Kingsley Amis

Sir Kingsley William Amis (April 16, 1922 – October 22, 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than twenty novels, three collections of poetry, short stories, radio and television scripts, and books of social and literary criticism. He is the father of English novelist Martin Amis.

James Bond

Kingsley Amis became associated with Ian Fleming's creation, James Bond, in the 1960s, writing critical works connected with the fictional spy, either under a pseudonym or uncredited. He wrote the popular The James Bond Dossier under his own name. Later, he wrote, The Book of Bond, or, Every Man His Own 007, a tongue-in-cheek, how-to manual about being a sophisticated spy, under the pseudonym "Lt. Col. William 'Bill' Tanner", Tanner being M's Chief of Staff in many of Fleming's Bond novels.

Related Topics:
Ian Fleming - James Bond - The James Bond Dossier - The Book of Bond, or, Every Man His Own 007 - M

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It is widely claimed that, after Fleming died in 1964 following completion of an early draft of The Man with the Golden Gun, the publisher commissioned Amis and possibly other writers to finalize the manuscript. Bond historians and Fleming biographers have, in recent years, debunked this theory, indicating that no such ghostwriter was ever employed. (See here for more on the controversy and speculation.)

Related Topics:
The Man with the Golden Gun - Ghostwriter - Here

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In 1968, the owners of the James Bond property, Glidrose Publications, attempted to continue the literary series by hiring different novelists, all writing under the pseudonym "Robert Markham." Kingsley Amis was the first to write a Robert Markham novel, Colonel Sun, but no further Markham imprint books were published. It is widely believed that Amis had planned to write a second Bond novel but was talked out of it.

Related Topics:
Glidrose Publications - Robert Markham - Colonel Sun

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