The Centenary Of The Birth Of Ian Fleming, Creator Of James Bond

Next year marks the centenary of the birth of Ianoff in the United States, but there was no turning
Fleming, whose time spent in Naval Intelligence duringback and with the film series beginning in 1962 with
the Second World War proved to be the catalystDr No the Bond phenomenon took off.
that led to the creation of James Bond, the mostUnfortunately Ian Fleming did not live to enjoy his full
iconic character to emerge from 20th century fiction.success; he died on August 8th 1964, before the
The life of Ian Flemingrelease of the iconic third 007 film, Goldfinger.
Fleming was born on May 28th 1908 in Mayfair, aCentenary Celebrations
wealthy district of London, and his early years wereFans of the fictional super spy have a lot to look
entirely privileged. However, First World War ensuredforward to in 2008, with a number of events
that Fleming was left fatherless and from thatannounced and more in the pipeline. So far the
moment on he found his life dominated by hisfollowing have been announced:
mother, who was affectionately known as "M".January 8th 2008
Fleming's education and early career were entirelyThe Royal Mail is set to issue a special set of
unremarkable and after several false starts he waspostage stamps featuring covers from six of the
sent to Moscow to cover the show trial of a numberfourteen books. The stamps are available to
of Vickers employees under Stalin's regime, one ofpre-order on a limited set of first day covers and
his early triumphs.feature Casino Royale and Dr No as first class
With the outbreak of war in 1939, Fleming wasstamps, while airmail stamps will feature Goldfinger,
recruited into naval Intelligence by Rear Admiral JohnDiamonds Are Forever, For Your Eyes Only and From
Godfrey, Director of Naval Intelligence as hisRussia With Love.
assistant. Initially as a lieutenant in the Royal NavalApril 17th 2008 - March 1st 2009
Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) he was subsequentlyThe Imperial War Museum will host an exhibition
promoted to Lieutenant Commander, thencalled For Your Eyes Only - Ian Fleming and James
Commander, the rank he was later to attribute toBond, focusing on Fleming and his creation in a
James Bond.historical context. It is the first major exhibition
Although he himself saw no action during the war hedevoted to Ian Fleming and look at how his
was involved with some of Great Britain's top-secretexperiences in Naval Intelligence and the post war
operations and directly responsible for conceiving aclimate influenced the 007 books and stoked the
number of plans.James Bond phenomenon.
Following the cessation of hostilities Fleming went toMay 28th 2008
work as Foreign Manager for Kemsley Newspapers,The day of the Fleming centenary will be marked by
owner of the Sunday Times. His job was to use histhe publication of a new 007 novel written by
contacts to create a network of reporters thatSebastian Faulks. Entitled Devil May Care, the book
rivalled Reuters and one of the key clauses in hiscontinues Fleming's chronology and sees James Bond
contract allowed him two months every year onback in action in the 1960s. The book was
vacation.commissioned by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd and is
This time was spent at Goldeneye, his house inpublished in the UK by Penguin Books.
Jamaica and it was here, in 1952 that he beganAs if this were not enough for the Bond fan, 2008
writing Casino Royale, allegedly to take his mind offwill also see the return of Daniel Craig as James Bond
his impending marriage.in the new film from Eon Productions. Currently
Casino Royale was published in 1953 and immediatelyscheduled for November, the 22nd film in the series
attracted attention in the UK. It took several moreto eagerly awaited after Craig's gritty portrayal of
books and appearance of From Russia, With Love onBond in Casino Royale.
the reading list of JFK for James Bond to really take