theme was MOONRAKER, and that became the replacement. Moonraker ,released in the summer of 1979, and starring Roger Moore, represents the low point in the series. Nevertheless, it became the biggest grossing Bond film ever. According to Variety ,rentals in the United States and Canada only, by 1982, amounted to over $33,000,000.
In the fall of 1980, twenty-year-old Ross Hendry of Harrow, Middlesex, founded The James Bond British Fan Club. Since James Bond was a Britishcharacter, Hendry felt that his hero should not be represented only by an American fan club. In the three years since the club's formation, branches have opened in the United States, Germany, Australia, Norway, and all over England. The club distributes two publications: 007, the regular club magazine, and For Your Eyes Only, a supplemental booklet of "hard-core" Bondian information. Information on how to join The James Bond British Fan Club appears at the back of this book.
In 1980, the Board of Directors of Glidrose decided it was time to bring back the real James Bond, the hero of the books. For some time, authors' names were tossed around, and eventually they had a list of six. First on that list was John Gardner.
John Gardner was born in 1926 in the little village of Seaton Delaval, in the northeast of England. He studied at Cambridge and St. Stephen's House, at Oxford. After serving in the Royal Marines during the war, Gardner wrote for the theatre for a while, then decided to try something else. After working on an autobiographical book, Gardner wrote The Liquidator , published in 1964. It was an all-out spoof on James Bond, and quite a success. The main character was Boysie Oakes, who worked as an assassin for the British Secret Service. The problem was that Boysie Oakes was a coward and secretly hired hit men to do his dirty work for him! In addition, he became ill on airplanes. Gardner wrote other Boysie Oakes books and two novels about Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Two later books, The Garden of Weapons and The Nostradamus Traitor , were more in the realistic style of John Le Carré. Another, The Director , deals with backstage drama in the theatre.
Glidrose contacted Gardner through a go-between, who asked the author if he might be interested. A three-book deal was eventually worked out. Glidrose reportedly kept close tabs on Gardner while he wrote the first book, carefully monitoring it. One important change Gardner made was updating James Bond's world to the 1980s, but he kept the character more or less the same age as he was in the sixties. Bond does seem a little older, a little wiser, but he certainly isn't the sixty-one-year-old he should be according to "Fleming's Bond."
In the spring of 1981, Gardner's first Bond book was published. Titled LICENSE RENEWED, it was published in England by Jonathan Cape (in association with Hodder and Stoughton) and in the United States by Richard Marek Publishers. The book was a bestseller, despite lukewarm reviews from critics and Bond fans alike. The British jacket had an attractive Richard Chopping illustration (designed by Mon Mohan) of a Browning 9mm pistol with a string of pearls and yellow roses.
In the summer, the 12th James Bond film was released. For Your Eyes Only ,which again featured Roger Moore in a tougher, grittier characterization, marked a return to the more serious, original format of the early films. It was the best Bond film since On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the film grossed in the $25 million range.
Also that summer, Chicago film historian Jim Schoenberger discovered a kinescope of the original CBS-TV presentation of the hour-long Casino Royale in a pile of dusty old film cannisters. A special public showing was arranged, and Barry Nelson (who potrayed Bond in the film) appeared to talk about it. Around this same time, Richard Schenkman obtained permission to reprint three of the Daily Express' comic strip versions of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, FROM RUSSIA, WITH
In the fall of 1980, twenty-year-old Ross Hendry of Harrow, Middlesex, founded The James Bond British Fan Club. Since James Bond was a Britishcharacter, Hendry felt that his hero should not be represented only by an American fan club. In the three years since the club's formation, branches have opened in the United States, Germany, Australia, Norway, and all over England. The club distributes two publications: 007, the regular club magazine, and For Your Eyes Only, a supplemental booklet of "hard-core" Bondian information. Information on how to join The James Bond British Fan Club appears at the back of this book.
In 1980, the Board of Directors of Glidrose decided it was time to bring back the real James Bond, the hero of the books. For some time, authors' names were tossed around, and eventually they had a list of six. First on that list was John Gardner.
John Gardner was born in 1926 in the little village of Seaton Delaval, in the northeast of England. He studied at Cambridge and St. Stephen's House, at Oxford. After serving in the Royal Marines during the war, Gardner wrote for the theatre for a while, then decided to try something else. After working on an autobiographical book, Gardner wrote The Liquidator , published in 1964. It was an all-out spoof on James Bond, and quite a success. The main character was Boysie Oakes, who worked as an assassin for the British Secret Service. The problem was that Boysie Oakes was a coward and secretly hired hit men to do his dirty work for him! In addition, he became ill on airplanes. Gardner wrote other Boysie Oakes books and two novels about Sherlock Holmes' nemesis, Professor Moriarty. Two later books, The Garden of Weapons and The Nostradamus Traitor , were more in the realistic style of John Le Carré. Another, The Director , deals with backstage drama in the theatre.
Glidrose contacted Gardner through a go-between, who asked the author if he might be interested. A three-book deal was eventually worked out. Glidrose reportedly kept close tabs on Gardner while he wrote the first book, carefully monitoring it. One important change Gardner made was updating James Bond's world to the 1980s, but he kept the character more or less the same age as he was in the sixties. Bond does seem a little older, a little wiser, but he certainly isn't the sixty-one-year-old he should be according to "Fleming's Bond."
In the spring of 1981, Gardner's first Bond book was published. Titled LICENSE RENEWED, it was published in England by Jonathan Cape (in association with Hodder and Stoughton) and in the United States by Richard Marek Publishers. The book was a bestseller, despite lukewarm reviews from critics and Bond fans alike. The British jacket had an attractive Richard Chopping illustration (designed by Mon Mohan) of a Browning 9mm pistol with a string of pearls and yellow roses.
In the summer, the 12th James Bond film was released. For Your Eyes Only ,which again featured Roger Moore in a tougher, grittier characterization, marked a return to the more serious, original format of the early films. It was the best Bond film since On Her Majesty's Secret Service and the film grossed in the $25 million range.
Also that summer, Chicago film historian Jim Schoenberger discovered a kinescope of the original CBS-TV presentation of the hour-long Casino Royale in a pile of dusty old film cannisters. A special public showing was arranged, and Barry Nelson (who potrayed Bond in the film) appeared to talk about it. Around this same time, Richard Schenkman obtained permission to reprint three of the Daily Express' comic strip versions of DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, FROM RUSSIA, WITH
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