In 1917, as the First World War raged across Europe, artist Kathleen Scott was busy fighting her own battles for the memory of her late husband, Captain Robert Falcon Scott. Following the tragic events of the Terra Nova expedition to the Antarctic, one-time popular hero Scott is widely treated as a man of poor judgement and foresight, who lost the pole to Norway, who brought disaster on those depending on him, and Kathleen seeks desperately to publish a new book that will re-establish him as a great man. In this vision she partially succeeded, with him becoming a hero once more before it later become fashionable in a more sceptical age to condemn the man, instead raising Sir Ernest Shackleton – who never reached the pole but also never lost a man – to the position of Antarctic hero in his place.

Robert Falcon Scott, Robert Ryan, South Pole

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‘Shattered by the murder of his wife at the hands of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, James Bond has gone to pieces as an agent. M gives him one last chance, sending him to Japan for a near-impossible mission. There Bond is trained in the fighting arts of Ninja warriors and sent to infiltrate a mysterious fortress known as the ‘Castle of Death’ – a place of nightmares where a lethal poisoned garden destroys all who go there – and awakens an old, terrifying enemy. You Only Live Twice sees Bond’s final encounter with an insane mastermind – one that could mean the end for 007…’

You Only Live Twice is the 12th of thirteen James Bond novels written by Ian Fleming and the last to be published (in 1964) while he was alive. The novel follows on from the shocking events of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service – a book you should probably read before you pick up this one.

007, Ian Fleming, James Bond

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‘A British Secret Service agent and his secretary have gone missing from their base in Kingston. M thinks this will be an easy case for 007, still recovering from his near fatal encounter with a Russian agent. Arriving in Jamaica to investigate, Bond learns that the reclusive Dr Julius No may be behind their disappearance. And when Bond and the exotic Honeychile Rider are caught trespassing on Dr No’s secluded island, they discover he has diabolical plans afoot that could threaten international security.’

Doctor No is the sixth book in the series of James Bond adventures written by Ian Fleming and was originally published in 1958. The story starts with 007 still recovering from the events of From Russia with Love and his poisoning at the hands of Rosa Klebb. M discovers that Bond has been given tetrodotoxin, a poison that derives from a type of Japanese fish. A combination of Bond’s friend Rene Mathis and a doctor well versed in poisons manage to save our hero and, despite a grim diagnosis, he recovers.

Dr No, Ian Fleming, James Bond

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Bernard Cornwell will doubtless be best known amongst you for the best selling Sharpe series of novels – you know, the ones that Sean Bean starred in as a Napoleonic era soldier when they were adapted for TV a few years back. Following on from this great success, he has now turned his talents towards a trilogy of novels (The Grail Quest) set during the 14th century (the other two books being “Vagabond” and “Heretic”); this review is on the first of the series, “Harlequin”. You may find it surprising that I am reading these at all, given their reputation as being very much “bloke’s books”; Cornwell’s preference for writing about warfare while relishing every grisly detail of it does seem to appeal to an almost exclusively male readership, I must admit. My interest in these books, though, comes from the fact that their central character is an English longbow archer. So what? Well, having previously dabbled in archery myself, I do have something of an interest in the history of the bow, and as anyone with even a passing interest in Medieval arms will know, the 14th century is the golden era of the longbow.

adventure, Bernard Cornwell, grail

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