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Sebastian Faulks has been named as
the author of the new James Bond novel "Devil May
Care", due out on 28th May 2008 to coincide with
the Ian Fleming
centenary...
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Sebastian Faulks Named As Centenary Novelist
10th July 2007
Sebastian Faulks, one of Britain’s most
admired novelists, is announced today as the author of a brand
new James Bond novel, to be published next year by Penguin Books
in the UK and Doubleday in the US. The book, entitled Devil May
Care, will be published to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming’s
birth - 28th May 2008. Ian Fleming Publications Ltd announced
in July 2006 that a new Bond book had been commissioned
and now, after a year of speculation, the author and title
are revealed.
Faulks said, "I was surprised but
flattered to be asked by Ian Fleming Publications last
summer if I would write
a
one-off
Bond
book for the Ian Fleming centenary.I told them that I hadn’t
read the books since the age of 13, but if when I re-read
them I still enjoyed
them
and could see how I might be able to do something in the
same vein then I would be happy to consider it."
After almost five years researching Victorian
psychiatry for Human Traces, there was something attractive
about
a jeu d'esprit which, if I followed Fleming’s
own prescription, I could write in about six weeks. On
re-reading, I was surprised by how well the books stood
up. I put this
down to three things: the sense of
jeopardy
Fleming creates about his solitary hero, a certain playfulness
in the narrative details, and a crisp, journalistic style
that hasn’t dated."
Faulks continued, "I tried to isolate
the essential and the most enjoyable aspects of the books.
Then I took that pattern and added characters and a story
of my own with as much speed and as many twists as I thought
the reader could bear. I developed a prose that is about
80 per cent Fleming. I didn’t go the final distance
for fear of straying into pastiche, but I strictly observed
his rules of chapter and sentence construction. My novel
is meant to stand in the line of Fleming’s own books,
where the story is everything." |
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Above: The new 007 novel by author Sebastian
Faulks will pick up from Ian Fleming's last James Bond
adventure (pic: Deborah Feingold) |
On the matter of how Fleming worked his magic,
Faulks explained, "In his house in Jamaica, Ian Fleming
used to write a thousand words
in the
morning,
then
go
snorkelling,
have
a
cocktail,
lunch
on the terrace, more diving, another thousand words in late afternoon,
then more Martinis and glamorous women. In my house in London,
I followed this routine exactly, apart from the cocktails, the
lunch and the snorkelling. I found writing this light-hearted
book more thrilling than I had expected. I hope people will enjoy
reading it and that
Ian Fleming would consider it to be in the cavalier spirit of
his own novels and therefore an acceptable addition to the line."
Fleming’s last Bond book, Octopussy and the Living Daylights,
was published in 1966. Forty two years later and in keeping with
tradition, Devil May Care is set in the Cold War and the action
is played out across two continents, exotic locations and several
of the world’s most thrilling cities.
Alex Clarke, the editor at Penguin, comments, "Penguin
UK is delighted to be publishing Devil May Care in May
2008 to mark the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth. When
we heard that Sebastian Faulks would be taking up the
mantle, we knew instantly there could not be a more fitting
celebration of the most iconic spy in literature and
film - Bond, James Bond. Not only has Sebastian picked
up from where Fleming left off, but he has also brought
his own exquisite prose to the cocktail party - and,
in so doing, has written a tour de force that will thrill
and satisfy every kind of reader and every kind of James
Bond fan.”
He continues, “Devil May Care will be a superb
addition to the James Bond publishing legacy. Penguin
UK publishes all 14 of Fleming's Bond novels, the Charlie
Higson Young Bond series, as well as Fleming's children's
classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. To mark the centenary,
we will be creating a special James Bond imprint, Penguin
007 - within which Devil May Care will be published in
May 2008.
Right: Author Ian Fleming, who
died in 1964 |
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Sebastian Faulks is best known for his French trilogy, The Girl
at the Lion d'Or, Birdsong and Charlotte Gray. Birdsong is regularly
voted one of the nation's favourite books and Charlotte Gray
was filmed with Cate Blanchett as Charlotte. The trilogy has
sold almost four million copies in the UK. In all, Faulks has
written ten books, including eight novels, the most recent of
which, Engleby, was published to widespread acclaim in May this
year.
Like Fleming, who was a journalist for Reuters and the Sunday
Times, Faulks was a journalist for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph,
he was the first Literary Editor of the Independent and later
became Deputy Editor of the Independent on Sunday.
Corinne Turner, Managing Director Ian Fleming Publications Ltd
comments, “We had had Sebastian Faulks in mind for our
centenary novel for quite some time. I have always enjoyed and
admired his novels, but it wasn’t until I read On Green
Dolphin Street that it occurred to me that he would be perfect
for Bond. He has an ability to write totally convincingly in
whichever period or genre he chooses, and that particular book
made me think he might enjoy exploring the world of Ian Fleming
and James Bond. I knew that it would have to be something very
special to tempt him to have a go, and at the time didn’t
make an approach. However, when we came to think of authors for
our centenary novel and his agent, quite independently, suggested
Sebastian, it was just meant to be.
“The Fleming family were delighted
with the typescript when we received it. Barbara Broccoli,
to whom we gave a sneak preview, said if I had told her
the family had found an old manuscript of Ian’s in
the basement, she would have believed me. Sebastian couldn’t
have written a better book to celebrate Ian’s 100th
birthday.”
Devil May Care is published to mark the
Ian Fleming Centenary. The book is at the centre of a larger
programme of celebratory events that will run throughout
2008. |
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Faulks remains with his usual publisher, Random
House, and comments, "I
am sure Penguin will do a great job with this book, but I would
like to stress that Random House remain my publishers. Hutchinson
and Vintage have done a fantastic job for me over the last 20
years and I will stay with them for as long as they will have
me -- for another 20 years at least, I hope."
Faulks, 54, is best known for his novels "Charlotte
Gray" and "Birdsong",
both of which achieved critical acclaim with the latter placing
#13 in the BBC's recent poll to find Britain's best loved novel.
His latest novel, "Engleby", was released in May this
year. Faulks is no stranger to 007 though. In 2003 he published "Pistache",
a collection of short literary parodies including a hilarious
piece where Ian Fleming takes James Bond shopping. He has also
critiqued Bond films for the British press, including a rather
negative take on 1999's "The World Is Not Enough".
Other authors that had been previously rumoured and subsequently
ruled out included Martin
Amis (son of Bond author Kingsley Amis), Stephen Fry, Frederick
Forsyth, John
Gardner, Lee
Child, John le Carr�, Charlie
Higson and Ken
Follett.
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