In recent months, ever since Daniel Craig said that he’d rather “slash his wrists” than do another James Bond movie, potential successors have been casting their hats into the ring. Among them are Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, and Damian Lewis, and while there’s doubt over Bond’s future, Anthony Horowitz might as well step into his tuxedo. And, sure, he can be just as dapper as Craig. He is British, suave, has licence to thrill and absolutely loves James Bond. But the latest writer to don the mantle of Ian Fleming, Horowitz, has better luck behind the scenes, specialising in mystery and suspense.
“I remember seeing ‘Goldfinger’, my number one choice for Bond movies, at the age of 10. It had a huge impact on me, although my first childhood hero was Tintin. Later heroes, in my teens, were Sherlock Holmes and James Bond,” says Horowitz, who as boy found solace in Bond films.
His father, a millionaire businessman who died of cancer when Horowitz was 21, has been described as a secret fixer in the UK’s Labour government of the 1960s. After his father died, he found himself penniless, and only a notebook filled with codes related to Swiss bank accounts. Despite a long attempt to find the missing wealth, it has remained a mystery.
Inevitably, young Horowitz went on to become one of the best adventure writers as the creator of the teenage secret agent Alex Rider and the screenwriter of British TV series “Midsomer Murders”, “Poirot”, “Murder in Mind” and “Foyle’s War” as well as the author of authorised takes on Sherlock Holmes. Writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of 20, he was awarded an OBE in 2014 for his contribution to literature.
Last September, 50 years since Fleming’s death, after several authors, including Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver and William Boyd, have variously made Bond — through their novels — leap through time to the present day, Horowitz, in “Trigger Mortis”, revived the Cold War relic in which Bond takes on Russians and gets involved in a Formula One race.
Horowitz has already proven his admiration for Fleming with the Alex Rider series — the adventures of a reluctant 14-year-old spy for Britain’s MI6, whose books have sold a staggering 19 million copies worldwide. And being a purist, “Trigger Mortis”, with fast cars, beautiful women — he even brings back Pussy Galore — and ruthless villains, has all the hallmarks of a Fleming original.
“It was a huge honour to be asked to write a James Bond novel as I’ve admired Ian Fleming’s work all my life — and, yes, Alex Rider was very much inspired by him. I knew at once that I had to place Bond in his own time period (the late 1950s) and that I had to be completely true to the character that Fleming created. At the same time, I was aware that this might cause problems given the way our perceptions have changed over the years. This was the circle I had to square: how to be true to the original without giving unnecessary offence,” Horowitz says.
“Most of the reviews have acknowledged that ‘Trigger Mortis’ does stick very close to the original,” says Horowitz of his thrilling bestseller Bond novel, which is set two weeks after the end of the novel “Goldfinger” in 1957.
Overwhelming positive response to his Bond novel apart, Horowitz is still reeling from the recent flak he received for his comments about the prospect of Elba being cast as 007 for the next Bond movie. Although Horowitz apologised for saying Elba was “too street” to play Bond, he sounds sheepish, skilfully skirting the controversial issue when asked who is the right person, according to him, to play the fictional detective. “Casting is not my strong suit ...”
He seems bruised by the affair. That said, “Casino Royale” is, says Horowitz, one of his all-time favourite Bond films. “Daniel Craig was the perfect Bond in it.”
Often referred to as a one-stop crime shop, the screenwriter and author is also an entertaining public speaker, popular among young and old, and a polymath. In March, he is looking forward to his time at one of his favourite literary festivals — the Emirates LitFest in Dubai. Coming for the third time to Dubai, Horowitz considers visiting international literary festivals as the greatest perk of writing a successful novel. “Some festivals just bus you in and out, but in Dubai you get a chance to meet other writers from around the world — and, of course, local people. It’s a very friendly, very instructive festival.”
“This year, I will also be spending a couple of days at the Al Maha Desert Resort. I write a travel column for the ‘Daily Telegraph’ and I’ll let you know what I think,” he adds.
Horowitz, who was on a holiday — skiing in Italy — when he was interviewed in late December, loves to travel with his wife, TV producer Jill Green. “I also like to read, go to the cinema, go to the theatre, go for long walks in Suffolk, meet friends ...” He exudes contentment. He is an engaging man, giving every impression of being happy to sit and talk about writing all day.
For him writing is an adventure, not a work schedule — he avoids a “routine”. “I don’t want it to become business-like or boring. I write when I want to — in fact, most of the time — and stop when I get to the end.”
Horowitz has captured the imagination of both adults and children. He was commissioned by the Conan Doyle Estate and Orion Books to write two Sherlock Holmes novels. “House of Silk” was published in November 2011 and its sequel, “Moriarty”, was published in October 2014 and lauded as a huge success.
In line with 21st-century expectations, his Sherlock Holmes novels have more twists, more action than the originals, but he allowed himself only a few modest additions to the world Conan Doyle created. Nonetheless, he doesn’t intend to write another Sherlock Holmes novel.
Asked whether there is “any difference” in writing for children as opposed to fiction for grown-ups, Horowitz says, “There are differences, obviously. But I am more interested in the similarities — which are to do with pace, character, storytelling, suspense. Reading can turn an adult into a child and a child into an adult and I find my methods remain much the same no matter who I’m writing for.”
Albeit death and violence are a feature of his works, Horowitz finds the balance between too scary and not scary enough in his novels. There is violence in his stories, but it always ends with the good guy winning. Like Alfred Hitchcock, who clearly redefined the horror/thriller genre with his unique take on human psychology — his visual style focused on the terror felt before an impending attack, Horowitz says the suspense in his novels comes from the reader knowing more than the character they’re reading about.
“Hitchcock famously pointed out the difference between a scene with two people talking and a scene with the same people talking but unaware that there is a bomb under the table. That’s a simple definition of suspense and you could say I’ve been slipping bombs underneath tables all my life.”
Horowitz manages to juggle writing books, TV series, films, plays and journalism. He has also written the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss’s book, “The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T”. He enjoys the variety of it.
“I have always thought of writing as an adventure. I like fresh challenges and new areas to explore. I could have written 50 Alex Rider novels by now but I’m glad I’ve moved on,” says Horowitz, whose bestselling series was adapted into a movie in 2006.
Conan Doyle did it. Fleming did it. J.K. Rowling did it. And Horowitz did it too. In 2013, he said goodbye to his most successful creation, Alex Rider, in “Russian Roulette”. Alex is loved by teenagers because he is cool, lonely and clever. He is loved by parents because he persuades their children to read. He is loved by his creator because he brought him the fame that had eluded him for 25 years.
“A successful children’s book stays with you for life — and that’s a huge part of the pleasure of writing it.” The first book in 2011, “Stormbreaker”, sold 25,000 copies, a figure that kept on doubling as the series progressed. “Alex Rider is the closest to my heart, as he was the one I actually created myself. Alex Rider also changed my life ... my career took off after the publication of ‘Stormbreaker’.”
Horowitz has more than 40 books to his credit, but did he ever abandon writing a novel? “I have never given up on a novel. By the time I start writing, I have done so much work that I know the book will work. I’m not saying it will be brilliant. But it will be the book I want to write and so there’s no reason to give up.”
Thanks partly to his phenomenal work rate, he is on to his next adventure. His new play, “Dinner With Saddam”, a dark comedy about the former Iraqi president, also opened to warm reviews in the West End last October, making him one of Britain’s most prolific — and wealthy — writers, worth an estimated £10 million (Dh53.4 million).
By any measure, Horowitz, now 60, is at the top of his game. Despite the success, he is not one to let the grass grow under his feet. “I am writing a twisty whodunit called ‘Magpie Murders’. It’s both a murder mystery and an examination into the way murder mysteries are written and why we enjoy them. I am also filming a TV series, ‘New Blood’, for the BBC.”
Unquestionably, this spymaster is an unstoppable force.
Suparna Dutt-D’Cunha is a writer based in Pune, India.
Anthony Horowitz will take part in the 2016 Emirates Airline Festival of Literature to be held at the InterContinental Hotel, Dubai Festival City, from March 1 until 12.
