THE MEN WITH THE GOLDEN PENS

As a taster for The Archive's Raymond Benson interview which will be run later today, we take a look at all those who have contributed to the literary adventures of 007.

Ian Fleming of course created the super spy, writing twelve novels and nine short stories featuring the character. It is for Bond that Fleming will be mainly remembered but it is worth pointing out that he wrote several non-fiction books as well as children's favourite, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Although not initially a major success the Bond books soon gained momentum - both Raymond Chandler and John F. Kennedy were fans and by the latter period of Fleming's life Bond was everywhere - he dominated the big screen in the guise of Sean Connery and for awhile there was a Bondmania that was comparable to Beatlemania. During the Sixties it was the Beatles and Bond that made the UK the cool capital of the world.


Fleming's mixture of sex, sadism and humour struck a nerve with the post war reading public - these exotic adventures, published at a time when few people ever travelled abroad, offered the perfect escapist entertainment,a release from the drabness of reality. Bond was the perfect man - agile, strong and a winner with the ladies. He was also paradoxically slightly anti-establishment which gave the character a fan base amongst the counter culture. During the Swinging Sixties when people were growing their hair and wearing flowers in their hair this civil servant still seemed the epitome of cool.

The first author to take up Fleming's pen after the author's death was Kingsley Amis who, using the name Robert Markham wrote his one and only Bond novel, Colonel Sun in 1968. It's a shame that the author didn't do more Bond novels as Colonel Sun stands as, arguably, the best of the post Fleming Bond novels.

Christopher Wood penned two novelisations of Bond movies in the 70's - The Spy who Loved Me and Moonraker but these books based on the screenplays, which had nothing to do with Fleming's original titles, are not considered canon.

The literary James Bond returned in the 1980's when prolific author, John Gardner took over the franchise. Gardner actually wrote more Bond novels than Fleming himself - starting with Licence Renewed and in all adding fourteen new adventures to the Bond canon.

I remember buying Licence Renewed when it went into paperback around 1981 - I was sixteen years old then, a huge Fleming fan, and the publication of a new Bond was tantalising - so much so that it was enough for me to forsake sixteen year old interests and catch the bus to Pontypridd to pick up the book at John Menzies. I seem to remember it being a sunny day and I must have read the first quarter of the book at the bus stop waiting for my ride home.

That Gardner had transported Bond to the modern day and that the character was more like the film Bond than Fleming's Bond, didn't matter. Licence Renewed was excellent, as was For Special Services and Icebreaker but gradually the Gardner books ran out of steam - though out of the fourteen I enjoy at least ten of them. Gardner also holds the distinction of having the worse Bond title ever - NO DEALS, MR BOND. However Gardner was not happy with that title himself and the blame can be placed on the copyright owners.


Raymond Benson who wrote the excellent James Bond Bedside companion took over the 007 books when Gardner decided that enough was enough. And his first Bond novel, Zero Minus Ten was a return to form for the series. In all he wrote six original James Bond novels as well as a handful of novelisations.

Like Gardner, Benson kept the Bond figure in the modern day and the character was closely linked to the celluloid 007. He was also the first writer since Ian Fleming to publish short Bond fiction in Playboy magazine. Check back later today for an interview with Mr Benson.



The next Bond author was Charlie Higson with his Young Bond series but these books can not be considered canon. Now I must confess to not having read any of these books so can't give an opinion. Nor will I ever read them - I don't like the concept and I genuinely think that they spoil the integrity of Fleming's original masterful thrillers.

The film Bond has long become a product and with the Young Bond series the books went the same way; like literature's answer to a tin of beans to be marketed any way seen fit. Now I know the argument - JAMES BOND was not a real character and can be exploited any way seen fit. But that misses the point - fans of the books have lived with the character for years, invested much time in the adventures and whilst reading the books the character becomes very real indeed. Having these books which present a young super spy in the making, a character that never was in Fleming's universe, doesn't sit well with long time fans. Still I'm told Charlie Higson has done a great job with the books and they sell loads.

John Gardner said of the Young Bond series - "It's just the last desperate attempt to draw in a new audience. The films have little to do with the Bond we used to know, and now the books are going the same way."


This year saw a new adult James Bond novel, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks. Unlike the Gardner and Benson books this one was a period piece, set very much in the time that Fleming was producing the original books.

A huge publicity campaign ensured the book was a massive sales success but the book was a brilliant, well constructed thriller in its own right. It's a pity that Faulks as Fleming looks to be a one-off because the author really got the feel of Fleming and, in my opinion, Devil May Care was the best Bond novel since Colonel Sun.


Ahh well - James Bond will return.