I am enormously grateful to Ian Fleming Publications Ltd and the Ian Fleming Estate for inviting me back a second time. As someone who grew up with James Bond – the books before the films – it’s a dream come true to write about the world’s most enduring spy, though a huge challenge to come anywhere near to the brilliance of Fleming’s writing.
As ever, though, I have been helped – firstly by Fleming himself. Much of the chapter ‘Russian Roulette’ is based on one of the outlines he wrote for an American television series which in the end never happened. (Another of these outlines, ‘Murder on Wheels’, appeared in my first Bond novel, Trigger Mortis.) Curiously, Fleming also refers to the story of the Aleksandr Kolchak, which he claims is based on fact, in his collection of travel journalism which was published as Thrilling Cities in 1963. I’m afraid I rather brazenly raided the book for my description of the casino at Monte Carlo in the same chapter. It follows that many of the attitudes expressed are Fleming’s, not mine.
Once again I have to single out Corinne Turner, who has been a constant supporter and friend at IFE, as well as Jonny Geller at Curtis Brown (who represents Ian Fleming) and my own agent Jonathan Lloyd, who helped steer me through moments of doubt. It’s been a pleasure working with Jonathan Cape and I particularly want to acknowledge the work of Ana Fletcher and David Milner, who separately edited the text, each with an eagle eye, and saved me – many times – from myself. It might be unusual for an author to thank his cover designer but, along with the title, there is nothing more important to the success of a James Bond novel and I think Kris Potter got it exactly right.
Forever and a Day required a great deal of research that the internet could not supply and I am particularly grateful to Joe Forrest, who came up with sensible answers to some impossible questions and convinced me that some of the more daring escapes in this story might work. To get a working knowledge of the Mirabelle, I went to Southampton and visited the SS Shieldhall – the largest working steam ship in Britain – and I want to thank Nigel Philpott and Graham Mackenzie for giving me so much of their time and expertise.
There were many books that helped me. I’ve mentioned James Bond: The Man and His World by Henry Chancellor before. It’s a great resource, as is the website ‘literary007.com’. I acquainted myself with blackjack by reading Edward O. Thorp’s Beat the Dealer, and Alfred W. McCoy’s The Politics of Heroin and Meyer & Parssinen’s Webs of Smoke provided all the background I needed to describe Scipio’s activities. A special thank you to Andrew Lycett, who drew my attention to Shame Lady, a name that Fleming flirted with for his home in Jamaica. He eventually chose Goldeneye.
Last year, I offered the opportunity to appear as a character in the book at an auction to support the Old Vic (a charity which receives no Arts Council funding) and I would like to acknowledge the extraordinary generosity of two bidders. The auction was won by Reade Griffith, who appears under his own name in Chapter Five onwards. Joann McPike also made a substantial donation and the character of Joanne Brochet, Madame 16, is inspired by her. Brochet is the French for pike.
Finally, I might have been able to write this book without the help of my assistant, Alice Edmondson – but certainly not on time. The manuscript was read by my brilliant wife, Jill Green, and my two sons, Nicholas and Cassian. As usual, their suggestions were vicious but invaluable.
Ian Fleming has played a huge role in my life. He wrote the first adult books that I ever loved and the films saved me from some of the darker corners of my childhood. I dedicate this book to his memory . . . not, of course, that he has any chance of being forgotten.