Ian Fleming: the complete man / Nicholas Shakespeare.

By:

Shakespeare, Nicholas, 1957-

Material type: Text

TextPublisher: New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2023]Copyright date: ©2023Edition: First U.S. editionDescription: xxix, 821 pages, 16 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations, genealogical tables ; 24 cmContent type:

text
still image

Media type:

unmediated

Carrier type:

volume

ISBN:

9780063012240
0063012243

Subject(s):

Genre/Form:

Biographies.

Contents:

Introduction -- Part One. Prologue -- 'Lairn to say no, laddie' -- Eve -- A stormy childhood -- Val -- Durnford -- Eton -- Sandhurst -- Kitzbuhel -- Munich -- Geneva -- Reuters -- Moscow -- Berlin -- Glamour boy -- The collector -- A character sketch -- 'M' -- Mr. Secretan -- Room -- Uncle John -- 'The most unscrupulous man in Spain' -- 'Completely outwitted' -- Little Bill -- Big Bill -- Rodney Bond -- 'Special services' -- 30AU -- 'What a nuisance sex is' -- Bill -- Globetrotter -- Drax's secrets -- Tambach -- The complete man -- Part Two. A puddle of mud -- Shamelady Hall -- The foreign manager -- 'K' -- Mercury -- The missing diplomats -- 'The shameful dream' -- Droopy -- Bunny -- 'Quite a step' -- Writing Bond -- A wedding -- 'Tell me that story again' -- Two births -- The Bond formula -- 'Bloody intellectuals' -- The fast car life -- 'That ass Bond' -- 'The greatest fiasco of all time' -- Leaderkins -- 'Ian's black wife' -- A hideous island -- 'Caviar for the general' -- A dinner -- The dark frontier -- 'Mink-coated Incubus' -- McClory -- The black cloud -- The secrets of a man -- 'A regular skyscraper' -- Archaeological heap -- Howls of laughter -- Caspar -- Bond fever -- Ashes -- The final green -- Epilogues -- List of illustrations -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgemetns -- Source notes -- Notes -- Index.

Summary: A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers.Summary: "Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote. Ian's childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be 'the complete man', and he would strive for the means to achieve this 'completeness' all his life. Only a writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change." -- Provided by publisher.

Average rating: 0.0 (0 votes)

Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Shelving location	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode	Item holds
Adult Book	Phillipsburg Free Public Library	Adult Non-Fiction	New Books	823.914 SHA	Checked out	05/20/2024	36748002554535

Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers.

Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote.

Ian's childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be "the complete man," and he would strive for the means to achieve this "completeness'"all his life. Only a thriller writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change.

Nicholas Shakespeare is one of the most gifted biographers working today. His talent for uncovering material that casts new light on his subjects is fully evident in this masterful, definitive biography. His unprecedented access to the Fleming archive and his nose for a story make this a fresh and eye-opening picture of the man and his famous creation.

Originally published in Great Britain in 2023 by Harvill Secker, an imprint of Vintage.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 707-719) and index.

A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers.

"Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote. Ian's childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be 'the complete man', and he would strive for the means to achieve this 'completeness' all his life. Only a writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change." -- Provided by publisher.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

Introduction (xiii)
Prologue (3)
I 'Lairn to say No, laddie' (7)
II Eve (22)
III A stormy childhood (28)
IV Val (35)
V Durnford (45)
VI Eton (55)
VII Sandhurst (80)
VIII Kitzbühel (87)
IX Munich (106)
X Geneva (111)
XI Reuters (124)
XII Moscow (137)
XIII Berlin (151)
XIV Glamour Boy (158)
XV The collector (167)
XVI A character sketch (183)
XVII 'M' (186)
XVIII Mr Secretan (191)
XIX Room 39 (203)
XX Uncle John (214)
XXI 'The most unscrupulous man in Spain' (225)
XXII 'Completely outwitted' (232)
XXIII Little Bill (247)
XXIV Big Bill (256)
XXV Rodney Bond (263)
XXVI 'Special services' (268)
XXVII 30AU (281)
XXVII 'What a nuisance sex is!' (295)
XXIX Bill (311)
XXX Globetrotter (323)
XXXI Drax's secrets (331)
XXXII Tambach (338)
XXXIII The complete man (349)
XXXIV A puddle of mud (357)
XXXV Shamelady Hall (362)
XXXVI The Foreign Manager (372)
XXXVII 'K' (376)
XXXVIII Mercury (383)
XXXIX The missing diplomats (400)
XL 'The Shameful Dream' (408)
XLI Droopy (415)
XLII Bunny (420)
XLIII 'Quite a step' (439)
XLIV Writing Bond (445)
XLV A wedding (467)
XLVI 'Tell me that story again' (473)
XLVII Two births (481)
XLVIII The Bond formula (493)
XLIX 'Bloody intellectuals' (504)
L The fast car life (509)
LI 'That ass Bond' (520)
LII 'The greatest fiasco of all time' (524)
LIII Leaderkins (534)
LIV 'Ian's black wife' (540)
LV A hideous island (551)
LVI 'Caviar for the general' (558)
LVII A dinner (567)
LVIII The dark frontier (583)
LIX 'Mink-coated incubus' (588)
LX McClory (593)
LXI The Black Cloud (605)
LXII The secrets of a man (611)
LXIII 'A regular skyscraper' (620)
LXIV Archaeological heap (626)
Howls of laughter (637)
LXVI Caspar (644)
LXVII Bond fever (653)
LXVIII Ashes (664)
LXIX The final green (671)
LXX Epilogues (688)
List of illustrations (705)
Bibliography (707)
Acknowledgements (721)
Source Notes (731)
Notes (733)
Index (793)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Novelist Shakespeare (The Dancer Upstairs) delivers an exemplary biography of British spy novelist Ian Fleming (1908--1964). The scion of a wealthy banking family, Fleming was an indifferent student and at age 23 flunked the Foreign Office exam, after which he became a Reuters correspondent. After WWII began, Fleming used his contacts to join the Naval Intelligence Division as a lieutenant commander. Though Fleming's war service remains shrouded in mystery, Shakespeare builds a strong case that the novelist authored the memo that inspired operation Mincemeat, which fed the Axis powers bogus plans to distract from the upcoming Allied invasion of Sicily. After the war, Fleming became a Sunday Times editor, and in 1952, he wrote the spy thriller Casino Royale. The book's suave protagonist, James Bond, eclipsed Fleming's own fame after his death by heart attack at age 56. Shakespeare offers shrewd insight into the enduring appeal of Bond ("The lower the sun has sunk on the empire that Bond was born into, the more radiant his glow") and how Fleming's personal life shaped 007, suggesting the character reflects the heroism of Fleming's father, a major who died in WWI, as well as Fleming's own "cavalier treatment of women" (Fleming had many affairs during his fractious marriage to Ann Charteris). This will stand as the definitive biography of the popular author. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Mar.)

Booklist Review

This is the first authorized biography of Fleming, the man known primarily as the creator of James Bond (although he did a lot of other things first) since 1966. Though there have been many books about the Bond creator, what sets this one apart, in addition to the legitimacy of authorization, is that Shakespeare (The Sandpit, 2020) was granted access to the Fleming family's private documents. Approaching the biography with the flair of a novelist, Shakespeare shows us the pre-Bond Fleming in lively detail. Fleming spent only the final dozen years of his life as a writer, and Shakespeare's approach helps readers understand how Fleming became the man who created Bond. It's an absolutely fascinating story full of astonishing career moves: Fleming was a reporter stationed in Russia and Germany; he was instrumental in the planning of several major Allied operations during World War Two; he ran a unit of intelligence-gathering commandos; and that's just a small taste. This richly detailed, well-documented, and exquisitely written biography is highly recommendable to fans of Fleming, Bond, or both.

Kirkus Book Review

A fresh appraisal of the creator of James Bond. In the introduction, award-winning biographer and novelist Shakespeare recounts how he was approached by the Fleming Estate to write another biography of Ian Fleming (1908-1964) using family materials never before seen that shed "new light that leads to new conclusions about the man." Indeed, writes the author, "under the jarring surface of his popular image I could see a different person." Drawing on these materials, diaries, and numerous interviews, Shakespeare neatly weaves the dramatic history of Fleming's times into a very detailed narrative of his rise to success. Shakespeare is insightful in his explorations of how Fleming's experiences influenced his books: his Scottish roots; his privileged, loveless upbringing; expensive private boarding school and then Eton, which furnished many characters' names. After a brief, difficult stay at Sandhurst and a bout of gonorrhea, he was off to Austria and Switzerland, preparing for a possible government job and honing his considerable language and wooing skills. Working for Reuters, he was sent to Stalin's Soviet Union to cover a high-profile trial of British engineers. After a lucrative banking job--when he got the book-collecting bug and had numerous affairs--he was selected for "intelligence work, the secret war that could save lives." Six years as the personal assistant to the director of Naval Intelligence, Shakespeare writes, "gave him the secret material that he drew on to write his novels." He emerged a "complete man," and "he would spend the rest of his life in peacetime, trying to recapture moments of time like these." Living in Jamaica, Fleming began Casino Royale: "Ian took the cards he had been dealt and slipped them to Bond." Later, with some chagrin, a wealthy, unhealthy Fleming said, "I have become the slave of a serial character." Shakespeare leaves no stone unturned in this exhaustive, highly readable biography. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.