Exploring the Evolution of James Bond in Literature

Summary

Mark Edlitz (X, LinkedIn) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss how James Bond lived on in literature after the death of Ian Fleming. Mark is an author and pop culture expert. 

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• The original Fleming novels
• Intellectual property and author’s rights to iconic characters
• The evolution of Bond as a literary character 
• The relationship between the Bond books and the Bond movies

Reflections

• Can icons ever truly die?
• Just how malleable are our favorite characters?

And much, much more …

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*Spotlight Resource*

• James Bond After Fleming: The Continuation Novels, Mark Edlitz (2023)

*SpyCasts*

• The James Bond Collector with Mike VanBlaricum (2024)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 1 of 2 (2023)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 2 of 2 (2023)
• My Life Looking at Spies and the Media with Paul Lashmar (2022)

*Beginner Resources*

• James Bond Books: The Continuation Novels, D. Leigh, The James Bond Dossier (2024) [Short biographies of each continuation author]
• Ian Fleming – Life Story, Short Biographies, YouTube (2023) [8 min. video]
• Can I do a sequel to someone else's book or movie? Miller IP Law (n.d.) [Short article]

DEEPER DIVE

Books

• Bond, James Bond: Exploring the Shaken and Stirred History of Ian Fleming’s 007, B. Gilmore & M. Kalinowski (Mango, 2022)
• The Many Lives of James Bond: How the Creators of 007 Have Decoded the Superspy, M. Edlitz (Lyons Press, 2019)
• James Bond: The Evolution of the World's Most Famous Spy, A. Geiger (CompanionHouse Books, 2016) 

Primary Sources 

• An Interview with Raymond Benson (2023)
• License Renewed: Interview with John Gardner (1994)
• Gardner Assumes Ian Fleming's Pen To Keep James Bond Alive (1988)
• An Interview with Kingsley Amis (1975) 
• Allen Dulles and Ian Fleming (1964) 
• Books of the Times (1963) 

*Wildcard Resource*

• James Bond is a fantastically well-known character, but he is not technically in the public domain. Characters that do exist in the public domain include Count Dracula, Frankenstein’s Monster, Sherlock Holmes, and Robin Hood. 
• Studying the origins of these characters is fascinating. Take Robin Hood, for example – The first written mention of the heroic outlaw comes from the poem “The Vision of Piers Plowman” by William Langland, written in 1380. That’s 593 years before Disney’s classic adaptation of the story! 

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