Dear Reader,
Like many, I have been thinking about history. I discovered that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II had passed away when a gentleman in the signing queue at the Edinburgh book launch for Double or Nothing told me I would be the last Bond author to write the words: ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.’ It took me a second to work out what he meant. Although I knew the Queen was being attended by her family, she had the stature of a monolith, and so it was easy to forget she was also human, with a human end. The Queen acceded to the throne in 1952, the year Ian Fleming sat down to write the first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. The coronation took place in 1953, the year Casino Royale was published. While the character of Bond grew through twelve novels, two short story collections, multiple continuation novels and six actors over sixty years, the Queen he served remained the same.
Over the weekend, I have been reflecting on that continuity. I was fortunate to have the opportunity to meet the Queen at Buckingham Palace. I was representing the University of East Anglia’s creative writing programme. We spoke about writing and studying. I was struck, then, by the human dimensions of a face I knew from stamps and coins. I was also struck by the sense of living history. The continuity that meant something to me personally was the line connecting that moment, as I stood talking with the Queen, to my grandfather, who had recently died. George met the Queen first as an actor, and last when he received an MBE for serving his community. His loss was fresh, and this moment of connectivity meant a great deal to me.
The Queen perhaps spoke to me most as a public figure during Danny Boyle’s opening to the London 2012 Olympics, when he offered us a vision of what Britain might stand for. Amidst it all, there was Daniel Craig as James Bond striding balletically through Buckingham Palace to meet his Queen. As a character, James Bond is a member of an exclusive club. Like Sherlock Holmes, he has outgrown all creators and evolved beyond the fictional. We think of him as a real person. No moment illustrated that more than when James Bond met the Queen he has always served in front of our eyes. The slight smile on both of their faces during this encounter is beautiful. It’s a celebration of art, culture, humour and heroism. Like James Bond, like the Queen, it was both human and iconic.
It is now over a week since the publication of Double or Nothing and it has been so heartening to see the response from readers. While I don’t usually read reviews, I braved reading the thoughts of Licence to Queer and was very glad I did. It means a lot as a writer to have someone so insightful think so deeply about what you’ve done – thank you, David. You can read the review here. You can watch my conversation with David here. I’ve also had the opportunity to speak to brilliant and thoughtful folk like Mark O’Connell – you can watch that conversation here – and Kevin E G Perry, whose write-up in The Independent you can read here. I also spoke to journalist Stephen Phelan for the University of Edinburgh’s news service, who wrote a lovely look at the book here. It’s been amazing to see Double or Nothing already travelling the world, from Monte Carlo to New Zealand. The creative responses to the book have also made me smile, most recently this recipe for drunken chicken from James Bond Food.
My next event is tonight in Edinburgh at Waterstones West End on Princes Street. Tickets are still available so do come along. After that I’m off to Bloody Scotland on the weekend. You can also find me on a few podcasts. I had great fun chatting Fleming, Bond and watches with The Grey Nato and all things 007 with The Bond Experience, which you can listen to wherever you get your podcasts or watch on YouTube. And it was a pleasure to get to do a deep dive on Goldfinger with Ninety-Nine Novels.
I’m about to send these beautiful bookmarks signed in gold to founding members.
If you’d like to become a founding member, and receive signed merch and books, you can sign up here.
For paid subscribers, look out for a discussion thread where I will answer all your questions about Double or Nothing (heavy spoiler alert!). I’ll also use the thread as a springboard for a mailbag newsletter, so if you’d like to ask questions while being spoiler safe, leave your comment below. You can upgrade to being a paid subscriber here.
For now, it’s back to writing book two…
From Kim, With Love x
PS: If you haven’t grabbed a copy of the book yet, you might like to order the signed special edition from Waterstones while stocks last.