Life Line

Phyllis Bottome was a highly regarded prolific author in the mid 20th century. With her husband Ernan Forbes Dennis, a former diplomat and spy, she set up a school in Kitzbuhel, Austria and it was there, after he was thrown out of Eton, that she taught Ian Fleming to write. Amongst her many bestsellers was The Mortal Storm made into a prescient anti-fascist film which became a Hollywood blockbuster starring James Stewart. She died in London in 1963.

'The book is certainly worth reading for all those interested in mid-century adventure fiction and also for the background to Bond. I would recommend reading it.' - The Critic. The British novelist Phyllis Bottome is almost forgotten but Bond fans owe her a debt The Lifeline is still a cracking read. Top marks to Muswell Press for bringing he book back. - Best New Thrillers, Financial Times. A fascinating reissue of a 1946 spy thriller but also a possible, hitherto ignored major inspiration for Ian Fleming s James Bond. Fascinating stuff but, regardless, The Lifeline proves a jolly good read!' - Maxim Jakubowski, Crime Time. Try the latest James Bond spin-off, .. reissued 1946 adventure by Phyllis Bottome, a mentor to Ian Fleming A well-wrought period piece that Fleming completists will enjoy . - The Best Thrillers to Read in April, The Times. A thriller of a highly diverting and original kind, long overdue a new lease of life. - Sunday Post. I read Phyllis Bottome s The Life Line and saw that Mark Chalmers was Fleming, and that he had turned Chalmers into Bond. - Nigel West. 'Good entertaining and rewarding reading. - Kirkus 1946.