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From James Bond’s violent assassinations to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang This work is a derivative of "12th August 1964 - Death of Ian Fleming" by Bradford Timeline is marked with CC BY-NC 2.0. Though perhaps his name is not as instantly recognisable as other successful authors, Ian Fleming’s work is some of the most successful of all time. He is the writer of the James Bond books which have since been developed into a high-grossing film series and also Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, a children’s book which has also been adapted for the big screen. Ian Fleming himself was born in 1908 into a wealthy family which lived in Mayfair. He was not particularly academic at school, and was moved around by his family who wanted to get the best out of him. Once an adult, the similarities between Fleming, and his world-renowned character, James Bond, become clear. Upon the start of the Second World War, Fleming was recruited to become the personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, a role which resulted in him being commissioned into the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. He rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander during his time there. In 1942 he formed a unit of commandos, composed of specialist intelligence troops, who worked to seize enemy intelligence. His unit eventually grew to having around 150 troops. Fleming’s time in the military was clearly a formative period in his life, as both James Bond, and Caractacus Pott (the father in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) were both formerly Royal Naval Commanders. During his time working in the military, it was noted that Fleming expressed a desire to write a spy novel. Post-war Fleming became the foreign manager in the newspaper group which owned The Sunday Times. This gave him the opportunity to take three months’ holiday every year, which he took in Jamaica. Much of this was spent on the Goldeneye Estate, a place which a later James Bond film took its name from. The first novel Fleming wrote was Casino Royale. Despite initial difficulty in persuading the publishers Jonathan Cape to print it, once it was okayed in 1953, three print runs were actually needed to cope with demand! The main character of the novel, Bond, was inspired by a variety of sources. Fleming decided that he should resemble good looking celebrities such as the singer Hoagy Carmichael, as well as himself. There were further elements of Fleming’s own personality which filtered through to Bond’s: his taste for scrambled eggs, and the use of the same brand of toiletries, for example. More profound inspiration for Bond’s character was found in all the secret service personnel Fleming encountered during his time in the Navy. The knowledge on espionage that he gained during this time was also clearly also useful in writing such a convincing spy novel. Following the success of the first, Fleming wrote a further eleven Bond novels, and two short story collections. Even after Fleming’s untimely death in 1964 (aged just 56), the strength of the character he’d created meant that eight other authors have subsequently written authorised Bond novels. Most recently, this has been Anthony Horowitz; the next of his Bond novels, With a Mind to Kill, is set to be released later this year. Fleming’s brilliance is further emphasised through the overwhelming success of James Bond films which are now the fifth-highest-grossing film series of all time. Many of the actors who play Bond, such as Sean Connery and Daniel Craig, are now best known for their portrayals of Fleming’s famous character. There have now been 25 Bond films produced, with the most recent coming out last year. Although the storyline has had to be extended from what Fleming could write in his lifetime, his inspiration is still seen. For example, in his book Thunderball, Bond fights against the terrorist organisation, ‘Spectre’. This is echoed in the 2015 film named Spectre. On top of this, Ian Fleming’s work has been adapted for television, radio, comics, and even video games! Fleming’s style of writing in these novels has been praised. It was said by Raymond Benson (who later wrote some of the authorised Bond novels) that by Thunderball – published in 1961 – he was ‘a master storyteller’. It is recognised that Fleming’s journalistic beginnings helped him to progress the narrative quickly, without dragging it out. This, along with the hooks at the end of every chapter, help to engage readers. It’s clear that Fleming’s most renowned novels are still a success today, particularly through the continuing adaptations they have encouraged. Fleming’s other notable work is the children’s book, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. In a similar way to the Bond series, he is sometimes forgotten as the creator, again due to the success of the film adaptation. The book centres around a car, named ‘Chitty Chitty Bang Bang’ (called that due to the noise it makes). Throughout the book, the car slowly gains the ability to take independent actions, often rescuing the family in times of need and helping them to do good in defeating the gangsters. Ian Fleming’s children’s book was published in 1961, at the height of the success of his James Bond series. Just as in the Bond series, Fleming took inspiration from his own life. The car in this book was somewhat based on his own Standard Tourer, which he drove in the 1920s. Similarly, one of the children in the novel was called Jemima, named after a previous boss’ daughter. It was clearly a brave step for the already-successful author to take. It was somewhat of a turn away from his more adult spy novels, though they share the element of adventure. Nonetheless, the review upon release was overwhelmingly positive. One reviewer in The Times actually commented that this was a perfect novel for ‘junior Bonds-men’. The strength of the story is again reflected by the fact it was later turned into a film, starring Dick van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes. It's undeniable that Fleming had the ability to write a great story. Though the fame has slightly been stolen from him by the production of films, it’s important to acknowledge him as the mastermind behind these well-loved tales. If you want to read more articles from Writer's Path, please go to our home page and subscribe to our emailing list. Our articles will come straight into your inbox. #ianfleming #Britishwriters #jamesbond #literaryarticles #literarylondon #writerspath #007 #Britishnovelist #ianlancasterfleming #spynovels #jamesbondseries #chittychittybangbang #jamesbondbooks #spybooks

The London home of famous English novelist Charles Dickens. Charles Dickens, who lived from 1812 to 1870, is indisputably the most famous Victorian author. His writings are powerfully evocative of the Victorian era in which he was writing, making them popular at the time of publication, as well as today. He wrote over fifteen novels and short stories, including A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Nicholas Nickleby, A Christmas Carol, The Pickwick Papers, Little Dorrit and Great Expectations. Charles Dickens lived in this house from 1837 to 1839; he finished The Pickwick Papers, wrote Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby and started Barnaby Rudge during this time. Now, the house serves as a museum which includes Dickens’ writing desk. The blue plaque can be found at the entrance of the museum. 🔵 Visit the Charles Dickens Museum and witness the life of one of the greatest writers of all time. You can also attend some tours and exhibitions, but as usual, it’s best to check the website for dates and times. https://dickensmuseum.com/ 📍48 Doughty Street, Holborn, London, WC1N 2LX 🚆 The nearest station is Russell Square Underground Station. if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #CharlesDickens #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #visitlondon #famouswriters #englishwriters #CharlesDickensMuseum #writerspath #writershouse #writerslife #CharlesDickensLondonhome #victorianera #victoriannovelists

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish writer born in 1850. He came from a family of engineers, studying engineering at the University of Edinburgh himself (although he found no interest in it!). He also read Law thereafter his father encouraged him to have something to fall back on if his career in writing was to dwindle. Stevenson’s childhood was more troublesome, though, as he was plagued by illnesses and infections every winter. This led to him looking rather gangly, which alongside his eccentric personality, made him an easy target for bullying at school. However, the periods of homeschooling that he had to endure because of his sickliness enabled him to spend hours writing, often with a nurse as his scribe, and this is undoubtedly where he got his love of writing from, so may not have been all that bad! Stevenson’s illnesses continued throughout his life. This was not aided by the fact he was constantly unsettled, moving back and forth between France, England, and America, having to take long journeys to get there and back. However, it was during his later years (not that he was old at all, as he died aged 44) that his popular writings began to take shape. When Stevenson lived in Bournemouth – being mostly bedridden – the writing of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, often shortened to just Jekyll and Hyde, began after he dreamt the story. Due to his illness – and in the absence of anything else meaningful to do – Stevenson wrote the first draft of the story in less than a week. This was also helped by his cocaine binge! He had supposedly been prescribed it to treat his haemorrhage, as it tightens blood vessels, but it undoubtedly sped his work rate up a tad! Jekyll and Hyde is a Gothic novella, and arguably his most famous work. It is a large contributor to making Stevenson the 26th most-translated author in history. The novella is centred around an investigation about the strange and brutal things being done by an evil and unnatural man, including the trampling of a young girl, and the beating of an old man to death. The man investigating – a lawyer named Utterson – gradually begins to uncover confusing things about his good friend Dr Jekyll, who was mysteriously absent from public life for several months. The cornerstone of the story is at the end, though, where it is shockingly revealed that Jekyll and Hyde are the same person, being converted by Dr Jekyll’s potion. They represent the good and evil within human nature respectively. This reflects Stevenson’s belief in the duality of human nature: there is a good and a bad side in everyone. This duality may have come from Stevenson’s own duality in his youth, as despite living a relatively affluent life, he developed a bohemian side, and could often be found in cheap pubs and brothels. Jekyll and Hyde was published in 1886, and towards the end of the 19th century, the notion of the fin-de-siècle was raging, and the book is very much a product of this time. People believed that the Victorian values that society was supposed to stand for were being threatened. Hyde’s abhorrent behaviour is demonstrative of these ideas, as he became addicted to the evil side of his personality. Moreover, the creation of this potion is emblematic of the rampant scientific development through the 19th century, which scared many people. They thought that technology and science could be threatening for humanity, and even characters in the book express this view. Dr Lanyon and Dr Jekyll disagree over this point, with Lanyon saying that Jekyll’s work is ‘scientific balderdash’, and Jekyll retorting that Lanyon is a ‘pedant’. The tensions at the end of the 19th century don’t stop there, though, as Darwin’s theory of evolution was also hugely influential. Society’s moral degradation, expressed through this book, also ties in with the idea of evolutionary regress – the reversal of Darwin’s theory. Some scientists in the 19th century believed that humanity was turning back the clock, suggesting we may again become “savages”. The final scientific theme which influenced Stevenson’s Jekyll and Hyde is physiognomy, theorised by criminologists such as Cesare Lombroso. This theory argues that you can tell a person’s character by their physical appearance. For example, Utterson – the narrator in Jekyll and Hyde – reports that ‘there is something wrong with [Hyde’s] appearance’. Therefore, it’s clear that scientific and social themes in the late 19th century had a huge impact on Robert Louis Stevenson. However, his liking for new theories, and debating ideas stretched a long way back, as during the time of his first degree at Edinburgh University, which he was totally uninterested in, he instead devoted a lot of his time to The Speculative Society. This was a club formed to allow for open discussion and debate of new ideas, showing how Stevenson enjoyed it back then. However, Jekyll and Hyde could be read more as a warning against unchecked scientific progress. In my article on H.G. Wells, a similar point was explored with the Martians, and in Stevenson’s work, the damage that the ‘potion’ does to just one man is brutally clear. Despite everyone’s valiant efforts, Jekyll is usurped by Hyde. This suggests that Stevenson’s novel warns against many different factors such as moral and social regress, and impetuous scientific progression. Just like Shelley’s Frankenstein, the Gothic nature of Jekyll and Hyde projects the gloom of this eventuality onto its readers. But this warning did not deter its reading; it was hugely popular as soon as it was released. As well as being turned into a play within a year, it was also the subject of church services and religious newspaper articles. This shows the power of the message that Stevenson was sending. Therefore, it’s clear that The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is an influential book. It addressed so many contemporary theories about science and humanity; even though they are alien today, it’s still fascinating to discover what was believed then. The obscurity of the story is also interesting, and was undoubtedly fuelled by the strange situation in which the book was written. Nonetheless, this makes the book all the better to read – it’s very short, so there’s no excuse for not giving it a go! If you want to read more articles from Writer's Path, please go to our home page and subscribe to our emailing list. Our articles will come straight into your inbox. #robertlouisstevenson #Scottishwriters #jekyllandhyde #literaryarticles #literarylondon #writerspath #thestrangecaseofdrjekyllandmrhyde #Scottishnovelist #victorianera #gothicnovels #sciencefiction #psychologicalthriller #mysterynovella #goodandevil #doppelgangerliterature

This is the house where Kipling lived from 1889 to 1891, and a blue plaque can be found on the building. 🔵 Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was best known for writing The Jungle Book – later to become a hugely successful Disney film; he was an English journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist. 📖 Kipling is also acclaimed as the pioneer of the art of short story. He was born in India and the inspiration he drew from that culture is evidenced in many of his works. Kipling wrote several other successful stories, such as Just So Stories, Kim, The Man Who Would Be King, Mandalay, Gunga Din, The Gods of the Copybook Headings, The White Man's Burden and If—. In 1907, Kipling was also the first English writer to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. 🏆 📍43 Villiers Street, Charing Cross, London, WC2N 6NE The nearest station is Embankment Underground Station. 🚆 if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #rudyardkipling #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #visitlondon #famouswriters #englishwriters #kiplinghousec#noblprizeinliterature

Bram Stoker (1847-1912) was born on this day (8th of November) in 1847. 🎂 Abraham Stoker, widely known as Bram Stoker, was an Irish writer. ✍🏻 He was also a manager and personal assistant of the actor, Sir Henry Irving. One of Stoker’s most popular works is the Gothic horror novel, Dracula and whilst he wrote twelve novels in total, none of them could match the success of Dracula. 🧛🏼‍♂️ He was also friends with Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, William Butler Yeats and Oscar Wilde, the latter friendship being significant due to the fight between the two men over Florence Balcome, Stoker’s wife. #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #bramstoker #visitlondon #literarymapoflondon #irishwriters #irishauthors #dracula #authorofdracula #writerbirthdays #onthisdayinhistory #gothicnovels #gothicstory

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) was an American writer, poet and literary critic. Some of his well-known works include The Raven, The Cask of Amontillado, The Masque of the Red Death, The Fall of the House of Usher, Metzengerstein and The Gold Bug. Poe was a pupil at the Manor House School from 1817 to 1820, which stood on this site. While you are at the site, if you look up you will see a white bust of Poe on the first floor. Also, there is a memorial plaque can be found here. 📍172 Stoke Newington Church St, Stoke Newington, London N16 0JL The nearest station is Stoke Newington Rail Station. 🚆 if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #edgarallanpoe #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #visitlondon #famouswriters #americanwriters #americanpoets #inventorofthedetectivefiction

Oldest pub in Chelsea 🍻 Even though the Cross Keys pub has been around for over 300 years, I only found out about it yesterday. It is Chelsea's oldest pub, established in 1708, and – unlike many – its name has never changed. The Cross Keys has a very strong connection with literature and the area has always been a popular place for many famous writers: just across the road, there is impressive Carlyle Mansions, which is nicknamed the "Writer's Block". The street’s name comes from Scottish historian, Thomas Carlyle, who had a great influence on Charles Dickens. Carlyle and his wife arrived from Scotland in 1834 and settled, for the rest of their lives, at 24 Cheyne Row. Although it is now temporarily closed, their house now serves as a museum. I gathered several bits of interesting information from my trip to the Cross Keys Pub: American author, Henry James, lived at Number 19 Carlyle Mansions just across the street. The famous poet, T. S Eliot, occupied Number 24 from 1946 to 1957 and his bedroom was immediately beneath the room where Henry James died. Another exciting find for me was that the British writer, Ian Flemming – well know as the creator of James Bond – also lived there in the 1950s. The author and politician, Erskine Childers, lived at Number 10. His most famous work is the spy novel, The Riddle of the Sands. It was about German plans for an invasion of Britain, written in 1903 (concerningly prophetic!). Finally, English playwright and novelist Somerset Maugham lived in Flat 27. Obviously, it seems the area has always been very popular with writers! This helps to explain just why the pub was so popular with them in particular. Both Dylan Thomas, and Agatha Christie enjoyed a few pints at the Cross Keys. The pub is not only famous by its literary visitors, though. English romantic painter, William Turner, American artists, John Singer Sargent and James McNeill Whistler, and Jamaican singer and songwriter, Bob Marley, were among the happy customers. There is a memorial plaque that can be found on the building which is undoubtedly a signficant literary landmark in London. 📍1 Lawrence St, London SW3 5NB The nearest station is South Kensington Underground Station. 🚆⁠ ⁠ If you want to read more articles from Writer's Path, please go to our home page and subscribe to our emailing list. Our articles will come straight into your inbox. #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #londonpubs #visitlondon #literarymapoflondon #visitchelsea #pubsoflondon #pubsofchelsea #literarypubs #publife #chelseapub #thecrosskeyspub

We have added Foyles in Charing Cross to our literary map of London. Foyles Bookseller's history goes more than a hundred years, founded in 1903. According to the Guinness Book of Records, Foyles in Charing Cross Road was the largest bookstore with a 48 km shelf length. Foyles is a must-visit bookstore in London. You can lose the sense of time while you are there. 📍107 Charing Cross Rd, London WC2H 0DT The nearest station is Tottenham Court Road Underground Station. 🚆 if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #foyles #foylesincharingcross #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #londonbooksellers #visitlondon #londonbookshops #bookshopping #foylesbookshop #bookshopsinlondon #foylesbookstore

The book rescued from the wreckage Animal Farm was originally published on this day (17th of August) in 1945. While George Orwell was living at 10a Mortimer Crescent, he began writing Animal Farm. But his house was destroyed by a V-1 flying bomb. Although Orwell feared he had lost the manuscript, he returned to the ruins of the house and dug it up out of the wreckage. Under the pen name of George Orwell, Eric Arthur Blair (1903-1950) was a hugely successful English novelist, political essayist and journalist, known for his left-wing, anti-totalitarian views. Orwell wrote six novels, and most of them were semi-autobiographical. Apart from Animal Farm, Some of his other best-known works were Nineteen Eighty-Four, Homage to Catalonia and Down and Out in Paris and London. f you want to read more blog posts from Writer's Path, please go to our home page and subscribe to our emailing list. Our blog posts will come straight into your inbox. #georgeorwell #animalfarmgeorgeorwell #animalfarmnovel #englishwriters #longliveanimalfarm #animalfarmafairystory #politicalsatire #allegoricalnovellla

Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822) was born on this day (4 August) in 1792. 🎂 Shelley was an English Romantic poet, dramatist, essayist and novelist; his theories of economics and morality influenced Karl Marx and many others. Some of his notable works were Ozymandias, Ode to the West Wind, To a Skylark, Music, When Soft Voices Die, The Cloud, The Cenci, Queen Mab, Alastor, Adonaïs, Prometheus Unbound and Hellas: A Lyrical Drama. Shelley’s wife – Mary – was also a hugely successful author in her own right (writing lauded works such as Frankenstein). #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #percyshelley #visitlondon #literarymapoflondon #poets #englishpoets #iromanticpoets

Daniel Defoe (1660-1731) was an English trader, writer and also spy. He was a prolific writer who explored many different forms of writing. He produced more than three hundred works in the form of books, pamphlets, and journals. Despite all his works, Defoe is best known for writing Robinson Crusoe; this book is so popular that it is the second most translated book (after the Bible). Robinson Crusoe also contributed to the publication and popularity of the novel in Great Britain. His other important works were Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the Plague Year, Colonel Jack, Moll Flanders and Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress. Daniel Defoe lived in a house on this site. There is a blue plaque -erected in 1932- that can be found at the site. 🔵 📍95 Stoke Newington Church St, Stoke Newington, London N16 0LA The nearest station is Stoke Newington Rail Station. 🚆 if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #danieldefoe #visitlondon #literarymapoflondon #robinsoncrusoe #pubsoflondon #islanlife #castaway #robinsoncrusoeisland #englishliterature #englishwriters #robinsonade #robinsonandfriday #englishnovel

Although the history of this location dates back more than 800 years, the Anchor was first established in 1616. Its literary importance is very pronounced: Samuel Johnson and Oliver Goldsmith were among the patrons. Dr Samuel Johnson, the single and most quoted English writer after William Shakespeare, was a poet, playwright, essayist, critic, moralist, biographer, editor and lexicographer. He also wrote A dictionary of the English Language. A copy of Dr Samuel Johnson’s dictionary is now on display in the Anchor Bankside Pub. In May 1773, Joshua Reynolds (Artist), Oliver Goldsmith (Irish Poet), David Garrick (Author of Heart of oak are our ships), and Edmund Burke (Irish Stateman) dined at the Anchor. The Anchor is also the place where diarist, Samuel Pepys, saw the Great Fire of London in 1666. He wrote that he took refuge in "a little alehouse on bankside ... and there watched the fire grow". The original Globe Theater was a local landmark, and it was not far from the Anchor. One can assume without hesitation that William Shakespeare also enjoyed an ale or two at the Anchor. 📍34 Park St, London SE1 9EF The nearest station is London Bridge Underground Station 🚆 if you want to find more hidden literary gems in London visit our Writer's Path Map https://www.writerspath.co.uk/map 👈⁠⁠ ⁠ #literarylondonmap #literarylondon #londonpubs #visitlondon #literarymapoflondon #anchorbankside #pubsoflondon #pubsofsouthwark #literarypubs #publife #riversidepubs #pubsofthames