In this new edition of Licence To Thrill, James Chapman builds upon the success of his classic work, regarded as the definitive scholarly study of the history of the James Bond film series from the first picture, Dr No (1962), to the present. He considers the origins of the films in the spy thrillers of Ian Fleming and examines the production histories of the films in the contexts of the British and international film industries.
This edition includes a new introduction and chapters on Quantum of Solace (2008), Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). Chapman explores how the films have changed over time in response to developments in the wider film culture and society at large. He charts the ever-evolving Bond formula, analysing the films' representations of nationhood, class, and gender in a constantly shifting cinematic and ideological landscape.

Introduction: (Still) Taking James Bond seriously
1. The contexts of Bond: Ian Fleming and the British spy thriller
2. Snobbery with violence: Dr No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964)
3. Bondmania: Thunderball (1965), Casino Royale (1967), You Only Live Twice (1967), On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969)
4. Bond in transition: Diamonds Are Forever (1971), Live and Let Die (1973), The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
5. Keeping the British end up: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Moonraker (1979)
6. Cold warrior reborn: For Your Eyes Only (1981), Octopussy (1983), Never Say Never Again (1983), A View to a Kill (1985)
7. Continuity and change: The Living Daylights (1987), Licence to Kill (1989)
8. Millennial Bond: GoldenEye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (1997), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Die Another Day (2002)
9. Revisionist Bond: Casino Royale (2006), Quantum of Solace (2008)
10. Jubilee Bond: Skyfall (2012), Spectre (2015), No Time to Die (2021)
Coda: James Bond will return
Notes
Filmography
Bibliography
Index

James Chapman is Professor of Film Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. He is the editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, and his most recent books include Dr No: The First James Bond Film (2022), Contemporary British Television Drama (Bloomsbury Academic, 2020) and Hitchcock and the Spy Film (I.B. Tauris, 2018).