For Scholars’ Eyes Only?
Unravelling the academic impact of 007 The first edition of Ian Fleming’s novel Casino Royale (inset) was published 70 years ago on 13 April 1953. Daniel Craig (pictured) portrayed James Bond in the 2006 film adaptation of the book. James Bond remains the property of Eon Productions and Ian Fleming Publications. On the 70th anniversary of the publication of Ian Fleming’s first James Bond novel, Casino Royale , we ask the question: Why does James Bond have such a large footprint in scholarly literature? Our analysis reveals that Bond, James Bond, is about more than just espionage, vodka martinis and cinema studies. Every so often a fictional character is so well drawn that even though they often embody the ideals or sensibilities of a non-contemporary era, with all the challenges that can present, they transcend their original zeitgeist to be constantly reinvented, renewed and, to use a modern term, rebooted for new generations. In science fiction and fantasy, this is a famil