on James Bond in France. Profitez! In 11 novels and 9 short stories, Bond travels five times through 1950’s France. While Bond is now famous for being a great globe-trotting spy, it is surprising that Fleming, an author…
This week we caught up with Richard Schenkman, of ‘Bondage‘ magazine – the original Bond fan publication, which ran until 1989. Schenkman brought behind the scenes news and details to American Bond fans – the first of it’s kind – which began as one or two sides of a sheet of mimeograph paper, and grew…
This week we welcome Craig Arthur in from the cold, all the way from his native New Zealand. Craig is a spy writer and Bond fan of nearly 30 years. 1. What is your favorite Chopping cover and why? Probably ‘Thunderball‘. The detail of the playing card is incredible, along with the sense of menace…
While working for The Sunday Times, Ian Fleming came up with the idea to have a variety of esteemed writers to write about The Seven Deadly Sins, with each choosing the sin of their choice. This never materialized while Fleming was working there, but in 1962 the idea flowered and The Seven Deadly Sins was published featuring contributions…
This week we welcome Nicholas Anderson in from the cold. Nicholas (his nom de plume of course) is a 19-year veteran of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service (known also as MI6). In 2002-2007 he was recalled a second time to active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is now retired and resides in the French…
This week, we are especially happy to welcome Dr. Wesley Britton, whose multi-talents include a successful teaching and writing career. However, it’s his writing and research on Bondology that’s the reason he’s here and in the following interview, Wesley unravels some of the mysteries behind the original Per Fine Ounce, O.F Snelling and his thoughts…
If you’re a James Bond or Ian Fleming fan, then you probably appreciate a well-made drink; just perhaps not in the bibulous daily amounts of Bond or Fleming! Despite the reputation of James Bond as a vodka drinker, Ian Fleming – who was a known bourbon and gin drinker – toured the drinks cart comprehensively in his novels.…
We are delighted to invite artist Freyja Dean to answer some questions about her stunning work on the book bench for the National Literacy Trust’s ‘Books About Town’ project. The campaign raised money for their charity supporting children’s literacy in collaboration with Wild in Art. Freyja was asked by the Ian Fleming estate to illustrate…
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…
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…
1. What is your favorite chopping cover and why? My favorite cover by chopping has to be his first for Ian Fleming, “From Russia, With Love”. I genuinely love this cover. The combination of the revolver and the rose are symbolic of beauty and death, man and nature, and they give a tantalizing glimpse into the world…
Richard Chopping’s work on the On Her Majesty’s Secret Service dust jacket proved to be troublesome for the artist, because he felt that perspective was not his strong suit. The cover did not feature the usual juxtaposition of beauty, danger and death, which, especially considering the content of this particular novel, is unusual. Instead, this…
Artistic Licence Renewed 