William Boyd’s new James
Bond book, Solo, was launched
today, Wednesday 25 September, with luxury, glamour and 1960’s
flair at one of London’s
most iconic locations, The Dorchester on Park Lane, London. Those
passing The Dorchester in the morning enjoyed the rare sight
of a line of Jensen cars
parked outside the hotel. They
included a Jensen FF Mark I, James Bond’s car of choice
in Solo, which will transported the author around London.
It all kicked off with a James Bond-inspired
launch breakfast at The Grill at The Dorchester, where Boyd signed
the first 7 copies of the book - Solo 001 to 007 - before entrusting
them into
the hands of ambassadors of another great British brand, British
Airways. Each copy was allocated a dedicated cabin crew
member, whose mission wa to guard
it on its journey to London Heathrow airport. The cabin crew
then traveled from The Dorchester in a convoy of 7 vintage Jensen
cars- Bond’s motor of choice in the
new book - each
car marked with the country flags of
each book’s destination. The cars were driven by their
owners, members of the
Jensen Owners’ Club. At Heathrow Terminal 5, a red carpet
was rolled out in first class departures to greet the
arrival of the cabin crew and their special cargo.
Over the course of the afternoon, Solo 001 -
Solo 007 were despatched to: Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Zurich, Los
Angeles, Delhi, Cape Town and Sydney. Each book, encased in
a perspex briefcase, was personally picked up by the captain
of its plane and strapped into the cockpit for the duration of
its flight.
The 7 destinations from today’s launch
were chosen for their connections to the international publication
of the book, or their relevance to William Boyd, Ian Fleming
and the original Bond books.
Solo 001 - Amsterdam,
Netherlands
BA0438. Departs LHR: 13.15; arrives AMS: 15.35
Amsterdam is a major consumer of English language literature
and therefore the natural choice of destination for Solo 001
in Europe. Holland-based publisher
A.W. Bruna was the first international publisher to take and
translate the original Ian Fleming novels in the 1950s; they
are still in print today.
On arrival in Amsterdam, Solo 001 will be filmed by Schiphol
TV as it makes its way through the airport and arrives at the
AKO Books & Travel airport store.
The book will be showcased again on Saturday 28 September, as
part of a major event at the AKO bookstore in The Hague, where
it will arrive in a Jensen for a red carpet
welcome.
Solo 002 - Edinburgh, Scotland
BA1448. Departs LHR: 15.40; arrives EDI: 17.00
James Bond’s Scottish heritage is well-known. His father,
Andrew Bond of Glencoe, is Scottish. On being expelled from Eton,
the young Bond attends Edinburgh school Fettes, and it is where
he learns some of the fighting skills
he will go on to use in his career as a spy: ‘By the time
he left, at the early age of seventeen, he had twice fought for
the school as a light-weight and had,
in addition, founded the first serious judo class at
a British public school.’ (You
Only Live Twice). Although William Boyd was born in Ghana, he
shares Bond’s
Scottish blood and was educated there at Gordonstoun School.
Fleming himself had Scottish roots and once mused to a friend
that he expected to eventually return to Scotland
to live out his last years, ‘something
calls you to the neighbourhood of your people’s place.
It’s a mystique.’ In Solo,
Bond spends a brief spell in Edinburgh, where he celebrates being
discharged from hospital with champagne and oysters, smoked
salmon and scrambled egg in an oyster bar off Princes Street.On
arrival in Edinburgh, Solo
002 will be collected from the airport by Alex McGowan, Executive
Director of the Lyceum Theatre.
William Boyd will be talking on Solo at the Lyceum on Monday
30 September. Solo 002 will then
be taken on a tour of the locations featured in Solo, including
Princes Street, George Street and
Waverley station. Then, on the night of Boyd’s Lyceum event,
Solo 002 will be awarded to one lucky member of the audience,
following a prize draw.
Solo 003 - Zurich, Switzerland
BA0718. Departs LHR: 16.10; arrives ZRH: 18.50
Switzerland has a special significance to James Bond. His mother,
Monique Delacroix, was Swiss. In Goldfinger, Zurich is one of
the places Auric Goldfinger stores his gold. Solo will be published
by Random House Europe on 26
September.On arrival in Zurich, Solo 003 will be transported
to Orell Füssli’s ‘The
Bookshop’, the largest English language bookshop on the
European continent. There it will be put under lock and key until
just before Christmas, when it will
be put on display - along
with memorabilia from the launch - in the window of the
store. This special edition will make a Christmas present to
remember for whoever wins the prize.
Solo 004 - Los Angeles, USA
BA0269. Departs LHR: 16.15; arrives LAX: 19.15
‘
Welcome to the USA, Mr Fitzjohn’ the immigration officer
said, stamping his passport. ‘Business or pleasure? ‘Bit
of both’ Bond said.’ Solo by
William Boyd Filmic Bond has had long associations with Hollywood,
but literary Bond also has his own connections with LA. In his
non-fiction
book, Thrilling Cities, Ian Fleming wrote: ‘Hollywood likes
to have first bite at anyone who is ‘new’ and even
moderately successful, and at twelve-thirty I was having lunch
in the Brown Derby with
a producer who wanted to make a fortune out of me in exchange
for a glass of water and a crust of bread.’ On
arrival in Los Angeles, Solo 004 will be collected from its captain
by Robert Laycock,
Fleming’s great-nephew, who
lives there. Robert will then gift Solo 004 to the California-based
Ian Fleming Foundation, along with the
US edition of Solo (published by HarperCollins on 8 October),
for their archive.
Solo 005 - Delhi, India
BA257 . Departs LHR 17.35; arrives DEL: 06.20, 26 September
During the winter of 1944, official war work took Fleming to
India. He was conducting a review into the intelligence infrastructure
of the newly created British Pacific Fleet, and whilst in the
country he found time to visit
his brother Peter, who was staying in Delhi. Solo will be published
by Random House India on 26 September.
On arrival
in Delhi, Solo 005 will be picked up by a special
Solo
auto and taken on city tour where it will be photographed
at key sites including the Red Fort, Qutub Minar and India Gate.
Later, Solo 005 will be handed over to
the Landmark bookstore as a competition prize.
Solo 006 - Cape Town, South Africa
BA 059. Departs LHR: 19.30; arrives CPT: 07.55, 26 September
‘As the plane taxied towards the terminal buildings Bond gazed
out of the window at Africa, lit by the early morning sun.’ Solo
Half of the action in Solo takes place in Zanzarim, a fictitious
African country. William
Boyd has long association with the continent
and it is perhaps no surprise that he chose to feature Africa
in the book. Solo will be published
by Random House Struik on 26 September. On arrival in South Africa,
Solo 006 will be filmed and collected
by Expresso TV. On Friday 27 September, Solo 006 will arrive
on set, via motorcycle, of the Express TV breakfast show where
the CEO of Random House Struik,
Steve Connolly, will announce the winner of a week-long competition
on air.
Solo 007 - Sydney, Australia
BA 015. Departs LHR: 21.15; arrives SYD: 05.10, 26 September
Ian Fleming travelled to Sydney in the winter of 1944 (following
his stopover with Peter Fleming in Delhi). There he met a young
lieutenant-commander who was desperate to obtain leave as he
was engaged to be married. Ian Fleming
duly fixed it for the young man. Solo will be published by Random
House Australia on 26 September.
On arrival in Sydney, Solo 007 will be picked up and taken on
a
tour of Sydney’s key sites by Booktopia, before being
awarded to a lucky competition winner.
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