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The James Bond Books by Ian Fleming
- By David Leigh
- Published January 21, 2012
- Entertainment
- Unrated
David Leigh
For more information of the James Bond books by Ian Fleming, as well as the world of James Bond generally see my website - The James Bond Dossier.
View all articles by David Leigh
James Bond continues to be a huge influence over popular culture, with twenty-two official films in the franchise. Nevertheless, regardless of how popular he is as a hero of the silver screen, a lot of us overlook - or are perhaps unaware - that the British agent having a double-O number began as a literary character.
Ian Fleming came from a privileged background and even though sent to Eton failed to shine academically, although he did well at sport. Following his discharge from officer training at Sandhurst, he joined the city for a spell as a stockbroker at which he was poor, until he ultimately discovered his calling prior to the war as a reporter with Reuters. His first brush with espionage may have come when he visited Moscow in 1933 to cover the trial of six employees of Vickers, who were being tried for espionage.
When war started in 1939, Fleming immediately became a member of Naval Intelligence, swiftly rising to the position of Commander, as the assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence. It was here that he was involved in some of the most audacious plans of the war and met a variety of figures he was eventually able to draw upon when writing the James Bond novels.
Following the war Fleming became the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, which counted the Sunday Times as one of its titles. He also acquired land in Jamaica, where he then constructed his home, Goldeneye; it was here that he would vacation every winter to flee the cold of London.
It was also in Jamaica where he began, in 1952, to write the first words of Casino
Royale. He had wanted to write "the spy story to end all spy stories" and it was published one year later. On a yearly basis from then on he released a brand new book, even if he at times deviated from formula. Right after Goldfinger he published For Your Eyes Only, which contained five short stories; The Spy Who Loved Me was written from the point of view of the Bond girl; and Octopussy & The Living Daylights, published posthumously, was also short stories.
I first came across Casino Royale when I was about eight years of age, when I went through my parents' bookcase. My dad possessed a paperback version, which I took up to my bedroom and devoured as well as I could. I really enjoyed the action and how Bond knew what to do in any situation he found himself. Even though the literary character is rather different from the movies and often shows self doubt, he determines how to proceed regardless, and his comportment at the gambling tables and in fine restaurants seemed amazingly sophisticated.
Through the years I continued reading through the books, whenever I could get my hand on one. The library was a good source and very quickly I was acquiring second hand paperbacks from our local market. The novels present Bond as often weak, especially his usage of liquor, tobacco and other substances. Nevertheless, he seldom uses the type of sophisticated gizmo that will get him away from trouble in the movies and must get by with his own resourcefulness.
The novels continue to be worth reading after more than half a century since the publication of Casino Royale. And they serve to remind us of the era of the cold war, well before the major perceived threat to the western world was terrorism.
Ian Fleming came from a privileged background and even though sent to Eton failed to shine academically, although he did well at sport. Following his discharge from officer training at Sandhurst, he joined the city for a spell as a stockbroker at which he was poor, until he ultimately discovered his calling prior to the war as a reporter with Reuters. His first brush with espionage may have come when he visited Moscow in 1933 to cover the trial of six employees of Vickers, who were being tried for espionage.
When war started in 1939, Fleming immediately became a member of Naval Intelligence, swiftly rising to the position of Commander, as the assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence. It was here that he was involved in some of the most audacious plans of the war and met a variety of figures he was eventually able to draw upon when writing the James Bond novels.
Following the war Fleming became the foreign manager for Kemsley Newspapers, which counted the Sunday Times as one of its titles. He also acquired land in Jamaica, where he then constructed his home, Goldeneye; it was here that he would vacation every winter to flee the cold of London.
It was also in Jamaica where he began, in 1952, to write the first words of Casino
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I first came across Casino Royale when I was about eight years of age, when I went through my parents' bookcase. My dad possessed a paperback version, which I took up to my bedroom and devoured as well as I could. I really enjoyed the action and how Bond knew what to do in any situation he found himself. Even though the literary character is rather different from the movies and often shows self doubt, he determines how to proceed regardless, and his comportment at the gambling tables and in fine restaurants seemed amazingly sophisticated.
Through the years I continued reading through the books, whenever I could get my hand on one. The library was a good source and very quickly I was acquiring second hand paperbacks from our local market. The novels present Bond as often weak, especially his usage of liquor, tobacco and other substances. Nevertheless, he seldom uses the type of sophisticated gizmo that will get him away from trouble in the movies and must get by with his own resourcefulness.
The novels continue to be worth reading after more than half a century since the publication of Casino Royale. And they serve to remind us of the era of the cold war, well before the major perceived threat to the western world was terrorism.