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100% agreed. Annotated is probably a better description than what I put, but that's the idea. There are 'classic' books I fell in love with through reading the annotated versions of them, and I'm sure future readers wanting to dive into Fleming would get something out of it too. I actually didn't know CR already had an annotated version!
Only available in Canada, sadly. A very kind member of this board sent me a copy and I will (someday, inshallah!) post a review here. In the meantime, I recommend Griswold's book to anyone who doesn't have it. I don't find the chronologies useful, but the annotations are very valuable. The website Fleming's Bond also has some useful annotations with images. Fleming wrote about a now-vanished world, and even many of his consumer good references could use annotation, let alone his geopolitical ones (POUM anyone?).
That's what we do when we see books or authors as significant based on their work. We preserve their work and comment on it. I don't see why it should be different for Fleming.
Nice! I'll definitely be interested in reading what you think of it (God willing/whenever that'll be of course ;) ) Thank you! It's an older website but I like what's in there.
Although perhaps new novels might be easier: you just have to contract one writer and bigger sales are maybe more likely- new Bond books appeal to more people than slightly more insular, fan-pleasing academic works (I still remember how massive Devil May Care was, and even that new Q book has been featured in the papers).
I also think a new short story collection feels like something which makes sense for Bond, getting some name authors in to do a short 007 story, like the Agatha Christie people have done with Marple etc., but maybe it won't appeal, I don't know.
Surely they can do all this though? Give us a full annotated Fleming release and give us those new books/short stories. Incidentally I'd read a new short story collection about Bond!
I mean I guess the most bankable thing is just to do a new Bond novel; unless there's been some sort of block coming in from the rights holders of JB, you'd imagine there's plans for another at soonest opportunity.
Yes, I can imagine there are those problems. I do think it's a conscious decision not to do annotated Fleming releases though. And it's a shame. In the right hands I think that's the best way to go and could bring some good stuff. Maybe the audience isn't as apparent, but I can also understand a business (especially a literary one) not quite seeing where their audiences are nowadays.
What's an example of something you want to annotated in any of the Bond books? I fear this is just another angle for the thought police to say Fleming is bad for observing things which are obviously true.
Have you ever actually read a classic book that’s been annotated? Or is this just another attempt at a ‘shock’ post you tend to do? 😉
If anyone wants a specific example of what it would look like in regards to some of these topics, here’s a hypothetical. From LALD:
There’d be a footnote, and if you wanted you could go to the back of the book and read something like: “The Western Design was an English expedition against the Spanish West Indies during the 1654 to 1660 Anglo-Spanish War, led by Oliver Cromwell. It resulted in the English capture of Jamaica in 1655.” Which would give some context to what Fleming is on about and I don’t think is immediately apparent. That’s what annotations tend to look like in these instances.
For instance, there's a line in Doctor No about the Chinamen in Jamaica wanting to keep their strain pure.
I don't need an annotation about how Fleming is a simple 1950s Englishman with outdated thoughts about how the Chinese are.
A forward/essay at the beginning would most likely acknowledge Fleming’s depiction of them and comment on it, but in tandem with an overview of the novel (ie. How it marked a shift in Fleming’s writing into more fantastical adventures, the story, characters etc.)