Dear Reader,
This dispatch comes to you from a train snaking through England, where the sun is shining and the fields are the kind of green that makes you want to eat apples. It’s been another whirlwind couple of weeks.
I joined Charlie Higson and Corinne Turner at Bristol’s Crime Fest to toast the Ghost of Honour, Ian Fleming. It was a wonderful panel/séance, a chance to celebrate Fleming’s style and explore the long-lasting legacy of his iconic creation.
Though it’s perhaps strange to call Fleming an underrated writer, I do think he’s an underrated stylist. He forges a visual, uncanny and poetic way of writing about place and the modern world while calling on classic adventure stories, innovating the spy genre.
This is something I also discussed with David Lowbridge-Ellis (Licence to Queer) at our recent online celebration of 70 Years of 007. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us at late notice! What a joy to gather, with folks raising a martini/coffee from Angola to America. It was so fun, in fact, we’ve decided to do it again!
On the 22nd of July, David and I will host an online Summer Holiday Special spotlighting the role of travel in James Bond’s world. Join us to hear 007’s travel tips, our favourite book and movie destinations, and a discussion of Fleming’s style. Newcomers and diehards fans alike are most welcome! Tickets are £9 or FREE to paying subscribers.
If you’re already a paying subscriber, you’ll find the promo code below my signature line.
After toasting the ghost in Bristol, I headed over to Bath where Nick and I lived for five years. It was both comforting and strange to be back. I felt like I was seeing my own ghost of Kim past. Enjoying a cup of tea in Society Café, I remembered a time I sat there in the midst of writer’s block and tried to reach for a new idea with what felt like weighted arms. Walking up towards the Royal Circus, my hairs pricked; I glanced left and realised I was passing Hester Piozzi’s house, AKA Hester Thrale, whose plaque inspired me to introduce her and other historical figures as interleaving sections in A Wild & True Relation.
In 2015, I arrived to Bath uncertain of my next steps in life and feeling lost in many ways. Then I won the Bath Novel Award for Testament (as far as I’m aware, the only Bath resident to actually win it!) and a new path opened up to me. I owe so much to Caroline Ambrose, founder of BNA, who used to be my cocktail buddy. She now lives abroad, contributing to another strange sensation – many of our local friends have moved on. I visited my favourite haunts, but most were closed or transformed. For a city that’s looked the same since the eighteenth century, there’s also change afoot. So thank goodness for constancies – Mr B’s Bookshop was there to welcome me with open arms. I’ve known some fine bookshops in my time, but Mr B’s remains my favourite. When I step through its whimsical doors, it feels like coming home. Thank you to the Mr B’s team for your continued support! Spot my two…
Another constancy is the fabulous folks at Bath Festival. It was great to see the team again, who put on a literal and figurative party in the city every year. I was paired with Joanne Quinn (The Whalebone Theatre, which I highly recommend) to discuss historical fiction, chaired by the ace Claire Armitstead. Thanks so much to everyone who joined us – we packed out the house! It was especially touching to meet readers who’ve followed me since Testament won the BNA – also a kind of homecoming.
The next day, I mounted the stage with Charles Cumming and James Naughtie to discuss spy fiction in The Guildhall, the place where Nick and I registered to get married, and the place where I addressed a Council meeting protesting library closures. All of life’s currents! Of the two occasions, addressing the Council was actually less nerve-wracking, as I became afraid during the registration grilling that I’d forget all mine and Nick’s biographical information, and I’d be labelled as a spy and an infiltrator and a ne’er-do-well. I don’t think I’d hold up very well under interrogation.
We had a great discussion about the spectrum of spy fiction, from John le Carré to Ian Fleming, two of my favourite authors, whose distinct influences can be felt in the Double O series. Fleming doesn’t set much in the Double O Regents Park office – it is where Bond wants to get away from, off on his adventures. By contrast, le Carré makes mundane office scenes thrilling and poignant. As I explore the Double O Section and revisit Regents Park, I’m think I’m drawing on an infusion of Fleming and le Carré. Charlie Higson put it well in Bristol – it’s cocktail writing versus cup of tea writing. In bars as in literature, I love both.
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