Bulldog Drummond

Sorry for lack of posting lately. Things have been fairly busy with work and with life in general.

One thing I have managed to do in my free time is read the first of the Bulldog Drummond novels.

For background (and relevance), these novels were read and enjoyed by Ian Flemming in his youth. They are adventure stories based around a young officer after the first world war and they're brilliant! Well the first one at least.

I bought the set on impulse although I have been curious to read them for years. It's always interesting to examine the influence of those one admires.

It's certainly easy to see the influence. Both Drummond and Bond are men of action. Both keep an extreme level of calm in a crisis. Both are possessed of almost incredible strength and both kill without mercy when the situation requires. There is of course plenty strong drink, a dastardly enemy and a beautiful girl. All the ingredients for a fantastic story.

One big difference is that while Bond sounds slightly nostalgic for the Woodhousian inter-war years, Drummond is very much set in that era; albeit that the characters are rather intelligent and devious.

All in all, they are well worth reading if you're into adventure books (which I presume you are if you're into Bond) as well as a means of gaining a greater insight into the origins of Bond.

I hope you enjoy them if you now decide to read them.

BB.