James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007
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| James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 | |
 1986 Grafton Books British paperback edition. |
|
| Author | John Pearson |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | James Bond |
| Genre(s) | Spy novel |
| Publisher | Sidgwick & Jackson |
| Publication date | 1973 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover and Paperback) |
| Pages | 300 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-283-97946-1 (first edition, hardback) |
| Preceded by | Colonel Sun |
| Followed by | James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me |
James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 (also published as James Bond: The Authorised Biography) (1973) is a fictional biography of James Bond, written by John Pearson, author of the Ian Fleming biography The Life of Ian Fleming (1966).
The Authorised Biography of 007 was not commissioned by Glidrose Publications. It began as a spoof novel for publisher Sidgwick & Jackson, however, Pearson knew Peter Janson-Smith, the chairman of Glidrose, who eventually published it. Consequently, this is the only James Bond book from Glidrose, between 1953 and 1987, to not be first published by Jonathan Cape, additionally, it is the only Bond novel with a shared copyright credit; Pearson is the only Bond novelist so recognised.
The novel's canonical status as biography is debatable. Some aficionados consider it canon with Ian Fleming's James Bond novel series, while other aficionados consider it apocryphal. Elements of the biography are contradicted by "official" Bond fiction, notably Charlie Higson's Young Bond series, which suggests that James Bond was born in Switzerland, as opposed to Pearson's suggestion that Bond was born in Germany. Unlike the later Bond novels of John Gardner and Raymond Benson, which are not of (although still based upon) Fleming's continuity, such is not the case with Pearson's book, along with Kingsley Amis' continuation novel, Colonel Sun (to which Pearson refers). As these books occur in the same time as Fleming's Bond novels, their being canonical with Fleming's books is debatable, yet Pan Books one British publisher of Bond novels, includes Pearson's book, James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007, as an official series entry of their first paperback edition series.
[edit] Plot summary
The premise of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is that James Bond is based upon a real MI6 agent. Fleming hinted so in You Only Live Twice, in Bond's obituary, that his adventures were the basis of a series of "sensational novels"; illustrating this contention, that novel's comic strip adaptation used covers from Fleming's James Bond novels.
Writing autobiographically, Pearson begins the story with his own recruitment to MI6. Already, the department had assigned Ian Fleming to write novels based upon the real agent; Fleming was to be truthful about the agent's adventures. The idea was to hide the truth, of Bond's exploits, in plain sight; along the way, Fleming created fictional tales, such as Moonraker, to keep the Soviets guessing what was fact and what was not. Pearson's also incorporates Fleming's flippant claim to not having written The Spy Who Loved Me, but that Vivienne Michel mysteriously sent him the manuscript.
Based upon the success of his Fleming biography, The Life of Ian Fleming (1966), MI6 instruct Pearson to write 007's biography; he is introduced to a retired James Bond — who is in his fifties, yet healthy, sun-tanned, and with Honeychile Ryder, the heroine of Dr. No. Most of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is Bond telling his life story, including school and first MI6 missions, referring to most every novel and short story and, notably, to Colonel Sun, the Robert Markham series-continuation novel. At conclusion, as Bond rushes to another mission (contrary to mandatory retirement), John Pearson is invited to assume Ian Fleming's scribal duties, like Dr. Watson assumed with Sherlock Holmes.
In fact, Glidrose Publications considered John Pearson's becoming the new, series writer; despite good reviews and sales of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007, nothing happened.
[edit] Publication history
- UK first hardback edition: 1973 Sidgwick & Jackson
- U.S. first hardback edition: 1974 William Morrow & Company
- UK first paperback edition: 1975 Pan Books
- U.S. first paperback edition: March 1975 Pyramid Books
Out of print since the 1980s, a reprinting of the book is scheduled for release in 2008 [1]. The reprint shortens the book's title to James Bond: The Authorised Biography.[2]
