Pearson was Fleming’s assistant at the Sunday Times and would go on to write James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007.

James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is a fictional biography of Ian Fleming’s famous secret agent, James Bond, which was published in 1973. The book was written by John Pearson, who had published a well-received biography of Fleming, The Life of Ian Fleming in 1966.

The Authorised Biography of 007 was not commissioned by Glidrose Publications. In fact, it began as a spoof for publisher Sidgwick & Jackson, however, Pearson knew Peter Janson-Smith, the chairman of Glidrose and it was eventually picked up. Consequently, this is the only Bond book from Glidrose between 1953 and 1987 to not be first published by Jonathan Cape. Additionally, it is the only Bond book where the copyright credit is not solely Glidrose; Pearson is the only Bond novelist to have this recognition.

The canonical status of the biography is often debated. Some consider it canon alongside the rest of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novel series, while others consider it apocryphal. Some elements of this book have been contradicted by other official Bond fiction, notably Charlie Higson’s Young Bond series, which suggests that Bond was born in Switzerland, as opposed to Pearson suggesting Bond was born in Germany. It also has many discrepancies with novels by Kingsley Amis, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and even Fleming’s own series. Typically because of the timeframe in which they occur and because of contradictions that take place between all the authors, their series’ are usually perceived as being on their own, although based on Fleming’s novels. This is not the case with Pearson’s and Amis’s books, however, as they are one-offs and take place relatively in the same timeframe as Fleming’s own. Thus their canonicity with Fleming’s books is usually debated. At least one British publisher of Bond novels, Pan Books, included Pearson’s book as an official entry in the series for their first paperback edition series.

Plot summary: The premise of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is that James Bond is based upon a real MI6 agent. Fleming hinted so in You Only Live Twice, in Bond’s obituary, that his adventures were the basis of a series of “sensational novels”; illustrating this contention, that novel’s comic strip adaptation used covers from Fleming’s James Bond novels.

Writing autobiographically, Pearson begins the story with his own recruitment to MI6. Already, the department had assigned Ian Fleming to write novels based upon the real agent; Fleming was to be truthful about the agent’s adventures. The idea was to hide the truth, of Bond’s exploits, in plain sight; along the way, Fleming created fictional tales, such as Moonraker, to keep the Soviets guessing what was fact and what was not. Pearson’s also incorporates Fleming’s flippant claim to not having written The Spy Who Loved Me, but that Vivienne Michel mysteriously sent him the manuscript.

Based upon the success of his Fleming biography, The Life of Ian Fleming (1966), MI6 instruct Pearson to write 007’s biography; he is introduced to a retired James Bond — who is in his fifties, yet healthy, sun-tanned, and with Honeychile Ryder, the heroine of Dr No. Most of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007 is Bond telling his life story, including school and first MI6 missions, referring to most every novel and short story and, notably, to Colonel Sun, the Robert Markham series-continuation novel. At conclusion, as Bond rushes to another mission (contrary to mandatory retirement), John Pearson is invited to assume Ian Fleming’s scribal duties, like Dr Watson assumed with Sherlock Holmes.

In fact, Glidrose Publications considered John Pearson’s becoming the new, series writer; despite good reviews and sales of James Bond: The Authorised Biography of 007, nothing happened.