The World of Bond and Maigret

"I invent the most hopeless sounding plots; very often they are based on something I've read in a newspaper. And people say, 'Oh, this is all nonsense'-and then the Russians come along in Germany and shoot people with potassium cyanide pistols."

Between them, Ian Fleming and Georges Simenon created two of the best-known heroes of modern fiction. In this illuminating dialogue, the authors who gave us James Bond and Jules Maigret discuss (among other things) their approaches to the craft of writing, the origins of their characters' names, and the critical reception of their novels. It is essential reading for admirers of either man's work.

Auteur

Ian Fleming (1908-64) spent much of the Second World War working on high-level intelligence operations and went on to draw upon this experience in his subsequent career as a spy novelist. His 1952 novel Casino Royale saw the first appearance of James Bond.