Bond and politics don’t mix. So why, when Bond himself resists being drawn far along either end of the political spectrum, do both sides persist in wielding poor 007 like a blunt instrument?

I’ve spoken with so many avowed fans of Fleming – people who have read all fourteen Bond books cover to cover ad infinitum – who have never even picked up a copy of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, let alone read one. Why?

James Bond is not always the best role model for staying mentally healthy. When faced with battles in his own brain, he’s far likelier to slip into avoidance behaviours (martinis, girls, guns) than deal with them head on. Even so, within the pages of the original Fleming’s books, we find that Bond’s creator was ahead of his time: he was not only interested in the treatment of mental difficulties, but also armed 007 with a coping technique recommended by professionals today.

‘James Bond is what every man would like to be and what every woman would like between her sheets’. Over six decades, this assertion has become received wisdom. But it turns out we’ve been lied to the whole time…