007 Author: Robert Markham (Kingsley Amis)

Who: Robert Markham
Was born: 16 April 1922, London, England
Died: 22 October 1995, London, England

Robert Markham is a pseudonym used by author Kingsley Amis to publish Colonel Sun in March 1968. The book was the first continuation James Bond novel following the death of Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming.

Following the death of Ian Fleming on 12 August 1964, the rights to the Bond novels were held by Glidrose Publications (now Ian Fleming Publications). After Glidrose released the remaining Fleming works—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—they decided to commission a sequel in order to retain rights in the Bond product. They chose Amis to write the first continuation Bond novel; Amis had previously produced The James Bond Dossier—a critical analysis of the Bond books—under his own name, and The Book of Bond, a tongue-in-cheek manual for prospective agents, using the pseudonym Lt.-Col. William (“Bill”) Tanner.

For the pseudonym, Peter Fleming – Ian Fleming’s brother – initially suggested “George Glidrose”. Jonathan Cape rejected this name, claiming that it had no selling or publicity power. Markham was then chosen. Despite this, Amis’s involvement as continuation author was not a secret; American editions of the book identified Amis as the author, though the main Robert Markham credit remained.

Robert Markham´s 007 production:

• Colonel Sun (1968)

• The James Bond Dossier (1965) (A critical analysis of the Bond books)
• The Book of Bond (1965) a tongue-in-cheek manual for prospective agents, using the pseudonym Lt.-Col. William (“Bill”) Tanner