21st Century: Query 186 (Ian Fleming)
“Men want a woman whom they can turn on and off like a light switch.”
~ Ian Fleming was an English author, journalist and naval intelligence officer who is
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, briefly, the
universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs
before he started writing.
While working for Britain’s Naval Intelligence Division during
the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and 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 collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966. The
novels revolve around James Bond, an officer in the
Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code
number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer 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 14th on its list of “The 50
greatest British writers since 1945.”
How are
Fleming’s attitudes toward women reflected in his work?
How was
Fleming (1908 - 1964) a product of his times?
How might the
James Bond character have been developed in 2020?
How might have
Fleming himself evolved in 2020?
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