With A Mind to Kill completes the trilogy of Anthony Horowitz James Bond continuation novels which has covered his first assignment as 007 (Forever and a Day), his mid-career (Trigger Mortis) and now looks towards his final days.
With A Mind to Kill has probably the most London locations of all the books, but certainly some wonderful passages about what Bond thought of London and how he saw it changing.
It is not my intention to plagiarize the material, but merely provide excerpts here as part of my ongoing pet project of chronicling the James Bond locations, both literal and cinematic, in London.
The writings her are the copyright of Ian Fleming publications LTD 2022 and was first published by Jonathan Cape back in 2022.
I will add photos over time. In support of this blog you can purchase any of the two London Bond Maps or hand finished prints currently through our shop.
Ch1: Dead Man’s Mile
His name was Porterfield and he was in fact the head waiter at Blades, the gentleman’s club, to which Sir Miles had belonged. The club, in Park Street just off Pall Mall, has only 200 members and it is tradition there that should one of them die, a black rose will be sent to the funeral. Pg6.
Ch6: A Room with No View
During his last interview […] Bond had been told that he was being taken to Bow Street Magistrates’ Court to be charged and remanded in custody. Pg67.
“In a house just south of Richmond Bridge.”
Bond makes a call to the Russian collaborator in Ruislip, who finally might have his day in the sun. Pg70.
Ch7: The Killer Instinct
Still sandwiched between the two police cars, the van made its way across Richmond Bridge and then along the south bank of the river, heading through Putney, Wandsworth and on into Lambeth.
Had Bond been given the opportunity, he would have had a fine view of Battersea power station, then the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben and – at the bend in the river – the majestic sprawl of Somerset House.
Bond had a certain fondness for London. It wasn’t just that he lived and worked there. He’d always thought the city had an unchanging quality. It struck him as solid and loyal.
But in recent years it had come under attack from a new generation of architects full of ambition and fresh ideas, their towers of glass and concrete redefining the horizon.” Pg83.
[…] instinctively, Bond knew that it had to be something more. In fact, the convoy had just turned onto Tower Bridge. Pg84.
Ch8: Over the Edge
At the same time, Bond saw police cars speeding up Wapping High Street with their blue lights flashing, following the bend in the river. Pg96.
Ch11: The Magic Room
Bond squeezed his eyes shut and imagined am alternative life for himself. Golf at the Royal St George’s. Lunch at the Savoy Grill. Dinner and cards at White’s. Pg39.
Ch12: The Red Arrow
It was the first time Bond had seen ordinary Russians. They looked drab, their faces blank, their clothes various shades of black, brown and grey.
But Bond did not judge them too badly. He had seen much the same at Waterloo Station during the rush hour. Pg147.
Ch14: The Finger of Suspicion
Bond was the enemy. He came from a different world; one that was utterly alien to her (Katya). Sometimes he would talk about his old life in the West and she would get a glimpse of things she could never understand.
Breakfast at a restaurant called Latece in New York. The cigarettes from Morland, the shirts from somewhere called Turnbull & Asser in Jermyn Street. Pg177.
June 30th 2019 James Cook manager of Turnbull and Asser Jermyn St
Ch16: A Knock on the Door
If you walk down the streets of London, you’ll see expensive cars and shops full of luxury goods. But the ordinary people can’t afford them…’ James Bond, Pg218.
‘We are a beautiful country, as beautiful as anywhere in the world. Walk in Regents Park after the grass has been cut. Drive through the orchids of Kent. Have lunch at the Ritz.
Take a boat on the Thames on a summer afternoon. Go racing at Ascot or watch the cricket at Lord’s. Play a round of golf at St George’s. Listen to the protestors at Speakers’ Corner. Tune in to the BBC. Until you have done these things, you will have no idea what it is to be British.’ Pg 219.
Ch18: Death Beneath the Chandeliers
Gradually, Zephyr came into sight. He was wearing a suit and a tie with pink and blue stripes which Bond recognised as the colours of the Garrick Club. Pg250
