202 replies to this topic

[Trempo]

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...3336792-2248464

German: http://www.amazon.de...3139520-3012044

[box]

--28 August 2005 Update--

What the IFP had to say:

Edited by zencat, 10 October 2005 - 07:12 PM.

[zencat]

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.

[Loomis]

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

[zencat]

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.

[K1Bond007]

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?

Edited by K1Bond007, 11 May 2005 - 04:29 PM.

[zencat]

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?

[K1Bond007]

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.

[doublenoughtspy]

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.

[clinkeroo]

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.

[Loomis]

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?

[clinkeroo]

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.

[Loomis]

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".

[clinkeroo]

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.

Edited by clinkeroo, 12 May 2005 - 04:15 AM.

[Hitch]

Clinkeroo...don't you mean fork left for hell?

[clinkeroo]

Clinkeroo...don't you mean fork left for hell?

Or stick a fork in me, I'm done.

[Qwerty]

Pretty cool!

[Xenia's Ferrari]

sure this is a bond book? i think we would have heard anything about it before it showing up on amazon. yes?

[Melanie]

Author Information

Kate Westbrook

Kate Westbrook was born in 1970 in Cambridge. She has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School, Harvard and a PhD in Modern History from the University of Cambridge, where she is currently a junior lecturer in the History Faculty. She has lived and travelled widely in Africa and Latin America

and yet another title !?

The Money Penny Papers

Source

[zencat]

Author Information

Kate Westbrook

Kate Westbrook was born in 1970 in Cambridge. She has a Masters Degree in Public Policy from the Kennedy School, Harvard and a PhD in Modern History from the University of Cambridge, where she is currently a junior lecturer in the History Faculty. She has lived and travelled widely in Africa and Latin America

and yet another title !?

The Money Penny Papers

Source

Nice find, Melanie.

Still no word from IFP on this.

[zencat]

I heard back from IFP who thanked us for "bringing this to their attention" and that they were "looking into it." Unless they are being coy (and I don't think they are), looks like this book has nothing to do with IFP and it not anything official. Glad we didn't jump the gun and "announce" this.

[Qwerty]

Glad we didn't jump the gun and "announce" this.

Quite.

http://www.commander...es/2781-1.shtml

Be interesting to see eventually what this book actually is about.

[zencat]

Hold the phone, folks! Looks like this book is for real Thanks to Brian Smith of Bond and Beyond, we have the cover art and book details.

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

[bryonalston]

So her first name is Jane, eh? I thought it would be as lustrous as her last name. Oh well.

[Qwerty]

Sweet! Yet another book to collect this year!

[zencat]

And she died in 1990!

[bryonalston]

Who died in 1990? Moneypenny? How do you know?

[zencat]

Who died in 1990? Moneypenny? How do you know?

It's in the book description in the main page article...

From her colonial childhood in Kenya to her death in 1990, Jane Moneypenny led an extraordinary, clandestine life.

[Qwerty]

And she died in 1990! 

[TheSaint]

Moneypenny having something to do with the Cuban Missile Crisis? WRONG!
It never happened.

With that one sentence, any interest I might've had in this book has evaporated.

[K1Bond007]

I'm rather turned off on the whole thing since Moneypenny wasn't really a Fleming thing. She was M's secretary and was barely involved at all in the novels (not even remotely close to the films). Should have been Ponsonby or Goodnight. They had much larger roles and actually communicated with Bond.

Seems pretty stupid to me.