No, this isn’t a commercial. This is Young (and old) Bond related.
As most fans know, Charlie Higson has been planting references to the original Ian Fleming James Bond novels throughout his Young Bond series. In
SilverFin we meet the father of Red Grant (
From Russia With Love), in
Blood Fever it’s the father of Count Lippe (
Thunderball), and in
Double or Die we get a glimpse of Universal Exports. But in
Hurricane Gold, the reference is a little more subtle.
In Chapter 24, James is able to shower after several days of trudging through the muddy jungles of a hurricane ravaged Mexico. Not only does he discover here how much he loves a good shower (Bond showers a lot in Fleming), but he also discovers Pinaud Elixir shampoo.
“...he promised himself that he would only ever use that brand from now on in memory of the best shower he had ever had.”
-Hurricane Gold, Chapter 24
One doesn’t need to be a Fleming scholar to know Charlie is pointing us toward a reference here. Heck, he even calls the chapter “Pinaud Elixir.” But where in Fleming can we find Bond’s favorite shampoo?
Thanks to our friends at CBn, we have the answer:
“His two battered suitcases came and he unpacked leisurely and then ordered from Room Service a bottle of the Taittinger Blanc de Blancs that he had made his traditional drink at Royale. When the bottle, in its frosted silver bucket, came, he drank a quarter of it rather fast and then went into the bathroom and had an ice-cold shower and washed his hair with Pinaud Elixir, that prince among shampoos, to get the dust of the roads out of it.”
-On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Chapter 2
Incredibly, one can still get a bottle of Pinaud Elixir shampoo from The Dutch Shaving Shop. You can even get one with the old style label.
Have you spotted any other Fleming references in Hurricane Gold? If so, drop us an email and tell us about it.
Thanks to doublenoughtspy and MkB over on the CBn Forum for the detective work and image.
