This SPECTREd Isle: James Bond, Alan Partridge, and Englishness

Abstract

Tensions between loyalty to country and self are explored in this article in relation to the fictional characters of Ian Fleming's James Bond and Steve Coogan's Alan Partridge. The notion of Englishness espoused by both characters is interrogated as a response to historical and socio-political pressures within their respective worlds.  Alan Partridge's status as a Bond super-fan is considered as a means by which to navigate the changing concept of Englishess over the three decades of the character's career.