CommanderBond.net

UPDATE (10 October 2005): Mystery solved.

IFP Declassifies 'The Moneypenny Diaries'
"[The book] is and has always been an official IFP project"

UPDATE (4 October 2005)

'The Moneypenny Diaries' Published
Mysterious new book now shipping

UPDATE (28 August 2005)

'The Moneypenny Diaries' Cleared for Release
IFP greenlights John Murray's Moneypenny trilogy

MAJOR UPDATE (July 6, 2005): Looks like you made a very interesting discovery, Trempo. Today we have the official info.

'The Moneypenny Diaries' Declassified
First book in a new trilogy of Miss (Jane) Moneypenny novels

A very big thank you to Brian Smith of Bond and Beyond -- the best place to buy James Bond merchandise both old and new -- for this terrific scoop!

On the "amazon.co.uk" site is a book by Kate Westbrook called "Guardian Angel". It has the ISBN 0719567416
On the German amazon site (amazon.de) the book with these ISBN has the title "Moneypenny Diaries The Secret Diarise of Miss Moneypenny".
Unfortunately I couldn't find any further information about the book or the author.
Here are the links.
English: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...3336792-2248464

German: http://www.amazon.de/exec/obidos/ASIN/0719...3139520-3012044

--28 August 2005 Update--

What the IFP had to say:

“There has always been conjecture that James Bond novels may not have been strictly fictional and we have therefore read Westbrook’s book with a great deal of interest,” said Corrine Turner, IFP’s managing director.

“We always take protection of our intellectual property seriously and, in normal circumstances, would have stopped this book. However, after detailed negotiations with John Murray we have reached an agreement to allow this project to receive the public attention it deserves.”

Turner added: “If this is fiction then it is very hard to tell the difference between fact and fiction. It’s very well put together. We were certainly led to believe by the publishers that there was a real Miss Moneypenny.”

Read the full story here: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,...53997_2,00.html

This post has been edited by zencat: 10 October 2005 - 19:12

I'll be darned. Same publisher as the new Beside Companion. Is this another of those many IFP projects? Will Bond be an active character in this? Maybe the Fleming books told from Moneypenny's point of view?

Nice find, Trempo.

I'll see if I can get more info from IFP.

Hmmm.... having branched out into children's books, is IFP now targeting the chick lit/Bridget Jones crowd, I wonder?

Just found this online. Nonfiction? Could this be a sort of Pearson-like Bio of Miss Moneypenny?

In nonfiction there's a new memoir by James Frey and a book called War Reporting for Cowards by Chris Ayres, as well as a book called, intriguingly, The Moneypenny Diaries, anonymously composed by someone purporting to be James Bond's celebrated secretary at MI5.

I don't know... Miss Moneypenny didn't have much of a role in the novel series. Seems rather odd to me. Perhaps this is something about the films?

This post has been edited by K1Bond007: 11 May 2005 - 16:29

It's also possible this is not an IFP project...just someone using the name Miss Moneypenny in a metaphorical way. The anonymous bio of an intelligence service secretary maybe? After all, our Bond and Penny didn't work for MI5. And why the title Guardian Angel in the UK?

I assumed the MI5 thing to be a typo, but you're probably right.

I think you are right Zencat. I bet they used the title in other countries but renamed it for the UK market so they wouldn't get sued.

There seems to be quite a bit going on, and my wish list over at Amazon.co.uk is getting out of hand. What does a guy have to do to get a straight Bond novel, with no gimmicks, set in the correct time period? Come on, IFP.

The correct time period being the '50s, the mid- or late- '60s (after "The Man With the Golden Gun" or "Colonel Sun") or the present day, clinkeroo?

Loomis,

I think we're both strong believers in this one. Bond belongs in his own environment; 50's to late 60's all the way. If we go with Fleming, Bond had three or so missions a year of the type he liked. That would leave a large palette to paint with.

Agreed. I just wondered whether you were calling for more Bond novels set in today's world, since I believe you like the Bensons, and maybe you were disappointed by "SilverFin".

Yes, I did like the Benson's, and I was somewhat disappointed in Silverfin, but not due to setting issues. I liked Benson because of his pacing, his plotting, and his spot on portrayals of the set characters (excluding Marc-Ange). Silverfin disappointed me due to issues that Higson couldn't control (those being the fruits of a flawed concept). Bond, even as a child, would not be an appropriate character for children's novels. Higson did an admirable job of walking the line, making the story and characters as edgy as possible, but at the end of the day, it just isn't Bond without booze, broads, and heaps of death.

I'm not much for gimmicky approaches to classic characters, unless executed by the character's creator. I didn't like Pearson's "Biography," I didn't like the movie-related aspects of Benson's work, and I don't like the idea of a youthful, blanched and bland Bond going on Harry Potter-esque school days adventures no matter how many copies they sell. The concept of a Pearson-style Moneypenny version of Bridget Jones sends chills down what's left of my spine. I'll give anything Bond a chance, though, so I'll fork over the cash and hope for the best.

This post has been edited by clinkeroo: 12 May 2005 - 04:15