The Man With The Golden Typewriter

'Constantly entertaining ... So much here to amuse and inform' Observer 'These friendly, knockabout letters are a treat' Sunday Telegraph 'Irresistible' New York Times ________________________ Before the world-famous Bond films came the world-famous novels. This book tells the story of the man who wrote them and how he created spy fiction's most compelling hero. In August 1952, Ian Fleming bought a gold-plated typewriter as a present to himself for finishing his first novel, Casino Royale. It marked in glamorous style the arrival of James Bond, agent 007, and the start of a career that saw Fleming become one of the world's most celebrated thriller writers. Before his death in 1964 he produced fourteen bestselling Bond books, two works of non-fiction and the famous children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Fleming's output was matched by an equally energetic flow of letters. He wrote constantly, to his wife, publisher, editors, fans, critics and friends, including Raymond Chandler, Noël Coward and Somerset Maugham. His letters - witty and charming, funny and revealing - chart 007's progress: from badgering his publisher about his quota of free copies to apologising to readers for having mistaken a certain brand of perfume and for equipping Bond with the wrong kind of gun. Collected here together by his nephew, the letters provide a fascinating insight into the mind of the man who created a worldwide sensation. 'Splendid' New Statesman 'A revelation' Guardian 'A fascinating portrait of Bond's creator, revealing a man of keen wit and charm' Gentleman's Journal

On August 16, 1952, Ian Fleming wrote to his wife, Ann, "My love, This is only a tiny letter to try out my new typewriter and to see if it will write golden words since it is made of gold." He had bought the golden typewriter as a present to himself for finishing his first novel, Casino Royale. It marked in glamorous style the arrival of James Bond, agent 007, and the start of a career that saw Fleming become one the world's most celebrated thriller-writers. And he did write golden words. Before his death in 1964 he produced fourteen best-selling Bond books, two works of non-fiction and the famous children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. Fleming's output was matched by an equally energetic flow of letters. He wrote constantly, to his wife, publisher, editors, fans, friends and critics--and to the wife of the man whose name Fleming appropriated for his hero--charting 007's progress with correspondence that ranged from badgering Jonathan Cape about his quota of free copies--a coin was tossed and Fleming lost--to apologizing for having mistaken a certain brand of perfume and for equipping Bond with the wrong kind of gun. His letters also reflect his friendship with such contemporaries as Raymond Chandler, Noel Coward and Somerset Maugham. This entertaining and engaging compilation traces the arc of Fleming's literary career and details the inner working of James Bond. Set against the backdrop of his Jamaican retreat Goldeneye, and a troubled marriage, Fleming's letters are filled with wit, humor and occasional self-doubt. They reveal an intimate portrait of a man, an era and a literary phenomenon.

JAMES BOND declares war on Le Chiffre, French Communist and paymaster of the Soviet murder organization SMERSH. The battle begins for the ace secret agent in a fifty-million-franc game of baccarat...gains momentum in his fiery love affair with a sensuous lady spy...and reaches a chilling climax with fiendish torture at the hands of a master sadist. The critics give a winning hand to Ian Fleming’s superlative thriller of espionage, adventure, intrigue and murder—CASINO ROYALE “Hums with tension...Author Fleming keeps his incidents and characters spinning through their paces like juggling balls.”—Time “A speed-breaker for thrills with a big dramatic scene set in a crowded casino.” Atlanta Journal Constitution “Excitement enough to intrigue the most hardened reader.”—Newark News “Mounting suspense on every page.”—Houston Chronicle “It’s superlative, everything such a story should be...One can only beg for more from Mr. Fleming.”—Pensacola News-Journal

Modern man Mike de Wolf gets stranded in a pirate adventure being written by his friend Horace Hackett and finds himself fighting for his life as the villainous Miguel de Lobo, while trying to figure out how to extricate himself from Horace's fatal plot.

‘On November 2nd armed with a sheaf of visas...one suitcase...and my typewriter, I left humdrum London for the thrilling cities of the world...’ In 1959, Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, was commissioned by the Sunday Times to explore fourteen of the world’s most exotic cities. Fleming saw it all with a thriller writer’s eye. From Hong Kong to Honolulu, New York to Naples, he left the bright main streets for the back alleys, abandoning tourist sites in favour of underground haunts, and mingling with celebrities, gangsters and geishas. The result is a series of vivid snapshots of a mysterious, vanished world.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the story of a magical transforming car that helps a family to foil a group of gangsters. It is the only children’s novel by Ian Fleming, the British author best known for the James Bond stories. The novel was dedicated to his son, though Fleming died before it was published. Penguin Random House Canada is proud to bring you classic works of literature in ebook form, with the highest quality production values. Find more today and rediscover books you never knew you loved.

Named a New York Times Best Book to Give The world’s greatest detective, Hercule Poirot—legendary star of Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile—returns to solve a delectably twisty mystery in this “masterful and multi-layered puzzle...adding a new dimension to a much-loved series” (NPR). “Yet again, the diminutive man with the little gray cells delivers the goods.” —Wall Street Journal Hercule Poirot is traveling by luxury passenger coach from London to the exclusive Kingfisher Hill estate. Richard Devonport has summoned the renowned detective to prove that his fiancée, Helen, is innocent of the murder of his brother, Frank. Poirot will have only days to investigate before Helen is hanged, but there is one strange condition attached: he must conceal his true reason for being there from the rest of the Devonport family. The coach is forced to stop when a distressed woman demands to get off, insisting that if she stays in her seat, she will be murdered. Although the rest of the journey passes without anyone being harmed, Poirot’s curiosity is aroused, and his fears are later confirmed when a body is discovered with a macabre note attached . . . Could this new murder and the peculiar incident on the coach be clues to solving the mystery of who killed Frank Devonport? And if Helen is innocent, can Poirot find the true culprit in time to save her from the gallows?