Ian Fleming and Some Trivia
What would a website dedicated to “all things Bond” be without paying homage to the creator of Bond himself, Ian Fleming. But before we delve into the story of the man, how about a tidbit on how the name Bond was developed in the first place. The name James Bond itself came from a famed ornithologist James Bond, the son of the Bond family who allowed Fleming the use of their estate in Jamaica to write (perhaps also by an Elizabethan Bond from Fleming’s earlier years). The Bonds were wealthy manufacturers whose estate outside Philadelphia eventually became the grounds of Gwynedd Mercy College. Fleming reputedly used the name after seeing James Bond’s 1936 book Birds of the West Indies. Also of interest is that the Bond novels were not at first received as bestsellers in the United States, and it was only after President John F. Kennedy included From Russia With Love as one of his favorite books that the sales of Fleming’s work took off state-side. Okay, back to Fleming who was born in London on 28th May 1908 and educated at Eton College and then abroad in Germany and Austria. After an early career at Reuters news agency, he became a stockbroker. During World War 2 he worked throughout as assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence in the Admiralty in London, privy to many secrets. Following the war he became foreign manager, in charge of foreign correspondents, for Kemsley newspapers, owners of the Sunday Times and other papers. In 1952 he wrote his first thriller, Casino Royale, and introduced James Bond, agent 007 to the world. He published a further thirteen James Bond titles before his death at a relatively young age. But before we leave we should point out one more piece of trivia in that Ian Fleming’s personal interests were very often included as subjects or references in his Bond novels such as his love of Jamaica which was referenced in Live and Let Die and Thunderball; and his love of skiing in the Alps as used in Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Don’t you just love an author that can weave personal snippets in a spy-lie manner into their work? Kudos, Mr. Fleming.