Ian Lancaster Fleming (1908-1964), the author of the James
Bond 007 novels, was the grandson of a Scottish banker and the son of a
Conservative MP (Member of Parliament). His father died in the first world war.
In his will, he bequeathed his property to his widow on condition she never
remarries.
Ian's youth was inauspicious. He was expelled from Eton
following a sexual liaison with a girl. He left Sandhurst without obtaining an
officer's rank, having been caught violating the curfew. He continued his
education in Kitzbuhel, Austria, in Munich and in Geneva where he studied
languages. But the chain of disappointments continued apace. He failed in a
Foreign Service exam and had to join Reuters as a journalist. There he
successfully covered a spy trial in Russia (1929-32).
He then joined a British investment bank as a stockbroker
and moved to live in a converted temple in Belgravia, a fashionable district of
London, where he entertained the members of the Le Cercle Gastronomique et des
Jeux de Hasard.
In 1939, Fleming took on an assignment for The Times in
Moscow - in effect a cover. He was spying for the Foreign Office and later for
Naval Intelligence where he attained the rank of Commander.
During the second world war, he worked from room number 39
in the Admiralty building in Whitehall as assistant to Admiral John Godfrey. He
was involved in the evacuation of Dieppe in 1940, in the smuggling of King Zog
out of Albania and in setting up the Office for Special Services, the precursor
of the CIA.
As commander of the 30th Assault Unit, he sometimes operated
behind the German lines, trying to secure important documents and files from
destruction. But, mostly, he directed the Unit's operations from London.
When the war was over, he built a house - Goldeneye - in
Jamaica. He worked for the Kemsley group of papers and vacationed every winter
in the island.
While awaiting the divorce of one of his numerous paramours
- the pregnant Lady Anne Rothermere - the 44 years old Fleming wrote
"Casino Royale" published in 1953. It was the first of 12 James Bond
thrillers, translated to 11 languages and with total sales of 18 million
copies. James Bond novels are now being authored by a new generation of
writers.
In 1961, John F, Kennedy, the newly elected president,
listed a James Bond title as one of his favourite books. Many movie plots were
loosely based on Fleming's novels and have grossed, in total, more than $1
billion. The 007 trademark was merchandised and attached to everything, from
toys and games to clothes and toiletries.
But Fleming was also renowned for his non-fiction: tomes
like "The Diamond Smugglers" and his "Atticus" column in
The Sunday Times where he served as foreign manager (1945-9). He successfully
branched into children's literature with "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang"
(1964), also made into a movie.
Ironically, his mother died and left him a fortune in 1964 - when Fleming was already wealthy and dying. The trip to her service may have done him in. His son committed suicide in 1975 and his wife died in 1981. He left behind one heir: James Bond.
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