The Golden TypewriterContent and age guide
The Bond books are adult novels, with violence, sexual content and prejudiced language of their time; we suggest 16 and over. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is Fleming's one book for children.
Are the Bond books suitable for children?
No. The fourteen Bond books were written for adults in the 1950s and 1960s. They include violence and torture, sexual content, and racist and sexist language and attitudes that were common in that era but are offensive now. We suggest 16 and over, and that a parent looks at a book first for a younger teenager.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the exception: it was written for children and suits roughly 5 to 12, ideally read aloud to younger ones.
Why were the books revised in 2023?
Some 2023 reissues changed certain words after a sensitivity review, as reported by Time. Critics disagreed about whether the changes were right. We have not compared every edition line by line, so if the exact original text matters to you, check which edition you are buying. Our editions guide explains more.
Book by book
| Book | Suggested age | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Casino Royale | 16+ | Torture, threats of violence, sexual relationships, heavy smoking and dated attitudes to women. |
| Live and Let Die | 16+ | Killings and threats, and offensive period depictions of Black people and Caribbean culture, including racist language. Also sexualised portrayals and occult imagery. |
| Moonraker | 16+ | Lethal threats, violence, sexualised language and period prejudices. |
| Diamonds Are Forever | 16+ | Violent crime, threats, sexual material and dated characterisations. |
| From Russia with Love | 16+ | Assassination plots, violence, sexual manipulation and dated stereotypes. |
| Dr. No | 16+ | Violence, disturbing peril, sexualised descriptions and dated racial portrayals rooted in colonial attitudes. |
| Goldfinger | 16+ | Killings, coercion, sexual material and offensive depictions of Korean characters. |
| For Your Eyes Only | 16+ | Violence, domestic cruelty, sexualised depictions and dated attitudes. |
| Thunderball | 16+ | Violence, sexual material and the threat of mass casualties. |
| The Spy Who Loved Me | 16+ | Sexual material, sexual threat, physical intimidation and dated attitudes to women. We would not suggest it for younger teenagers. |
| On Her Majesty's Secret Service | 16+ | Violence, sexual content, manipulation and period stereotyping. |
| You Only Live Twice | 16+ | Suicide-related material, violence, sexual material and dated depictions of Japanese people. |
| The Man with the Golden Gun | 16+ | Shootings, threats, sexual content and dated racial and gender attitudes. |
| Octopussy and The Living Daylights | 16+ | Violence, wartime wrongdoing, sexualised descriptions and period attitudes. |
| Chitty Chitty Bang Bang | About 5 to 12 | Comic crime, peril and a kidnapping. Younger children may want an adult reading with them. |
| The Diamond Smugglers | 14+ | Real-world crime, colonial-era framing and dated economic and political assumptions. |
| Thrilling Cities | 14+ | Nightlife, gambling and 1950s and 1960s social and colonial attitudes. |
| Talk of the Devil | 14+ | War documents, adult journalism and dated social attitudes. |