New 007 book breaks sales record

New James Bond novel Devil May Care has become book publisher Penguin's fastest-selling hardback fiction title.

The book, written by Sebastian Faulks, sold 44,093 copies in its first four days of publication.

Previous Penguin bestsellers by the likes of Tom Clancy and Nick Hornby have sold about 11,500 copies in their first four days, the publisher said.

The book was commissioned to mark the centenary of the birth of Bond's creator, Ian Fleming.

Faulks, best known for historic novels Birdsong and Charlotte Gray, has received rave reviews for the novel which has shot to the top of book charts.

He was selected to write the novel by Fleming's estate and read all the original stories in an attempt to capture the author's style.

Set in 1967, the book takes 007 to London, Paris and the Middle East.

More than 100 million James Bond books have been sold and more than half the world's population have seen a Bond film.