Goldfinger: The Ultimate James Bond Novel

Tabitha Syrett (0:00)

This episode is brought to you by Klarna.

Dominic Sandbrook (0:03)

Tabby, as I was saying to you the other day, I don't get to do as much daydreaming as I used to. I used to go into these great reveries when I come up with my best ideas. I don't have a chance anymore because I spend so much time doing my life admin. It's the same for you, isn't it?

Tabitha Syrett (0:16)

You know, I used to spend a lot of time rewriting my favourite book so that I would get the endings that I'd always hoped for.

Dominic Sandbrook (0:23)

But you know how you can get that time back, Tabby? I've started using Klarna to handle my real world money admin, and that gives me the headspace for the more important things like thinking about books.

Tabitha Syrett (0:33)

Because their app lets you view all your finances in one place. You can set budgets, stay on top of reminders and manage your payments so you don't have to worry about any plot holes.

Dominic Sandbrook (0:45)

And you know the other thing about the app, when you shop through the app, you unlock exclusive deals and you can get cash back on things that you are going to buy anyway.

Tabitha Syrett (0:54)

Download the Klarna app so you can stay on top of your money and think about, well, anything else. Klarna balance account required to receive cash back points. Limitations, terms and conditions apply.

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SPEAKER_6 (2:01)

She whispered, almost to herself, He killed my sister.

Tabitha Syrett (2:06)

You knew her. Jill Masterton.

Dominic Sandbrook (2:08)

Bond said fiercely. What happened?

Tabitha Syrett (2:10)

He has a woman once a month. Jill told me this when she first took the job. He hypnotizes them. Then he paints them gold.

Dominic Sandbrook (2:19)

Christ, why?

Tabitha Syrett (2:20)

I don't know. Jill told me he's mad about gold. I suppose he sort of thinks he's, that he's sort of possessing gold, you know, marrying it. He gets some Korean servant to paint them. The man has to leave their backbones unpainted.

Jill couldn't explain that. I found out it's so they wouldn't die. If their bodies were completely covered with gold paint, the pores of the skin wouldn't be able to breathe. Then they'd die.

Afterwards, they're washed down by the Korean with resin or something. Goldfinger gives them a thousand dollars and sends them away.

Dominic Sandbrook (2:55)

Bond saw the dreadful odd job with his pot of gold paint, Goldfinger's eyes gloating over the glistening statue, the fierce possession. What happened to Jill?

Tabitha Syrett (3:06)

She cabled me to come. She was in an emergency ward in hospital in Miami. Goldfinger had thrown her out. She was dying. Goldfinger had had her painted all over. He had murdered her. It must have been out of revenge for going with you.

So, hello everybody. A chilling moment there from Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, his seventh James Bond book, published by Jonathan Cape in March 1959

And there we have the dashing and athletic James Bond played by the person who I hear is one of the front runners for the role in the forthcoming movie, Dominic Sandbrook stepping into the role he was born for as James Bond.

Dominic Sandbrook (3:51)

And Tabby, you are?

Tabitha Syrett (3:53)

I'm Tilly Masterton.

Dominic Sandbrook (3:55)

Ill-fated lesbian, yeah.

Tabitha Syrett (3:56)

And if you've seen the film, you will remember, which I did last night actually, I rewatched it. Jill dies in the same way. She's painted entirely with gold. But in the film, this is Sean Connery's Bond, we actually see that he walks into his hotel room in Miami, and it's a really, really striking and memorable image, this beautiful girl on this bed, totally covered in gold. And it's one of the defining images of the Bond films. And the kind of opening sequence in that, which had become so famous in the Bond films, are these kind of images of women with golden faces.