By Wikipedia
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was an English author, journalist and naval intelligence officer, best known for his James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst and the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through a number of jobs before he started writing.
While working in British naval intelligence during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in the planning stages of Operation Mincemeat and Operation Golden Eye. He was also involved in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. His wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels.
Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolved around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008, The Times ranked Fleming fourteenth on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
He was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second Viscount Rothermere as a result of her affair with Fleming. Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker who suffered from heart disease; he died in 1964, aged 56, from a heart attack. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously, and a further five authors have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-four times, portrayed by seven actors.
Books
# Title Author Publisher-UK publishing-date Length:
While working in British naval intelligence during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in the planning stages of Operation Mincemeat and Operation Golden Eye. He was also involved in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. His wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels.
Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolved around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008, The Times ranked Fleming fourteenth on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
He was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second Viscount Rothermere as a result of her affair with Fleming. Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker who suffered from heart disease; he died in 1964, aged 56, from a heart attack. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously, and a further five authors have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-four times, portrayed by seven actors.
Books
# Title Author Publisher-UK publishing-date Length:
- 1) Casino Royale:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 13 April 1953 213 pp (first edition)
James Bond is sent to play against and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union, in a high-stakes baccarat game in France. With help from CIA agent Felix Leiter, Bond wins the game, but is betrayed by Vesper Lynd, a double agent. Lynd falls in love with Bond and, instead of betraying him, commits suicide.
- 2) Live and Let Die:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 5 April 1954 234 pp (first edition)
Bond is sent to the United States to investigate "Mr. Big", an agent of SMERSH and an underworld voodoo leader who is suspected of selling 17th century gold coins to finance Soviet spy operations in America. Bond's friend and CIA ally, Felix Leiter, is captured and fed to a shark whilst Mr. Big's fortune-telling girlfriend, Solitaire runs off with Bond. Solitaire is captured by Mr. Big, but Bond saves her and blows up Mr. Big's yacht with a limpet mine.
- 3) Moonraker:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 5 April 1955 256 pp (first edition)
Bond joins M at Blades to stop a member, Sir Hugo Drax cheating at bridge. Bond is subsequently seconded onto Drax's staff on the "Moonraker", Britain's first nuclear missile project. Bond discovers that Drax is an ex-Nazi, working for the Soviets; he also establishes that the rocket is not a defence, but is to be used by Drax to destroy London. Bond re-coordinates the rocket, sending it into the North Sea, where it kills Drax.
- 4) Diamonds Are Forever:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 26 March 1956 257 pp (first edition)
Bond follows a diamond smuggling ring to America and establishes it is run by an American gang, "The Spangled Mob". He closes down the pipeline by killing one of the heads of the gang, Seraffimo Spang, in a train crash; he then travels to Sierra Leone to kill the other head of the gang, Jack Spang.
- 5) From Russia, with Love:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 8 April 1957 253 pp (first edition)
Bond is targeted by SMERSH to be killed in a compromising situation on the Orient Express. He is lured to Istanbul by an attractive young cipher clerk, Corporal Tatiana Romanova, who claims to be defecting and bringing a Spektor, a Russian decoding device much coveted by MI6. Returning to London by train Bond meets SMERSH assassin, Red Grant, pretending to be a fellow British agent. Grant drugs Romanova and attempts to kill Bond, but fails: instead Bond kills Grant. Bond is then nearly killed by Colonel Rosa Klebb, one of the SMERSH planners, before he manages to capture her.
- 6) Dr. No:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 31 March 1958 256 pp (first edition)
Commander John Strangways, the head of MI6 Station J in Kingston, Jamaica, and his secretary both disappear and Bond is sent to investigate the matter. Bond finds they had been investigating the activities of Dr. Julius No, a reclusive Chinese-German who lives on Crab Key and runs a guano mine. Bond suspects a connection to the disappearances and, with the assistance of his old friend Quarrel, Bond visits Crab Key. He is captured by Dr. No and establishes that No has been sabotaging American missile tests at nearby Cape Canaveral. Bond escapes and kills No.
- 7) Goldfinger:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 23 March 1959 318 pp (first edition)
Bond investigates the activities of Auric Goldfinger, a gold smuggler who M suspects of being connected to SMERSH and financing their western networks with his gold. Bond is captured by Goldfinger and forced to work as a secretary to oversee "Operation Grand Slam", the stealing of the United States gold reserves from Fort Knox. Bond manages to alert the US authorities through his friend, Felix Leiter, and the plot is foiled.
- 8) For Your Eyes Only:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 11 April 1960 252 pp (first edition)
"From a View to a Kill" Bond investigates the murder of a motorcycle dispatch-rider and the theft of his top-secret documents by a motorcycle-riding assassin.
"For Your Eyes Only" Bond avenges the murder of M's closest friends.
"Quantum of Solace" Bond is told a story of a failed marriage with an emotive twist.
"Risico" Bond investigates a drug-smuggling operation run by the Russians.
"The Hildebrand Rarity" Bond helps find a rare fish for an obnoxious millionaire who is subsequently murdered.
- 9) Thunderball:
Ian Fleming (Based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming) Jonathan Cape 27 March 1961 253 pp (first edition)
An international, non-aligned terrorist organisation, SPECTRE, have hijacked a NATO plane and seized its two nuclear bombs, which it uses to blackmail the western world. Bond is sent to the Bahamas, where he joins forces with Felix Leiter. Bond meets "Domino" Vitali, the sister of the pilot whose bombs were stolen, who is also the mistress of a wealthy treasure hunter, Emilio Largo. Bond and Leiter suspect Largo and, using a nuclear submarine, track him to the bombs: whilst the submarine's crew fight Largo's crew, Bond battles with Largo and is overpowered, but before Largo can finish Bond off, Domino shoots him with a spear gun.
- 10) The Spy Who Loved Me:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 16 April 1962 221 pp (first edition)
A young woman is alone, working at a motel when two thugs, hired by the owner, turn up to burn it down for the insurance. They are about to rape the woman when Bond turns up and stops them. Later that night, Bond is attacked, but kills both the thugs.
- 11) On Her Majesty's Secret Service:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 1 April 1963 288 pp (first edition)
Bond continues to search for Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the Thunderball incident. Through contact with the College of Arms in London Bond finds Blofeld based in Switzerland with a co-conspiritor, Irma Bunt. After meeting him and discovering his latest plans, Bond attacks the centre where he is based, although Blofeld escapes in the confusion. Bond meets and falls in love with Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo during the story and the pair marry, but Blofeld kills Bond's new wife hours after the ceremony.
- 12) You Only Live Twice:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 16 March 1964 255 pp (first edition)
After the murder of his wife, Bond begins to let his life slide. M gives him a last chance of redemption, to persuade the Japanese to share radio transmissions captured from the Soviet Union. The Japanese agree, but only if Bond kills Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, who operates a politically embarrassing "Garden of Death" in an ancient castle. Bond recognises Shatterhand and his wife as Blofeld and Bunt and he infiltrates their castle. He kills Blofeld and escapes, although is injured as the castle explodes; his injury leaves him with amnesia and he lives as a Japanese fisherman until he travels to Russia to find out about his past.
- 13) The Man with the Golden Gun:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 1 April 1965 221 pp (first edition)
Bond returns to London having been brainwashed by the Russians and assigned to kill M: the attempt ends in failure. To re-prove his worth, M sends him to Jamaica with the seemingly impossible mission of killing Francisco "Pistols" Scaramanga, a Cuban assassin who is believed to have killed several British secret agents. Bond uncovers a larger plot to de-stabilise the region using KGB support and, having killed the American gangsters and KGB representative, also completes his mission with the killing of Scaramanga.
- 14) Octopussy and the Living Daylights:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 23 June 1966 94 pp (first edition)
The first edition contained only two stories: "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights"; subsequent editions have also contained "The Property of a Lady" and "007 in New York".
"Octopussy" Bond tracks down a World War II hero who had murdered his friend to steal a cache of Nazi gold.
"The Living Daylights" Bond is assigned sniper duty, but when he sees the sniper is a beautiful woman, he shoots the butt of her rifle instead of killing her.
"The Property of a Lady" Bond visits Sotheby's to identify a KGB agent.
"007 in New York" Bond warns a female MI6 employee that her new boyfriend is a KGB agent.
Short stories
In the summer of 1958, the CBS television network commissioned Fleming to write episodes of a television show based on the James Bond character. This deal came about after the success of the 1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale as an episode of the CBS television series Climax! Fleming agreed to the deal, and began to write outlines for the series; however, CBS later dropped the idea. In January and February 1959 Fleming adapted four of the television plots into short stories and added a fifth story he had written in the summer of 1958. The stories were originally titled The Rough with the Smooth, although this was changed to For Your Eyes Only for publication, which included the subtitle Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond.
After Fleming's death, a second collection featuring two short stories was released:
Octopussy and The Living Daylights. When the paperback edition of the book was published, "The Property of a Lady" was also included and, by 2002, "007 in New York" had been added to the book by Penguin Books.
James Bond short stories:
- "Quantum of Solace" Modern Woman's Magazine, November 1959
- "The Hildebrand Rarity" Playboy magazine, March 1960
- "From a View to a Kill" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "For Your Eyes Only" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "Risico" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "The Living Daylights" The Sunday Times colour supplement, 4 February 1962
- "007 in New York" New York Herald Tribune, October 1963
- "The Property of a Lady" The Ivory Hammer (Sotheby's annual), November 1963
- "Octopussy" Posthumously serialised in Playboy, March and April 1966
James Bond is sent to play against and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union, in a high-stakes baccarat game in France. With help from CIA agent Felix Leiter, Bond wins the game, but is betrayed by Vesper Lynd, a double agent. Lynd falls in love with Bond and, instead of betraying him, commits suicide.
- 2) Live and Let Die:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 5 April 1954 234 pp (first edition)
Bond is sent to the United States to investigate "Mr. Big", an agent of SMERSH and an underworld voodoo leader who is suspected of selling 17th century gold coins to finance Soviet spy operations in America. Bond's friend and CIA ally, Felix Leiter, is captured and fed to a shark whilst Mr. Big's fortune-telling girlfriend, Solitaire runs off with Bond. Solitaire is captured by Mr. Big, but Bond saves her and blows up Mr. Big's yacht with a limpet mine.
- 3) Moonraker:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 5 April 1955 256 pp (first edition)
Bond joins M at Blades to stop a member, Sir Hugo Drax cheating at bridge. Bond is subsequently seconded onto Drax's staff on the "Moonraker", Britain's first nuclear missile project. Bond discovers that Drax is an ex-Nazi, working for the Soviets; he also establishes that the rocket is not a defence, but is to be used by Drax to destroy London. Bond re-coordinates the rocket, sending it into the North Sea, where it kills Drax.
- 4) Diamonds Are Forever:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 26 March 1956 257 pp (first edition)
Bond follows a diamond smuggling ring to America and establishes it is run by an American gang, "The Spangled Mob". He closes down the pipeline by killing one of the heads of the gang, Seraffimo Spang, in a train crash; he then travels to Sierra Leone to kill the other head of the gang, Jack Spang.
- 5) From Russia, with Love:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 8 April 1957 253 pp (first edition)
Bond is targeted by SMERSH to be killed in a compromising situation on the Orient Express. He is lured to Istanbul by an attractive young cipher clerk, Corporal Tatiana Romanova, who claims to be defecting and bringing a Spektor, a Russian decoding device much coveted by MI6. Returning to London by train Bond meets SMERSH assassin, Red Grant, pretending to be a fellow British agent. Grant drugs Romanova and attempts to kill Bond, but fails: instead Bond kills Grant. Bond is then nearly killed by Colonel Rosa Klebb, one of the SMERSH planners, before he manages to capture her.
- 6) Dr. No:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 31 March 1958 256 pp (first edition)
Commander John Strangways, the head of MI6 Station J in Kingston, Jamaica, and his secretary both disappear and Bond is sent to investigate the matter. Bond finds they had been investigating the activities of Dr. Julius No, a reclusive Chinese-German who lives on Crab Key and runs a guano mine. Bond suspects a connection to the disappearances and, with the assistance of his old friend Quarrel, Bond visits Crab Key. He is captured by Dr. No and establishes that No has been sabotaging American missile tests at nearby Cape Canaveral. Bond escapes and kills No.
- 7) Goldfinger:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 23 March 1959 318 pp (first edition)
Bond investigates the activities of Auric Goldfinger, a gold smuggler who M suspects of being connected to SMERSH and financing their western networks with his gold. Bond is captured by Goldfinger and forced to work as a secretary to oversee "Operation Grand Slam", the stealing of the United States gold reserves from Fort Knox. Bond manages to alert the US authorities through his friend, Felix Leiter, and the plot is foiled.
- 8) For Your Eyes Only:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 11 April 1960 252 pp (first edition)
"From a View to a Kill" Bond investigates the murder of a motorcycle dispatch-rider and the theft of his top-secret documents by a motorcycle-riding assassin.
"For Your Eyes Only" Bond avenges the murder of M's closest friends.
"Quantum of Solace" Bond is told a story of a failed marriage with an emotive twist.
"Risico" Bond investigates a drug-smuggling operation run by the Russians.
"The Hildebrand Rarity" Bond helps find a rare fish for an obnoxious millionaire who is subsequently murdered.
- 9) Thunderball:
Ian Fleming (Based on a screen treatment by Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham and Ian Fleming) Jonathan Cape 27 March 1961 253 pp (first edition)
An international, non-aligned terrorist organisation, SPECTRE, have hijacked a NATO plane and seized its two nuclear bombs, which it uses to blackmail the western world. Bond is sent to the Bahamas, where he joins forces with Felix Leiter. Bond meets "Domino" Vitali, the sister of the pilot whose bombs were stolen, who is also the mistress of a wealthy treasure hunter, Emilio Largo. Bond and Leiter suspect Largo and, using a nuclear submarine, track him to the bombs: whilst the submarine's crew fight Largo's crew, Bond battles with Largo and is overpowered, but before Largo can finish Bond off, Domino shoots him with a spear gun.
- 10) The Spy Who Loved Me:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 16 April 1962 221 pp (first edition)
A young woman is alone, working at a motel when two thugs, hired by the owner, turn up to burn it down for the insurance. They are about to rape the woman when Bond turns up and stops them. Later that night, Bond is attacked, but kills both the thugs.
- 11) On Her Majesty's Secret Service:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 1 April 1963 288 pp (first edition)
Bond continues to search for Ernst Stavro Blofeld after the Thunderball incident. Through contact with the College of Arms in London Bond finds Blofeld based in Switzerland with a co-conspiritor, Irma Bunt. After meeting him and discovering his latest plans, Bond attacks the centre where he is based, although Blofeld escapes in the confusion. Bond meets and falls in love with Contessa Teresa "Tracy" di Vicenzo during the story and the pair marry, but Blofeld kills Bond's new wife hours after the ceremony.
- 12) You Only Live Twice:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 16 March 1964 255 pp (first edition)
After the murder of his wife, Bond begins to let his life slide. M gives him a last chance of redemption, to persuade the Japanese to share radio transmissions captured from the Soviet Union. The Japanese agree, but only if Bond kills Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, who operates a politically embarrassing "Garden of Death" in an ancient castle. Bond recognises Shatterhand and his wife as Blofeld and Bunt and he infiltrates their castle. He kills Blofeld and escapes, although is injured as the castle explodes; his injury leaves him with amnesia and he lives as a Japanese fisherman until he travels to Russia to find out about his past.
- 13) The Man with the Golden Gun:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 1 April 1965 221 pp (first edition)
Bond returns to London having been brainwashed by the Russians and assigned to kill M: the attempt ends in failure. To re-prove his worth, M sends him to Jamaica with the seemingly impossible mission of killing Francisco "Pistols" Scaramanga, a Cuban assassin who is believed to have killed several British secret agents. Bond uncovers a larger plot to de-stabilise the region using KGB support and, having killed the American gangsters and KGB representative, also completes his mission with the killing of Scaramanga.
- 14) Octopussy and the Living Daylights:
Ian Fleming Jonathan Cape 23 June 1966 94 pp (first edition)
The first edition contained only two stories: "Octopussy" and "The Living Daylights"; subsequent editions have also contained "The Property of a Lady" and "007 in New York".
"Octopussy" Bond tracks down a World War II hero who had murdered his friend to steal a cache of Nazi gold.
"The Living Daylights" Bond is assigned sniper duty, but when he sees the sniper is a beautiful woman, he shoots the butt of her rifle instead of killing her.
"The Property of a Lady" Bond visits Sotheby's to identify a KGB agent.
"007 in New York" Bond warns a female MI6 employee that her new boyfriend is a KGB agent.
Short stories
In the summer of 1958, the CBS television network commissioned Fleming to write episodes of a television show based on the James Bond character. This deal came about after the success of the 1954 television adaptation of Casino Royale as an episode of the CBS television series Climax! Fleming agreed to the deal, and began to write outlines for the series; however, CBS later dropped the idea. In January and February 1959 Fleming adapted four of the television plots into short stories and added a fifth story he had written in the summer of 1958. The stories were originally titled The Rough with the Smooth, although this was changed to For Your Eyes Only for publication, which included the subtitle Five Secret Occasions in the Life of James Bond.
After Fleming's death, a second collection featuring two short stories was released:
Octopussy and The Living Daylights. When the paperback edition of the book was published, "The Property of a Lady" was also included and, by 2002, "007 in New York" had been added to the book by Penguin Books.
James Bond short stories:
- "Quantum of Solace" Modern Woman's Magazine, November 1959
- "The Hildebrand Rarity" Playboy magazine, March 1960
- "From a View to a Kill" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "For Your Eyes Only" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "Risico" For Your Eyes Only, 11 April 1960
- "The Living Daylights" The Sunday Times colour supplement, 4 February 1962
- "007 in New York" New York Herald Tribune, October 1963
- "The Property of a Lady" The Ivory Hammer (Sotheby's annual), November 1963
- "Octopussy" Posthumously serialised in Playboy, March and April 1966
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