23 replies to this topic

[Mister Asterix]

Fantastically interesting article from Jeremy Duns.

Rest In Peace

_{Jeremy Duns uncovers Geoffrey Jenkins' hidden tribute to Ian Fleming.}

[Qwerty]

An incredibly interesting and well-researched article, Mr. Duns. I definitely must give this Hunter-Killer a read.

[wattenscheid09]

Wow. Finally. Does that mean I have to subscribe now?? Argh?

Edited by wattenscheid09, 16 March 2006 - 05:23 AM.

[Qwerty]

Wow. Finally. Does that mean I have to subscribe now?? Argh?

You should definitely pick up KKBB #2.

[wattenscheid09]

Done. Am a subsciber now.

[marktmurphy]

That really is a fantastic piece- well done.

[Bon-san]

Don't have the magazine yet, but from the CBn article, and the discussion thread in the Literature section, I am already blown away by spynovelfan's heroic investigative journalism.

And as I have now seen Mr. Asterix' rendering of the PFO cover, I can honestly say that Evan is a genius, genius, genius.


Thanks to you both for the contributions to fandom, scholarship and the arts.

[ACE]

Don't have the magazine yet, but from the CBn article, and the discussion thread in the Literature section, I am already blown away by spynovelfan's heroic investigative journalism.

And as I have now seen Mr. Asterix' rendering of the PFO cover, I can honestly say that Evan is a genius, genius, genius.


Thanks to you both for the contributions to fandom, scholarship and the arts.

That's putting it mildly Bon-San, but I second the motion, motion carried!

Jeremy Duns' work as an investigative James Bond Journalist is without peer in the history of Bond fandom (well, with the exception of John Cork!). He should be carried aloft by Bond fans in a sedan chair. At the very least.

Seriously, I cannot remember a time when an article (in the magazine and on the net) has shed so much light on a subject previously hidden in plain sight.

And Evan Willnow's stunning creation of a dust jacket for this gem in the style of Richard Chopping is nothing less than Art with a capital "A".

[spynovelfan]

Thanks, all.

I think Evan's dustjacket is stunning, and the more I look at it the better it gets. The story of how he did it is fascinating, too. I'm in awe of his talent, and immensely grateful to him.

And, not to make this too much of a sickening love-in , but I realise I haven't yet publicly thanked ACE. He gave me some really valuable and needed guidance, worked his socks off to do this justice (which I think he did), and gave me the space I needed to get everything we could down for posterity. He deserves any credit going.

This little snippet I nearly missed completely, because I initially thought it had been inspired by YOLT and didn't really think it through. I suddenly twigged one day that it had been published the year before!

[doublenoughtspy]

Thanks, all.

This little snippet I nearly missed completely, because I initially thought it had been inspired by YOLT and didn't really think it through. I suddenly twigged one day that it had been published the year before!

According to Rubin, Dahl was working on the YOLT script in Dec 65.

Harold Jack Bloom was working on it before that.

I know you weren't accusing anyone of borrowing anything - just noting a rather amazing coincedence.

Based on the letter that Jenkins sent to the accountant - I would assume the manuscript was completed and at least a synopsis was sent to 20th Century in January or February.

So that it appears that the idea of fake burial at sea were sprung in two writers on different continents approximately around the same time, though I would certainly grant that book development, with it's editorial process takes much longer than script development, and that Jenkins most likely had the idea first.

What I wonder if there was some news item or event that might have happened that possibly sparked two people to come up with the similar idea in that time period.

I haven't examined any early YOLT drafts so I can't tell you if Bloom or Dahl or some other writer came up with the idea on the Eon side.

[spynovelfan]

I know you weren't accusing anyone of borrowing anything - just noting a rather amazing coincedence.

Indeed. I just found it fascinating. And I think it shows that Jenkins was capable of coming up with very Bond-ish - and filmable - ideas.

[Sir Miles]

Seriously, I cannot remember a time when an article (in the magazine and on the net) has shed so much light on a subject previously hidden in plain sight.

Can't really add more than that !

All of us that enjoy the literary side of Bond owe a great debt to Mr. Duns for his tireless work on this subject - I wish him every success in his efforts to track down a complete version of PFO.

[Jack Spang]

A wonderful, very informative article. What I would give to read a full verion of Per Fine Ounce! Like the name too.

[Blofeld's Cat]

The Spy Wise Blog has also posted an article on Jenkins, Peace and Per Fine Ounce.

[Trident]

Thanks for the tip! A most intriguing story that offers an all new perspective if Jenkins own creation was to be continuated now. And still the hunt is on for some 300 missing pages of 'Per Fine Ounce'. Judging by this article the hope is still alive to finally salvage a complete manuscript from one or several archives and publish it in a bowdlerized version. Definitely a feat for all lit-Bond fans if this attempt should succeed!

[tristanjblythe]

A great article.

I'm always slightly surprised Per Fine Ounce is still such a mystery. You would have thought that in the days of the internet somebody would have leaked it. Perhaps it is too securely locked away in Fleming's lair hidden in a volcano.

Would like to read it anyway and hope it sees the light of day soon - it certainly seems to deserve it.

[Mr. Blofeld]

I wish we could smuggle it out; what a dashing tale that'd be...

[Byron]

I wish we could smuggle it out; what a dashing tale that'd be...

I wonder how someone can get a copy of the 18 pages in existance......

[Mr. Blofeld]

I wish we could smuggle it out; what a dashing tale that'd be...

I wonder how someone can get a copy of the 18 pages in existance......

They'd have to be Jenkins' literary executor, I suppose...

[Mr Twilight]

In the matter of PFO I have a feeling it doesn't excist anymore and I don't think it will ever appear in public. Sorry. But of course I hope I'm wrong. Holy grail. Yes.

[David Schofield]

At the time of Jeremy Duns' "Per Fine Ounce" publication inb KKBB, I speculated with him why Jenkins - after having been given the run-around by Glidrose and ultimately beiong rejected - didn't simply publish PFO now "starring" Geoffrey Peace. I think the conclusion was that Jenkins was so fed-up with the whole Bond project, he couldn't be bothered. A pity.

While seeing the name "Geoffrey Peace" in the text where it should say "James Bond" wouldn't bother me if it meant PFO saw the light of day, having read Jenkins and both the Peace novels, I do think this article is overly optimistic in the possibilites of a Peace continuation novel. Sadly, both the Peace and Jenkins name do not appear to have a sufficient cache to resurface in the 21st Century.

[Single-O-Seven]

So some of you have read eight pages of PFO in KKBB? What were they like? Is that issue still available?

[Mr Twilight]

I speculated with him why Jenkins - after having been given the run-around by Glidrose and ultimately beiong rejected - didn't simply publish PFO now "starring" Geoffrey Peace.

I have had the thought too, and some comments had indicated that it didn't was good enough. Maybe Jenkins didn't believed in it either and only used some fragments of it in various books. In other case, why wouldn't he just switch the name from James Bond to Geoffrey Peace?

[spynovelfan]

My 2005 article on Per Fine Ounce is now available online here.

Mr Twilight, in answer to your question of two years ago (all good things come to those who wait!), we have no idea. But it may be that, shaken by the novel's rejection, which I doubt he saw coming, or perhaps bitter over it, Jenkins decided to put the whole Bond episode firmly behind him and forge on with new stories. He didn't lack for story ideas, as his subsequent books proved. It may also be that the plot and story idea was not easily transferred to another character: the draft pages I found of the novel were all about Bond resigning from MI6, which obviously depends a great deal on the history of the character, and perhaps wouldn't have been as effective with another. There could be other reasons: at the moment, we don't know what happened, exactly.