Ian Fleming Miscellany
The name Ian Fleming is synonymous with British espionage, both with his work as a naval intelligence officer in the Second World War as well as with his creation of the most famous fictional spy in literary history: James Bond. This book centres on Ian Fleming the man, his contradictions and his public and private personality. It examines the person behind the myth and how in particular he managed (unsuccessfully at first) to create a film franchise that has lasted over fifty years. It considers Fleming’s reputation as a writer, the ‘formula method’ he perfected and that formula’s reliance on the recycling of real individuals and events, as well as the occasional reliance on plagiarism. It uniquely accesses a number of recently opened government files that shed light on previously unknown wartime operations, such as the Air Ministry’s top secret ‘Operation Grand Slam’, which was used in Goldfinger.
ANDREW COOK is an author and TV consultant with a degree in History & Ancient History. He was a programme director of the Hansard Scholars Programme for the University of London. Andrew has written for The Times, Guardian, Independent, BBC History Magazine and History Today. His previous books include On His Majesty’s Secret Service (Tempus, 2002); Ace of Spies (Tempus, 2003); M: MI5’s First Spymaster (Tempus, 2006); The Great Train Robbery (THP, 2013); and 1963: That Was the Year That Was (THP, 2013).