Article by Julian Parrott For writers so inextricably linked to their respective countries and literary genres, Raymond Chandler and Ian Fleming had a lot in common. They forever changed the very nature of the literary genres they wrote for: Chandler brought style and respectability to noir detective fiction while Fleming revitalized the moribund spy thriller…
Casino Royale stands out as among the best of all the Bond novels and often assumed that it created the narrative template for the series. It certainly laid the ground and introduced Bond to the world but it can be argued that it does not conform to the familar conventions that Ian Fleming developed over…
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…
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…
The late Christopher Hitchens was one of Britain’s most revered, influential, antagonistic, polarizing, brilliant, erudite, eloquent, intelligent and entertaining writers. If you have not read any of his books and articles or watched him speak interviews and discussions, then it’s time you started. Much like his comrade the late, great Kingsley Amis, Hitchens was a…
In June 1955 Raymond Chandler was visiting the poet Stephen Spender in London when he was introduced to Ian Fleming; Fleming subsequently sent Chandler a copy of Live and Let Die. He loved the book and offered to endorse it, which he often refused to do in the United States. Chandler wrote to Fleming with his endorsement: “Ian Fleming is probably…
Artistic Licence Renewed 