Robert Markham

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people named Robert Markham, see Robert Markham (disambiguation).

Robert Markham is a

James Bond novel following the death of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming
.

Kingsley Amis

Following the death of Ian Fleming on 12 August 1964,[1][2] the rights to the Bond novels were held by Glidrose Publications (now Ian Fleming Publications). After Glidrose released the remaining Fleming works—The Man with the Golden Gun[3] and Octopussy and The Living Daylights[4]—they decided to commission a sequel in order to retain rights in the Bond product.[5] They chose Amis to write the first continuation Bond novel;[6] Amis had previously produced The James Bond Dossier—a critical analysis of the Bond books—under his own name, and The Book of Bond, a tongue-in-cheek manual for prospective agents, using the pseudonym Lt.-Col. William ("Bill") Tanner.[7]

For the pseudonym, Peter Fleming - Ian Fleming's brother - initially suggested "George Glidrose".[8] Jonathan Cape rejected this name, claiming that it had no selling or publicity power.[9] Markham was then chosen. Despite this, Amis's involvement as continuation author was not a secret; American editions of the book identified Amis as the author, though the main Robert Markham credit remained.[10]

Future ideas

Amis had unhappily visited Mexico in January 1968.

New York Times Book Review, "Mr. Amis never moves about by air, and cultivated his own deficiencies - his phrase - he went from St. Louis to Mexico City by train. En route, he remembered that Bond loved trains (From Russia, with Love) and found himself plotting an assassination on a train. Then as his train moved on, there occurred the inevitable sentence, Bond had never liked Acapulco."[12] The plot would centre around tensions between British Honduras and Guatemala over rival claims to Mexico.[12] A syndicated Associated Press story also implied that Amis may kill Bond off for good. According to the article, a bazooka-wielding bartender would blast Bond on a train in Mexico.[13]

Amis was inconsistent if this would result in a novel or a short story. The 1970 Associated Press story claimed it would be Amis's next book. However, in a 1968 letter to Robert Conquest, Amis clearly states that it would only be a short story.[11] Amis also approached Glidrose with an idea for a Bond short story that would have featured a 70-year-old Bond coming out of retirement for one final mission, but permission was not granted.

References

  1. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/33168. Retrieved 19 June 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  2. ^ Black 2005, p. 75.
  3. ^ "The Man with the Golden Gun". The Books. Ian Fleming Publications. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Octopussy and The Living Daylights". The Books. Ian Fleming Publications. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  5. ^ Black 2005, p. 181-182.
  6. ^ Benson 1988, p. 31.
  7. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/60221. Retrieved 19 June 2012. (Subscription or UK public library membership
    required.)
  8. ^ Laskowski 1998, p. 20.
  9. ^ Hart-Davis 1987, p. 375.
  10. ^ "Colonel Sun". Facsimile Dust Jackets LLC. Archived from the original on 21 May 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2012.
  11. ^ a b Leader 2000, p. 691-692.
  12. ^ a b Nichols, Lewis (28 April 1968). "American Notebook: Bond-Markham-Amis". The New York Times Book Review. p. 20.
  13. ^ "James Bond to Die". Lawrence Journal-World. 24 October 1970. p. 3.

Bibliography

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