Turbott Wolfe and James Bond

William Plomer's début novel, Turbott Wolfe, had a profound effect on Ian Fleming. Fleming read the book in 1926 as a teenager and was so impressed by it that he wrote a fan letter to Plomer. The two struck up a friendship, and in time Plomer became Fleming's literary editor.  

Turbott Wolfe was so crucial to Fleming's career as a novelist that it is not unreasonable to suggest that had Fleming not read the book, Casino Royale might never have been published by Jonathan Cape, and the publication history of the Bond books would have been very different.

In an article published on the excellent Artistic License Renewed site, an art and literary James Bond blog and tribute to Richard Chopping, I discuss the connection between Turbott Wolfe and James Bond, and consider what it was about the novel that impressed Fleming so much.

Click on the link to read the article, Ian Fleming and William Plomer's Turbott Wolfe.