The Man with the Golden Job

Charlie Higson, still perhaps best known to adults for his comedy, has for the past three years been responsible for the Young James Bond series of novels and judging by the number of children who arrived to see him speak yesterday, it would seem Higson has found himself a whole new audience.

Not that Bond, didn’t have an audience already. The estate of Ian Fleming, apparently impressed with the success of Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider novels, realised they could be doing the same with their super spy. So, in 2005, Silverfin the first of five books by Higson was published. The fifth By Royal Command is due to arrive in September.

In a talk that was primarily for da kidz, Higson outlined the life and career of Ian Fleming, about whom the Imperial War Museum will be running a centenary celebration later this year. Fleming had written the Bond novels after a career as a spy and assassin in MI6. He had achieved Double O status after kills in New York and Norway and had realised his life was one amazing adventure. The James Bond books have gone on to sell over 100 million copies worldwide, not to mention the 27 movies… However it’s for the Bond books that Higson’s purpose was to connect with, not the movies. Therefore the Young Bond is relatively gadget-free. The action of the book is set in the 1930s prior to Bond’s initial action with the SIS during World War 2. Most interestingly, Higson points out the only source material he had to go on was an obituary printed in You Only Live Twice which only gives small tidbits of information. Bond’s parents were killed in a climbing accident when he was aged 11 (a godsend, claimed Higson, kids can’t have adventures when Mum is wiping dirt of their faces with a tissue), he went to stay with an Aunt who sent him to Eton. After two terms Bond was expelled for an ‘incident’ involving a maid at the school and was sent to Fetters for the rest of his education. Higson points out that Eton’s current most famous son is David Cameron, while Tony Blair attended Fetters. Bond should have gone into politics.

The ‘incident with the maid’ (which Fleming no doubt had an adult connotation, Higson will deal with it as a matter of national security in his new book) highlights one of the problems faced by Higson while writing the Young Bond books, that Bond is a very adult character. He drinks, he smokes, he drives fast cars, he kills people and he sleeps with lots of women. Sex is something of a no-no as far as the Young Bond books are concerned, parents don’t want kids reading about it, kids don’t want to read it anyway. However the more violent death there is the better. To Higson’s credit he has tried to bring a 1930s Bond into the 21st century. His female characters are not simply evil or Bond bed-fodder, they are there to act as foils for the young James who really is only beginning to take a passing interest in the opposite sex.

Higson went on to reveal the merest hint of melancholy that Young Bond had taken over his life and while being a writer was a truly fantastic job, getting paid to use your imagination, Higson did say that you look back on a year and wonder what exactly you’ve done with it and who you’ve seen, hunched forever over the computer in a small room.

It’s not all bad though, as part of the Fleming centenary, the Imperial War Museum sent Higson to Jamaica to stay at Fleming’s house where the original books were written.

“Who can tell me what the name of Ian Fleming’s house is?” Higson asked his captive audience.

Silence descended on the room. Children shuffled nervously. Adults brows were furrowed. Suddenly I was back in class competing with all the other pupils.

“Goldeneye!” I called from my seat, which was at least fifteen rows back.

Mr Higson looked up and then fixed me with his best Paddington Bear stare, put his fingers to his lips and said: “Shh!”

He readdressed the question to the audience.

I shrank back in my seat dreadfully embarrassed. I’d a) deprived some child of the chance to appease their favourite author, b) proved what a huge Bond nerd I was and c) been put in my place by a member of The Fast Show.

Thank god the Doctor Who event is on Saturday after I’ve left. Then I’d really be in trouble.