​The Man with the Golden Typewriter

Review by Paul Fiander

​Written by: Ian Fleming, Fergus Fleming
Narrated by: Julian Rhind-Tutt
Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins 
Publisher: Audible Studios​

There are times where the story of a book's creation can be almost as interesting as the actual prose itself. Although the Man with the Golden Typewriter lacks the gadgets and tension that have synonymous with the most well known spy on the planet it more than makes up for it in story. The narrative through the use of personal correspondence details the creation of the books of Ian Fleming in a rich voyeuristic format that is brilliantly crafted. The rich detail is vast though at the author's own admission there are some gaps in respect to lost letters and more personal correspondence between Fleming and his wife. Honestly I don't think this is too much of a loss as this feels more of a professional account of the book's creation.

The chapters are divided by book and are named accordingly, this is a way way to organise the thoughts of the listener as you try to focus on the book in question. Some of the lines are slightly muddied when correspondence overlaps two books but generally everything is easy to keep track of. One of the heart aspects are the footnotes which are prevalent throughout. The narrator Julian Rhind Tutt fires make you aware when he is transitioning but it can break the flow of the experience. He does have a very clear narration style and tries to vary his accent when reading correspondence from different sources, this makes a lively listening experience where it could have been a dry affair.

​Fleming is an amazing character with a high work ethic combing the writing of Bond with journalistic and publishing roles. As an example of his way of writing he would write 2,000 words a day and not re-read anything until the book was completed, where in he would go back and edit. This allowed him to complete the whole Bond series of 14 books (two are short stories) in 13 years. This kind of output would put most novelists to shame though the Bond books are not especially large tomes.

Although the book is made up in the majority with letters there are also sections linking them together. This gives the writer Fergus Fleming an opportunity to bring readers up to speed with the wider events, such as meeting with Jacque Cousteau and Fleming’s slightly vulgar house guests. All these come together to create a rich story that is a wonderful insight into one of Britain's best writers.

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