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Ian Fleming
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.
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.
886 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 2023
253 people are currently reading
1456 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas Shakespeare
38 books110 followersNicholas William Richmond Shakespeare is a English novelist and biographer.
Born to a diplomat, Nicholas Shakespeare grew up in the Far East and in South America. He was educated at the Dragon School preparatory school in Oxford, then at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He worked as a journalist for BBC television and then on The Times as assistant arts and literary editor. From 1988 to 1991 he was literary editor of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.
Since 2000, Shakespeare has been Patron of the Anita Goulden Trust, helping children in the Peruvian city of Piura. The UK-based charity was set up following an article that Shakespeare wrote for the Daily Telegraph magazine, which raised more than £350,000.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is married with two small boys and currently lives in Oxford.
Born to a diplomat, Nicholas Shakespeare grew up in the Far East and in South America. He was educated at the Dragon School preparatory school in Oxford, then at Winchester College and at Magdalene College, Cambridge. He worked as a journalist for BBC television and then on The Times as assistant arts and literary editor. From 1988 to 1991 he was literary editor of The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph.
Since 2000, Shakespeare has been Patron of the Anita Goulden Trust, helping children in the Peruvian city of Piura. The UK-based charity was set up following an article that Shakespeare wrote for the Daily Telegraph magazine, which raised more than £350,000.
He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He is married with two small boys and currently lives in Oxford.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
February 3, 2025
I've never been a fan of James Bond. I've not read a single Bond book and haven't watched a Bond film since Roger Moore was 007, and yet, when this book was published I wanted to read about the author.
This was mainly to discover more about his WWII career, and as such what he took from himself and his experiences working in Naval Intelligence into his fictional creation.
Nicholas Shakespeare has certainly written a fulsome book; it is including notes, sources and index a hefty 821 pages. And yet, whilst it was a chunky book, it was a breeze to read and had me hooked, and often reading until late into the early hours. I was hooked.
The book covers Fleming's early years in great detail and how influential and damaging his mother, Eve, would be on his formative years and long into his life. School years and early friendships shaped the young Fleming as of course did the loss of his father, Valentine, bravely in action in World War One. The 1920s and 30s see Fleming in Europe, notably Austria as a young man, and also closer to WWII, in Russia as a journalist reporting on the sabotage/espionage trial of a British company (Metropolitan-Vickers).
The war years follow as Fleming, in danger of becoming a somewhat average also ran, joins Britain's Royal Navy working for Naval Intelligence in London. It is here that he settles with solid relationships with his boss, Admiral Godfrey, and others, and has a influence on WWII that still today in some aspects in secret (Official files closed to circa 2039-45). It is Fleming's idea for what became Operation Mincemeat; he is instrumental in setting up special forces (3o Assault Unit); and holds significant command and reach into UK Intelligence Services, and the fledgling US (what became the OSS and later CIA). There is much more within the book that Nicholas Shakespeare is able to detail, with many quotes, and sources showing this network and achievement.
During this war period, adding to that of pre-war, his friendships and loves with women help create a picture of Fleming: both his positive and negative characteristics and behaviours as people see them. Post-war he returns to journalism becoming central at the Sunday Times, and creates a foreign news service/network that mirrors his work from Room 39 at Naval Intelligence. He still hankers to become a writer and buys his home in Jamaica - what becomes Goldeneye. He also manages to negotiate in his Sunday Times contract a two-months a year holiday where he relocates to Jamaica to write.
Bond begins. I was struck by just how slow and juddering the evolution of both Bond, and especially the publishing was. Moreover, the sales numbers were far lower than I had anticipated and Fleming had to work very, very hard and pull in favours to try to get a publishing deal and publicity. He is ultimately helped by a man called JFK, who states Bond is one of his "reads" when relaxing. This opens up the literary world and a massive explosion in shifting hardbacks and lots and lots of paperbacks.
The evolution of Bond onto the silver screen is also fascinating. Again, I had no idea how fraught and difficult this was. It lead to serious high-court cases for plagiarism and much besides; and finally leading to Saltzman and Broccoli; both of whom were small scale and struggling to make money prior to Bond.
Fleming's relationship with his wife, Ann, was almost poisonous and whilst both had affairs, and neither were perfect to each other, I saw her as especially selfish and simply nasty. She had been married previously and lived in great wealth and was a social climber, whereas Fleming was more introspective. Neither comes out of the marriage well, but the book shows clearly how their relationship, Ann's behaviour and lifestyle impacted each of them, and also their only child, their son Caspar.
The battles for publishing the books, the court cases over film rights, the "monster" he created in Bond, and his relationship wife Ann, all helped magnify and create his downward spiral into ill health and early death.
Over all, I was left with the sense that Fleming was a gifted man who liked to live life at a 100 mile per hour, but like many who are clever and intense he suffered many faults that led to difficulties and great sadness.
The book is also a great mirror on 1920s-1960s British society, especially the well-to-do and well-placed (aka the establishment), who Fleming, his peers, friends and wife were all connected to. The sheer number of well-known people (and many I had to Google) who grace the pages was astounding, and many of those and more were present at his memorial service at St Bartholomew the Great in London in 1964.
Commander (Retired) Ian Fleming had written 12 James Bond novels and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and was just 56 when he died. 007 lives on.
Highly recommended for fans of James Bond and Ian Fleming, but also for WWII/intelligence services; 20th Century high-society, and just very good biography writing.
My copy was a Vintage paperback published in 2024. 821 printed pages and 51 black and white photos in two plate sections.
This was mainly to discover more about his WWII career, and as such what he took from himself and his experiences working in Naval Intelligence into his fictional creation.
Nicholas Shakespeare has certainly written a fulsome book; it is including notes, sources and index a hefty 821 pages. And yet, whilst it was a chunky book, it was a breeze to read and had me hooked, and often reading until late into the early hours. I was hooked.
The book covers Fleming's early years in great detail and how influential and damaging his mother, Eve, would be on his formative years and long into his life. School years and early friendships shaped the young Fleming as of course did the loss of his father, Valentine, bravely in action in World War One. The 1920s and 30s see Fleming in Europe, notably Austria as a young man, and also closer to WWII, in Russia as a journalist reporting on the sabotage/espionage trial of a British company (Metropolitan-Vickers).
The war years follow as Fleming, in danger of becoming a somewhat average also ran, joins Britain's Royal Navy working for Naval Intelligence in London. It is here that he settles with solid relationships with his boss, Admiral Godfrey, and others, and has a influence on WWII that still today in some aspects in secret (Official files closed to circa 2039-45). It is Fleming's idea for what became Operation Mincemeat; he is instrumental in setting up special forces (3o Assault Unit); and holds significant command and reach into UK Intelligence Services, and the fledgling US (what became the OSS and later CIA). There is much more within the book that Nicholas Shakespeare is able to detail, with many quotes, and sources showing this network and achievement.
During this war period, adding to that of pre-war, his friendships and loves with women help create a picture of Fleming: both his positive and negative characteristics and behaviours as people see them. Post-war he returns to journalism becoming central at the Sunday Times, and creates a foreign news service/network that mirrors his work from Room 39 at Naval Intelligence. He still hankers to become a writer and buys his home in Jamaica - what becomes Goldeneye. He also manages to negotiate in his Sunday Times contract a two-months a year holiday where he relocates to Jamaica to write.
Bond begins. I was struck by just how slow and juddering the evolution of both Bond, and especially the publishing was. Moreover, the sales numbers were far lower than I had anticipated and Fleming had to work very, very hard and pull in favours to try to get a publishing deal and publicity. He is ultimately helped by a man called JFK, who states Bond is one of his "reads" when relaxing. This opens up the literary world and a massive explosion in shifting hardbacks and lots and lots of paperbacks.
The evolution of Bond onto the silver screen is also fascinating. Again, I had no idea how fraught and difficult this was. It lead to serious high-court cases for plagiarism and much besides; and finally leading to Saltzman and Broccoli; both of whom were small scale and struggling to make money prior to Bond.
Fleming's relationship with his wife, Ann, was almost poisonous and whilst both had affairs, and neither were perfect to each other, I saw her as especially selfish and simply nasty. She had been married previously and lived in great wealth and was a social climber, whereas Fleming was more introspective. Neither comes out of the marriage well, but the book shows clearly how their relationship, Ann's behaviour and lifestyle impacted each of them, and also their only child, their son Caspar.
The battles for publishing the books, the court cases over film rights, the "monster" he created in Bond, and his relationship wife Ann, all helped magnify and create his downward spiral into ill health and early death.
Over all, I was left with the sense that Fleming was a gifted man who liked to live life at a 100 mile per hour, but like many who are clever and intense he suffered many faults that led to difficulties and great sadness.
The book is also a great mirror on 1920s-1960s British society, especially the well-to-do and well-placed (aka the establishment), who Fleming, his peers, friends and wife were all connected to. The sheer number of well-known people (and many I had to Google) who grace the pages was astounding, and many of those and more were present at his memorial service at St Bartholomew the Great in London in 1964.
Commander (Retired) Ian Fleming had written 12 James Bond novels and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and was just 56 when he died. 007 lives on.
Highly recommended for fans of James Bond and Ian Fleming, but also for WWII/intelligence services; 20th Century high-society, and just very good biography writing.
My copy was a Vintage paperback published in 2024. 821 printed pages and 51 black and white photos in two plate sections.
November 26, 2023
Having read all of the previous books about the life of Ian Fleming I wondered if there was anything else left to discover. Strangely enough when author Nicholas Shakespeare was approached to write about Fleming's life he thought the same thing!
This is a huge volume, both in page count & detail, but it's a fascinating book & Shakepeare's style of writing is wonderfully enjoyable to read. Having been a James Bond fan since I was a child these were the parts of the book I was most interested in. However, Shakespeare's research & his access to previously unseen material drew me into Ian Fleming's life before 007 (& the life of his parents & grandparents as well) & I found these parts of the book incredibly interesting.
Fleming crammed a huge amount of things into his short life before he died at the age of 56, so it's not surprising this book is over 800 pages long. Thankfully I had a few days holiday & was able to get through it in quite short time.
A great read for James Bond fans & an even better read about this extraordinary man's life.
This is a huge volume, both in page count & detail, but it's a fascinating book & Shakepeare's style of writing is wonderfully enjoyable to read. Having been a James Bond fan since I was a child these were the parts of the book I was most interested in. However, Shakespeare's research & his access to previously unseen material drew me into Ian Fleming's life before 007 (& the life of his parents & grandparents as well) & I found these parts of the book incredibly interesting.
Fleming crammed a huge amount of things into his short life before he died at the age of 56, so it's not surprising this book is over 800 pages long. Thankfully I had a few days holiday & was able to get through it in quite short time.
A great read for James Bond fans & an even better read about this extraordinary man's life.
January 1, 2024
Nicholas Shakespeare's literary endeavor, "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man," serves as a captivating expedition into the intricate layers of the renowned creator of James Bond. In this biographical masterpiece, Shakespeare skillfully navigates the narrative landscape, offering readers a comprehensive and intimate understanding of Fleming's multifaceted life.
Beyond the glitz and glamour associated with Bond, the author meticulously unravels the complexities that shaped Fleming's character. From his involvement in espionage to his literary pursuits, every facet of Fleming's life is scrutinized with scholarly precision and a touch of narrative finesse. The result is a compelling portrayal that goes beyond the surface, providing a nuanced and authentic glimpse into the man behind the fictional spy.
Shakespeare's commitment to thorough research is evident throughout the book, creating a vivid tapestry of Fleming's experiences and relationships. The narrative unfolds like a well-crafted spy thriller, keeping readers engaged and eager to discover the next revelation about this iconic figure.
What sets this biography apart is its ability to humanize Fleming. The author goes beyond the expected, delving into the personal struggles, triumphs, and idiosyncrasies that shaped the man. Readers are treated to a more profound understanding of Fleming's motivations, passions, and the circumstances that fueled his creativity.
Whether you're a devoted Bond aficionado or someone seeking an illuminating exploration of a fascinating life, "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man" delivers on both fronts. Shakespeare's eloquent prose and the rich tapestry of historical context make this book not just a biography but a literary journey into the heart and mind of a cultural icon. It stands as a testament to the meticulous craftsmanship of the author and an essential read for anyone intrigued by the enigmatic world of Ian Fleming. 📚🕵️♂️
Beyond the glitz and glamour associated with Bond, the author meticulously unravels the complexities that shaped Fleming's character. From his involvement in espionage to his literary pursuits, every facet of Fleming's life is scrutinized with scholarly precision and a touch of narrative finesse. The result is a compelling portrayal that goes beyond the surface, providing a nuanced and authentic glimpse into the man behind the fictional spy.
Shakespeare's commitment to thorough research is evident throughout the book, creating a vivid tapestry of Fleming's experiences and relationships. The narrative unfolds like a well-crafted spy thriller, keeping readers engaged and eager to discover the next revelation about this iconic figure.
What sets this biography apart is its ability to humanize Fleming. The author goes beyond the expected, delving into the personal struggles, triumphs, and idiosyncrasies that shaped the man. Readers are treated to a more profound understanding of Fleming's motivations, passions, and the circumstances that fueled his creativity.
Whether you're a devoted Bond aficionado or someone seeking an illuminating exploration of a fascinating life, "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man" delivers on both fronts. Shakespeare's eloquent prose and the rich tapestry of historical context make this book not just a biography but a literary journey into the heart and mind of a cultural icon. It stands as a testament to the meticulous craftsmanship of the author and an essential read for anyone intrigued by the enigmatic world of Ian Fleming. 📚🕵️♂️
October 12, 2023
Ian Fleming: The Complete Man
Nicholas Shakespeare, Harvill Secker, London, 2023
(Review copy supplied by publisher)
Ian Fleming had a golden typewriter. It was smuggled in from the USA by a friend, just after he finished Casino Royale in 1952. Vulgar? Yes of course, but he enjoyed the joke. (Presumably only the outside was gilded; those old manual typewriters were very heavy to use even without an extra coat of paint.) Although not made to order, it cost one hundred and seventy-four pounds, a lot of money in those days. Fleming had not inherited much of his very rich family’s fortune, but he could afford luxuries.
Somehow that typewriter seems suitable for the writer of the James Bond novels, which are crammed with lovingly, or naively, detailed luxuries that must have been both enviable and cheering for readers in the grim post-war “Spam-munching” Britain. Bond was stated in Casino Royale to be comfortably off but not obscenely rich on two thousand pounds p.a. after tax, and perhaps Fleming’s readers vicariously enjoyed his treats.
But of course there was much more to Fleming than the Bond phenomenon. Nicholas Shakespeare has spent several years prising Fleming’s real character/career/relationships from the second-hand stories, memories and other biographies. In his beautiful, silken prose with its undertone of humour -- not jokes, except for the cracker on the first page, just a sensible and often charitable humour – he does his best to explain whether Fleming was a ‘war-winner’ or a desk-bound fantasist in Naval Intelligence, and what he was up to before, during and after the war.
This is a very long book, but never less than intensely readable. Another reviewer(Anthony Cummins) has said that Shakespeare’s book must be read as ‘a promise to give the reader what was left out of previous biographies’, but Shakespeare directs his huge cast of characters through war, sex, adultery, deception, friendships and enmities so deftly that the reader is never at a loss. Many of the people named in the book are familiar to anyone who has read much about the between- and post-war period: aristocrats, literati, politicians, military and civilians, and by naming them , to me Shakespeare is not showing ‘his assumptions of his audience’. (Showing off, in other words.) Anyone who wanted a shorter biography that relied less on primary sources and descriptions of Fleming’s eras would find several slighter books.
It’s not the purpose of this review to repeat much, or any, of Fleming’s life, his various jobs, relationships and in particular his wartime experiences. That’s what the book is for. Whether one ends up liking or disliking Fleming, thinking the (in my opinion mostly rather awful) Bond novels were the result of a midlife crisis or a desire to make money out of real or second-hand experiences, is a toss-up. But certainly Shakespeare has given his readers every chance to decide, on a good deal of evidence. I think Fleming was not a happy man, finding real love only in his son Caspar (1952-75) and in his beloved Jamaica. To paraphrase Her late Majesty Elizabeth II, “opinions may vary.” But Ian Fleming: The Complete Man is a seriously good and engaging book by an outstanding biographer. I read its 700-odd pages in a week and I recommend it highly, whether or not you like Fleming as a man or an author. And also whether or not you care for James Bond in books or films. In fact, at times Shakespeare’s book makes one forget about Bond. Good.
Reviewed by Meredith Whitford
http://meredithwh.wixsite.com/home
Facebook: Meredith Whitford, Author
Adelaide, South Australia, 11 October 2023
Nicholas Shakespeare, Harvill Secker, London, 2023
(Review copy supplied by publisher)
Ian Fleming had a golden typewriter. It was smuggled in from the USA by a friend, just after he finished Casino Royale in 1952. Vulgar? Yes of course, but he enjoyed the joke. (Presumably only the outside was gilded; those old manual typewriters were very heavy to use even without an extra coat of paint.) Although not made to order, it cost one hundred and seventy-four pounds, a lot of money in those days. Fleming had not inherited much of his very rich family’s fortune, but he could afford luxuries.
Somehow that typewriter seems suitable for the writer of the James Bond novels, which are crammed with lovingly, or naively, detailed luxuries that must have been both enviable and cheering for readers in the grim post-war “Spam-munching” Britain. Bond was stated in Casino Royale to be comfortably off but not obscenely rich on two thousand pounds p.a. after tax, and perhaps Fleming’s readers vicariously enjoyed his treats.
But of course there was much more to Fleming than the Bond phenomenon. Nicholas Shakespeare has spent several years prising Fleming’s real character/career/relationships from the second-hand stories, memories and other biographies. In his beautiful, silken prose with its undertone of humour -- not jokes, except for the cracker on the first page, just a sensible and often charitable humour – he does his best to explain whether Fleming was a ‘war-winner’ or a desk-bound fantasist in Naval Intelligence, and what he was up to before, during and after the war.
This is a very long book, but never less than intensely readable. Another reviewer(Anthony Cummins) has said that Shakespeare’s book must be read as ‘a promise to give the reader what was left out of previous biographies’, but Shakespeare directs his huge cast of characters through war, sex, adultery, deception, friendships and enmities so deftly that the reader is never at a loss. Many of the people named in the book are familiar to anyone who has read much about the between- and post-war period: aristocrats, literati, politicians, military and civilians, and by naming them , to me Shakespeare is not showing ‘his assumptions of his audience’. (Showing off, in other words.) Anyone who wanted a shorter biography that relied less on primary sources and descriptions of Fleming’s eras would find several slighter books.
It’s not the purpose of this review to repeat much, or any, of Fleming’s life, his various jobs, relationships and in particular his wartime experiences. That’s what the book is for. Whether one ends up liking or disliking Fleming, thinking the (in my opinion mostly rather awful) Bond novels were the result of a midlife crisis or a desire to make money out of real or second-hand experiences, is a toss-up. But certainly Shakespeare has given his readers every chance to decide, on a good deal of evidence. I think Fleming was not a happy man, finding real love only in his son Caspar (1952-75) and in his beloved Jamaica. To paraphrase Her late Majesty Elizabeth II, “opinions may vary.” But Ian Fleming: The Complete Man is a seriously good and engaging book by an outstanding biographer. I read its 700-odd pages in a week and I recommend it highly, whether or not you like Fleming as a man or an author. And also whether or not you care for James Bond in books or films. In fact, at times Shakespeare’s book makes one forget about Bond. Good.
Reviewed by Meredith Whitford
http://meredithwh.wixsite.com/home
Facebook: Meredith Whitford, Author
Adelaide, South Australia, 11 October 2023
September 30, 2025
Kokybiškai nauja Flemingo biografija, kuri dar plačiau išskleidžia jo vietomis labai paslaptingą gyvenimą su visomis šiandien jau paaiškėjusiomis detalėmis. Šekspyras autoritetingai nutildo jau senokai atgyvenusias teorijas, kad Džeimso Bondo autorius nieko neišmanė apie žvalgybą ir kad jo herojus neturi nieko bendra su šios veiklos tikrove. Viskas yra priešingai - tai atrado ne Šekspyras, bet jis meistriškai apibendrina kitų išvadas, kaip ir priklauso biografui.
Biografija apskritai meistriškai parašyta. Bet kas, kas imasi pasakoti kitų gyvenimus, turėtų pasimokyti Šekspyro struktūros. Skaitytojas suviliojamas intriguojančiomis užuominomis, paskui nuvedamas priežasties-pasekmės takeliu iki pat intrigos šaltinio.
O kur dar golfas, turtuolių kasdienybė, tikri meilės romanai ir pikantiškos sekso technikos. Puota gyvenimo gurmanams!
Biografija apskritai meistriškai parašyta. Bet kas, kas imasi pasakoti kitų gyvenimus, turėtų pasimokyti Šekspyro struktūros. Skaitytojas suviliojamas intriguojančiomis užuominomis, paskui nuvedamas priežasties-pasekmės takeliu iki pat intrigos šaltinio.
O kur dar golfas, turtuolių kasdienybė, tikri meilės romanai ir pikantiškos sekso technikos. Puota gyvenimo gurmanams!
April 13, 2025
The interwar years and the postwar years of Fleming's life are the most interesting, to me (people who love Eton and WWII skirmishes will find lots of both in here), but not in a 'fun' way. Shakespeare probably gives Fleming 3 pages of contentment as he's snorkelling and about to write the first Bond book before jumping forward in time to show an ailing author and his always-disapproving wife in unhappy situations. Very little reprieve from the miseries of war to the miseries of marriage and, eventually, fame. It's well-known that Fleming wanted to kill Bond off many times, and if both a president's touting of his work and the movie version of Dr No hadn't happened his life might have taken a different course.
Fleming and his wife exchange one grandiose hovel (in jamaica) for another (in england). Their child had a mental problem neither recognized and offs himself pretty early on. It's doubtful any reader will miss him. (And yes, I am aware how that sounds.) Fame, and the immense amount of money Fleming received (and Shakespeare smartly converts, say, 1960 pounds sterling into today's equivalent), don't bring much happiness.
Shakespeare has organized the extensive material well (some of it is newly revealed or newly free to use), though whenever he's in one year and then dives forward in time he disrupts the narrative. He's hardly the only biographer to do that (it must be a requirement in Biography Writing 101), but it's always irritating. Peter Fleming, also a writer, gets time here, and the competition is evident. But it's mostly Fleming's terrible marriage (he was not a prize either) to someone who disliked his books, scorned his writing, but loved the money that eventually came in, and burnt some of his work, that makes the 1950s and 1960s (Fleming died in 1964) a dreary time.
Recommended.
Fleming and his wife exchange one grandiose hovel (in jamaica) for another (in england). Their child had a mental problem neither recognized and offs himself pretty early on. It's doubtful any reader will miss him. (And yes, I am aware how that sounds.) Fame, and the immense amount of money Fleming received (and Shakespeare smartly converts, say, 1960 pounds sterling into today's equivalent), don't bring much happiness.
Shakespeare has organized the extensive material well (some of it is newly revealed or newly free to use), though whenever he's in one year and then dives forward in time he disrupts the narrative. He's hardly the only biographer to do that (it must be a requirement in Biography Writing 101), but it's always irritating. Peter Fleming, also a writer, gets time here, and the competition is evident. But it's mostly Fleming's terrible marriage (he was not a prize either) to someone who disliked his books, scorned his writing, but loved the money that eventually came in, and burnt some of his work, that makes the 1950s and 1960s (Fleming died in 1964) a dreary time.
Recommended.
May 3, 2024
This absolutely sails into TMI territory -- the exhaustive details are almost crushing at times. And, for a book that claims so much of Ian Fleming's wartime activities remain a secret, this book seems to have no problem filling in that hole. Contradictory? Perhaps...yet in spite of these caveats, I can't deny this is likely the most definitive account we're going to have of Ian Fleming any time soon. What it does best is reveal just alien and alienating the life of the upper-class was -- and is -- and how everyone in this book is divorced from the every day reality of people around them. Repulsive and compelling in equal measure.
June 13, 2024
Nicholas Shakespeare, renowned for his award-winning fiction and landmark biography on Bruce Chatwin has notched another milestone with this chunky biography of Ian Fleming. Drawing on much previously unpublished material and deep access to the papers and letters of friends and family he fills in many of the blanks on Fleming's career and his secret World War II service, his personality, marriages and the tragedy of his son. He also looks at the phenomenon of James Bond, Fleming's famous fictional alter-ego, and his undiminished world-wide influence in the years since the first publication of the books and movies. A truly towering study of a landmark figure. - BH.
November 27, 2024
Quite simply, this is a great biography. True, it’s a doorstop at 700 pages before notes, bibliography and index, but the author keeps the narrative rolling and his subject is worthy of every detailed page. I’m an American who saw the film of Dr. No just by chance the weekend it was released in the U.S.. I was 12 years old. Immediately following, I began to devour all of the Bond books. I later came to realize that, despite their iconic status, the substance of which this biography goes into considerable detail to explain, they really are not all that well written. Shakespeare’s book reveals that Ian Fleming was a vastly more interesting character than his own creation, a ne’er do well in his youth, a largely unsung war hero, a talented newspaperman, and ultimately a pop culture icon. A couple of caveats: non-British readers may find the endless recounting of the English obsession with status and class consciousness annoying. But it’s essential to understanding Fleming’s complex personality and the terrible love/hate relationships he had with both his wife and mother, two formidable and hideous spectres that dominated his psychological problems. The second caveat: the huge supporting cast of friends, foes, allies, enemies and lovers that populate this tome. A dramatis personae would have helped for reference despite extending the book’s length in all likelihood to 850 pages. But honestly, this might be the best literary biography I’ve ever read. If you’re intrigued by its subject, don’t hesitate to dive in.
January 3, 2024
Excellent biography of the creator of James Bond . His life before he was a writer put him at the heart of critical moments in world history,which provided inspiration for his fiction. His Jamaican retreat of ‘Goldeneye’ provided him with sanctuary as well as famous guests . Recommended as a great biography .
May 14, 2024
Filled with fascinating stories about a remarkable man the book is overlong and filled with pointless detail about people tangential to Fleming's life. The depth of research is amazing but the author is too eager to share everything he's learned. Detail on Fleming's war time service is largely unavailable, destroyed or still classified, and the author is too eager to aggrandize his role. To be fair he may have been a critical figure in Allied intelligence during WWII and the early cold war but the author can't back up that assertion with the records available.
Bottom line - worth reading but you'll find yourself skimming quite a bit.
Bottom line - worth reading but you'll find yourself skimming quite a bit.
May 11, 2024
When reviewing a title like this one, IAN FLEMING: THE COMPLETE MAN, it is difficult to approach it in the same manner one might a standard work of fiction. For one, this book is about three times larger than most works of fiction, clocking in at just under 900 pages. Another consideration is the subject matter. Ian Fleming, though not a household name, created one of the most famous and prolific fictional characters of all time in British Super-Spy James Bond.
In fact, Bond is so woven into the culture of the entire globe that his presence and renown has long exceeded the years his creator spent on earth --- not sure many people realize Ian Fleming passed away at the exceedingly young age of 56. I have opted to focus specifically on the facts about Fleming and the impact he left on our world in this review and will hopefully open a few eyes of even the biggest Bond fans.
To begin with, this material was put together by one of the great biographers of our time in Nicholas Shakespeare. Quite honestly, I would almost anything that had the surname ‘Shakespeare’ attached to it. The introduction to this biography shows the dichotomy of the enigma that was Ian Fleming. He was described both as one of the nicest most supportive friends and family members ever to a man whom most women could not stand and someone even Sean ‘James Bond’ Connery himself described as a snob. Shakespeare goes on to show how someone that has had so much impact on the world, literary and beyond, could be seen in such a multi-faceted way.
He must have been doing something right. He counted the great playwright Noel Coward amongst his greatest friends and his fictional creation was actually referred to as a flesh-and-blood person in the speech of four standing U.S. Presidents --- JFK, Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump. There is even a question on the British Citizenship Exam that refers to James Bond. Talk about going beyond the surreal and completely being embedded in a culture!
Ian Fleming, who died suddenly at the age of 56, was aptly buried in ST. James Cemetery. His last words were to his ambulance drivers, where he apologized for the inconvenience. A Fleming Family Tree is provided and makes for much easier work when going back for references whilst reading this tome. His uncle James, for instance, was a novelist of some renown who also edited Ian’s antiquarian journal The Book Collector. Ian was such a lover of literature that many are unaware that he created another work of fiction that also has had lengthy impact on the world of fiction ---- the novel he published specifically for children titled CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. The film version is, I daresay, as legendary as the Bond films and even featured Goldfinger himself Gert Frobe in the role of the evil King that hated children who did battle with Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howles.
Ian’s life was not without tragedy, a fact he had to face firsthand when his father Valentine died at the incredibly youthful age of 35. Ian and his brothers were forced to grow up quickly to take charge of the family and to help insulate their mother Eve from her grief. Ironically, James Bond also lost his Scottish father Andrew at an early age in a mountain-climbing accident. Ian got a start into official adulthood when he attended the upper class school Eton. It was also at Eton that Ian’s imagination and memory began to firmly take shape and he utilized names from this era as characters in his prodigious James Bond series.
Many of the chapters in this biography feature quotes taken from various Bond novels, like the quote from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME: ‘English public schools are supposed to grow people up very quickly and teach them how to behave.’ This again shows how Ian’s mind was indeed a sieve and that no personal experience was off-bounds when it came to needing story fodder for his novels. To that end, Ian’s time at the Royal Military College and on the battlefield would definitely feature experiences that he could use for Bond, amongst other characters he was to create.
Locations were also a big part of the Bond novels, and the one and only marriage that James Bond had took place in ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, which included a honeymoon in one of Fleming’s favorite locations --- Kitzbuhel, Austria. Fleming was also married just once, although his way with the opposite sex would sometimes rival that of the famous international playboy James Bond. Ian also spent some happy years working as a correspondent with Reuters in what would prove to be another foray into international affairs that would color his future fiction.
The Bond novels would become big hits when they were released in the early 1950’s with titles like CASINO ROYALE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN leading the way, and would continue hitting the charts even after Ian Fleming’s death in 1964. Fans of just the films may be a bit disappointed when they dip into the catalogue of novels as many of the movie adaptations, especially those post- Sean Connery, bear little to no resemblance to the source material outside of sharing the same title.
The personal and family photos that are included with this biography are wonderful and Nicholas Shakespeare has nicely laid these out for readers. Also, the extensive outlining of the complete research Shakespeare used when putting this biography together is a wonder to behold in and of itself and takes up nearly one-third of the total page-count. The end result of this work is a book that humanizes the man behind Bond and Chitty and, more than anything else, makes the connection between his brief and active life and the impact it had on his memorable and timeless fiction.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
In fact, Bond is so woven into the culture of the entire globe that his presence and renown has long exceeded the years his creator spent on earth --- not sure many people realize Ian Fleming passed away at the exceedingly young age of 56. I have opted to focus specifically on the facts about Fleming and the impact he left on our world in this review and will hopefully open a few eyes of even the biggest Bond fans.
To begin with, this material was put together by one of the great biographers of our time in Nicholas Shakespeare. Quite honestly, I would almost anything that had the surname ‘Shakespeare’ attached to it. The introduction to this biography shows the dichotomy of the enigma that was Ian Fleming. He was described both as one of the nicest most supportive friends and family members ever to a man whom most women could not stand and someone even Sean ‘James Bond’ Connery himself described as a snob. Shakespeare goes on to show how someone that has had so much impact on the world, literary and beyond, could be seen in such a multi-faceted way.
He must have been doing something right. He counted the great playwright Noel Coward amongst his greatest friends and his fictional creation was actually referred to as a flesh-and-blood person in the speech of four standing U.S. Presidents --- JFK, Reagan, George W. Bush, and Trump. There is even a question on the British Citizenship Exam that refers to James Bond. Talk about going beyond the surreal and completely being embedded in a culture!
Ian Fleming, who died suddenly at the age of 56, was aptly buried in ST. James Cemetery. His last words were to his ambulance drivers, where he apologized for the inconvenience. A Fleming Family Tree is provided and makes for much easier work when going back for references whilst reading this tome. His uncle James, for instance, was a novelist of some renown who also edited Ian’s antiquarian journal The Book Collector. Ian was such a lover of literature that many are unaware that he created another work of fiction that also has had lengthy impact on the world of fiction ---- the novel he published specifically for children titled CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. The film version is, I daresay, as legendary as the Bond films and even featured Goldfinger himself Gert Frobe in the role of the evil King that hated children who did battle with Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howles.
Ian’s life was not without tragedy, a fact he had to face firsthand when his father Valentine died at the incredibly youthful age of 35. Ian and his brothers were forced to grow up quickly to take charge of the family and to help insulate their mother Eve from her grief. Ironically, James Bond also lost his Scottish father Andrew at an early age in a mountain-climbing accident. Ian got a start into official adulthood when he attended the upper class school Eton. It was also at Eton that Ian’s imagination and memory began to firmly take shape and he utilized names from this era as characters in his prodigious James Bond series.
Many of the chapters in this biography feature quotes taken from various Bond novels, like the quote from THE SPY WHO LOVED ME: ‘English public schools are supposed to grow people up very quickly and teach them how to behave.’ This again shows how Ian’s mind was indeed a sieve and that no personal experience was off-bounds when it came to needing story fodder for his novels. To that end, Ian’s time at the Royal Military College and on the battlefield would definitely feature experiences that he could use for Bond, amongst other characters he was to create.
Locations were also a big part of the Bond novels, and the one and only marriage that James Bond had took place in ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, which included a honeymoon in one of Fleming’s favorite locations --- Kitzbuhel, Austria. Fleming was also married just once, although his way with the opposite sex would sometimes rival that of the famous international playboy James Bond. Ian also spent some happy years working as a correspondent with Reuters in what would prove to be another foray into international affairs that would color his future fiction.
The Bond novels would become big hits when they were released in the early 1950’s with titles like CASINO ROYALE and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN leading the way, and would continue hitting the charts even after Ian Fleming’s death in 1964. Fans of just the films may be a bit disappointed when they dip into the catalogue of novels as many of the movie adaptations, especially those post- Sean Connery, bear little to no resemblance to the source material outside of sharing the same title.
The personal and family photos that are included with this biography are wonderful and Nicholas Shakespeare has nicely laid these out for readers. Also, the extensive outlining of the complete research Shakespeare used when putting this biography together is a wonder to behold in and of itself and takes up nearly one-third of the total page-count. The end result of this work is a book that humanizes the man behind Bond and Chitty and, more than anything else, makes the connection between his brief and active life and the impact it had on his memorable and timeless fiction.
Reviewed by Ray Palen for Book Reporter
May 5, 2024
Audiobook. One of the best books ever. Highly recommend either audiobook or print. Endlessly facsinating
May 9, 2024
This is a fairly extensive book about the author, his youth and time in the intelligence field. My only complaint deals with the way it occasionally jumps between topics.
June 27, 2025
this was really well done! there's a good amount of historiography throughout this and i like how shakespeare is candid about the biases in previous biographies.
the bibliography is great! like with every nonfiction work, there's always a chance of biases still being carried throughout, but i like the variety of primary sources shakespeare got his hands on. reading about how others perceived fleming is just as relevant as what was going on in his life. i truly didn't know much about fleming's background prior to this, and i like how the biography is exactly as it claims to be: a biography on fleming's complete life.
ngl, i got a bit of ww2 history-fatigue after part 1 and i took a break for a couple of weeks, so i was pleasantly surprised when i started part 2 and shakespeare hit the ground running. part 2 went by so quickly! the audiobook narrator is lovely and i recommend listening to this if the size of the book is daunting.
never thought i would read an almost 900 page biography about anyone and the fact i completed this so quickly says more about shakespeare's writing ability than anything. he did a good job translating the history into narratives.
all in all, i highly recommend this. you don't need any prior ian fleming or james bond knowledge to understand what's happening.
the bibliography is great! like with every nonfiction work, there's always a chance of biases still being carried throughout, but i like the variety of primary sources shakespeare got his hands on. reading about how others perceived fleming is just as relevant as what was going on in his life. i truly didn't know much about fleming's background prior to this, and i like how the biography is exactly as it claims to be: a biography on fleming's complete life.
ngl, i got a bit of ww2 history-fatigue after part 1 and i took a break for a couple of weeks, so i was pleasantly surprised when i started part 2 and shakespeare hit the ground running. part 2 went by so quickly! the audiobook narrator is lovely and i recommend listening to this if the size of the book is daunting.
never thought i would read an almost 900 page biography about anyone and the fact i completed this so quickly says more about shakespeare's writing ability than anything. he did a good job translating the history into narratives.
all in all, i highly recommend this. you don't need any prior ian fleming or james bond knowledge to understand what's happening.
October 10, 2024
Just finished this 700 page bio. Will the real James Bond please stand up. Lotta great stuff, and some boring stuff, and lotta houses with names. Ultimately really enjoyed it very much even with all the political talk and war stuff that is a little redundant if you've read enough bios from that era.
He grew up in an extremely wealthy family. Father was killed in the Great War. His brother was the popular author decades before he ever published anything. Went to Eton just after Orwell. Didn't start writing Bond until age 44 and died only twelve years later. Was a big fan of Hemingway, some friends even referred to him as Flemingway.
After stipulating with his newspaper job to get two months off a year to spend time at his house named Goldeneye in Jamaica he wrote every single Bond novel there on his typewriter right over the Sea.
Though the books slowly became successful especially after Raymond Chandler gave a blurb and John F. Kennedy raved, it was the movies that actually made them so ridiculously popular; and now the movies have become so popular no one really thinks of the books much. So if you haven't read any you should check one out because they really blew me away and that's what led me to this one.
He grew up in an extremely wealthy family. Father was killed in the Great War. His brother was the popular author decades before he ever published anything. Went to Eton just after Orwell. Didn't start writing Bond until age 44 and died only twelve years later. Was a big fan of Hemingway, some friends even referred to him as Flemingway.
After stipulating with his newspaper job to get two months off a year to spend time at his house named Goldeneye in Jamaica he wrote every single Bond novel there on his typewriter right over the Sea.
Though the books slowly became successful especially after Raymond Chandler gave a blurb and John F. Kennedy raved, it was the movies that actually made them so ridiculously popular; and now the movies have become so popular no one really thinks of the books much. So if you haven't read any you should check one out because they really blew me away and that's what led me to this one.
November 4, 2025
I wouldn't normally have read a biography on Ian Fleming in a month of blimmin' Sundays, had I not been given it as a gift for my birthday.
I'd also like to point out, that I'm not a fan of Fleming's fictional spy, in any way shape or form, I’m really way more of a George Smiley, or Jackson Lamb (parp!) man. I have not read any James Bond books, nor have I any intention or want to read them. I don't even particularly like the movies very much, indeed, the last one I watched was probably 'Moonraker', as a teen, sometime in the 1980's. I wouldn't dream of watching any of the contemporary Bond movies with Daniel Craig either. A decision that became wholly justified with that nauseating Britnat crap, involving the Queen and Daniel Craig's James Bond at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. But because 'Ian Fleming: The Complete Man' was a gift, I felt somewhat obliged to read this rather hefty tome.
I had been dreading venturing into this extremely detailed biography, of a man I wasn't particularly interested in learning about, for the most part. However, I was slightly comforted by the fact, that the last time I'd been given a book as a gift (coincidentally by the same person, haha!), authored by someone I didn't really like (see my review of 'Space: The Human Story' by Tim Peake), I had enjoyed it a bit better than I thought I would.
Nevertheless, there had also been one saving grace that I thought this book had, and that was the period of time Fleming had spent in the British Secret Services. British Naval Intelligence to be precise, during World War II (hence, and given everything I’ve previously stated, it wasn’t entirely preposterous to give me this book as a gift, left field certainly, but not preposterous haha, thank you E! Ed). He had often materialized in many of the other works that I'd previously read which feature this area, and was one of a number of writers that had worked in British Intelligence, either during or post WWII (this is where we get the highly amusing scene from the excellent WWII film ’Operation Mincemeat’, which might involve the character of Fleming himself actually. Anyway, a Secret Services character says
”They are everywhere". The other character asks, ”The Germans?", the first character replies, ”No, writers." haha! It perhaps loses something in the translation, but I’d advise on actually viewing the 2021 John Madden movie, based on the wonderful book by Ben Macintyre and you’ll be able to appreciate it at ’gag ground zero’!).
But unfortunately, even this period in the book wasn't very illuminating or indeed, overly interesting, because as well as being a toff and a spy (he had not yet become a novelist), Ian Fleming, was first and foremost, a 'shagger'!
And even his most interesting period, his time as number two in British Naval Intelligence was continually interspersed with tales of his womanizing and hard drinking. However, I did manage to derive some schadenfreude, on learning just how embittered Fleming felt at being passed over for an honour. Obviously he couldn’t have been perverted enough for that particularly odious accolade to slip him by. Remaining eternally jealous of his brother Peter’s OBE till the day he died.
An interesting story, such as Ian, from a ship near the coast, looking on in amazement to see one of his commandos sitting on a crate of ammunition on the beach at the ill fated, disastrous landing at Dieppe in 1942 reading a novel, while bullets and bombs whizzed and exploded near by, would then move on quickly to the next ruined life of a woman that Fleming had bagged and dumped!
The biography honestly read like some sort of gossip column from Tattler, eminently boring and extremely tedious, ‘celebrity’ tittle tattle, yawn!
There was the odd giggle, but they were far and few between. However, this did make me smile somewhat, someone had remarked on how, Japan based Soviet spy, Richard Sorge, British Soviet mole, Kim Philby and Ian Fleming were 'psychic twins'. Hiding recklessly in plain sight, and textbook examples of that rare species we might call, 'Homo Undercoverus'. Where ostentation is a kind of camouflage.
I also had it confirmed, on why I just don't like James Bond, or indeed Ian Fleming himself, to any degree. Motivation for creating Bond, was to repair the damage done to 'Britain' by the spying and defections of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.
And this quote sums up, in my book, just what a tosser he really was. As Fleming spoke to his friend Ernie Cuneo, about one of his heroes, the deep sea diver, Jaques Cousteau,
'As Cousteau made alive and relevant again an Ancient Greek crew who had sunk two thousand years before, so Ian salvaged the British Secret Service - and by extension, the Establishment and Empire - after it had been holed below the water line.'
Pass the sick bucket, please!
No, I could not build up any empathy whatsoever for this spoilt and pampered toff, as the author lamented Ian's supposed depression and tortured loneliness, situations that quite honestly, seemed entirely of his own making. And I just wasn't buying, that there were periods in the author's life of grinding emotional and financial poverty! Eh? What, he only had the three houses at his most impoverished points?
All this biography did for me, besides at times, bore me to death, was confirm that Ian Fleming was an egregious, self indulgent, right wing, British nationalist toff, who liked to tie up and whip women, particularly Miss Funnyfanny!
It loudly declares at the start of the book, that every man wants to be James Bond! Well,I certainly don't!
I'd also like to point out, that I'm not a fan of Fleming's fictional spy, in any way shape or form, I’m really way more of a George Smiley, or Jackson Lamb (parp!) man. I have not read any James Bond books, nor have I any intention or want to read them. I don't even particularly like the movies very much, indeed, the last one I watched was probably 'Moonraker', as a teen, sometime in the 1980's. I wouldn't dream of watching any of the contemporary Bond movies with Daniel Craig either. A decision that became wholly justified with that nauseating Britnat crap, involving the Queen and Daniel Craig's James Bond at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics. But because 'Ian Fleming: The Complete Man' was a gift, I felt somewhat obliged to read this rather hefty tome.
I had been dreading venturing into this extremely detailed biography, of a man I wasn't particularly interested in learning about, for the most part. However, I was slightly comforted by the fact, that the last time I'd been given a book as a gift (coincidentally by the same person, haha!), authored by someone I didn't really like (see my review of 'Space: The Human Story' by Tim Peake), I had enjoyed it a bit better than I thought I would.
Nevertheless, there had also been one saving grace that I thought this book had, and that was the period of time Fleming had spent in the British Secret Services. British Naval Intelligence to be precise, during World War II (hence, and given everything I’ve previously stated, it wasn’t entirely preposterous to give me this book as a gift, left field certainly, but not preposterous haha, thank you E! Ed). He had often materialized in many of the other works that I'd previously read which feature this area, and was one of a number of writers that had worked in British Intelligence, either during or post WWII (this is where we get the highly amusing scene from the excellent WWII film ’Operation Mincemeat’, which might involve the character of Fleming himself actually. Anyway, a Secret Services character says
”They are everywhere". The other character asks, ”The Germans?", the first character replies, ”No, writers." haha! It perhaps loses something in the translation, but I’d advise on actually viewing the 2021 John Madden movie, based on the wonderful book by Ben Macintyre and you’ll be able to appreciate it at ’gag ground zero’!).
But unfortunately, even this period in the book wasn't very illuminating or indeed, overly interesting, because as well as being a toff and a spy (he had not yet become a novelist), Ian Fleming, was first and foremost, a 'shagger'!
And even his most interesting period, his time as number two in British Naval Intelligence was continually interspersed with tales of his womanizing and hard drinking. However, I did manage to derive some schadenfreude, on learning just how embittered Fleming felt at being passed over for an honour. Obviously he couldn’t have been perverted enough for that particularly odious accolade to slip him by. Remaining eternally jealous of his brother Peter’s OBE till the day he died.
An interesting story, such as Ian, from a ship near the coast, looking on in amazement to see one of his commandos sitting on a crate of ammunition on the beach at the ill fated, disastrous landing at Dieppe in 1942 reading a novel, while bullets and bombs whizzed and exploded near by, would then move on quickly to the next ruined life of a woman that Fleming had bagged and dumped!
The biography honestly read like some sort of gossip column from Tattler, eminently boring and extremely tedious, ‘celebrity’ tittle tattle, yawn!
There was the odd giggle, but they were far and few between. However, this did make me smile somewhat, someone had remarked on how, Japan based Soviet spy, Richard Sorge, British Soviet mole, Kim Philby and Ian Fleming were 'psychic twins'. Hiding recklessly in plain sight, and textbook examples of that rare species we might call, 'Homo Undercoverus'. Where ostentation is a kind of camouflage.
I also had it confirmed, on why I just don't like James Bond, or indeed Ian Fleming himself, to any degree. Motivation for creating Bond, was to repair the damage done to 'Britain' by the spying and defections of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean.
And this quote sums up, in my book, just what a tosser he really was. As Fleming spoke to his friend Ernie Cuneo, about one of his heroes, the deep sea diver, Jaques Cousteau,
'As Cousteau made alive and relevant again an Ancient Greek crew who had sunk two thousand years before, so Ian salvaged the British Secret Service - and by extension, the Establishment and Empire - after it had been holed below the water line.'
Pass the sick bucket, please!
No, I could not build up any empathy whatsoever for this spoilt and pampered toff, as the author lamented Ian's supposed depression and tortured loneliness, situations that quite honestly, seemed entirely of his own making. And I just wasn't buying, that there were periods in the author's life of grinding emotional and financial poverty! Eh? What, he only had the three houses at his most impoverished points?
All this biography did for me, besides at times, bore me to death, was confirm that Ian Fleming was an egregious, self indulgent, right wing, British nationalist toff, who liked to tie up and whip women, particularly Miss Funnyfanny!
It loudly declares at the start of the book, that every man wants to be James Bond! Well,I certainly don't!
March 25, 2025
The title says it all. I knew nothing about Ian Fleming and the book covered it all. From his schooling and interesting family life to his James Bond novels we get the total look. The first third and the last third of this 704 page tome are the best. When he’s serving in the war it gets a little boring mainly because we aren’t quite sure what he’s doing so to the secrecy of the operation.
Worth your time if you like James Bond.
Worth your time if you like James Bond.
December 27, 2024
It was thanks to a couple of reviews that I picked up this 700 page biography of someone I had very little interest in. But I am so glad I did. This is biography at its most artful. Nicholas Shakespeare brings out the complexity of this fascinating if not entirely appealing man. He provides a revealing window into a cast of familiar characters (Noel Coward, Roald Dahl, Churchill, Fermor, JFK, Cyril Connolly and countless others) as well as the time. The section covering his activities in WWII was particularly gripping. But the pacing never slips and I looked forward every day to being able to turn more pages.
September 25, 2024
The Highest Highs And The Deepest Lows All Chronicled Here In Stunning Detail. Yes, It Is Very Sad And The Main Subjects Are Pretty Unlikeable But It Makes For A Compelling 📚
September 18, 2024
A very good biography of an extremely interesting life. I was not prepared for how tragic it was to end, but I still found it hard to put down at times. It is not necessary to be a Bond fan to find it interesting, but now I want to read the Bond books after learning about their creation. The best parts were probably about his war years. Recommended.
November 25, 2024
A fabulous read , particularly the second half where Fleming gets into his writing and his social and personal life becomes a mini series all on its own . Particularly fascinating as a birds eye view of the rich and famous set Fleming and his wife were part of . And also getting to understand the why and how that Bond captured the zeitgeist and is still a social bellwether today is totally intriguing .
December 31, 2023
Wonderful biography of a man who is more like us, than James Bond. The perfect amount of information without being overwhelming and interesting from start to finish.
Wonderful pace and attention to his whole life and not just the fun bits.
Wonderful pace and attention to his whole life and not just the fun bits.
February 28, 2024
This isn’t the book I thought it was going to be. I’d envisioned a celebration of all things Fleming and Bond and my assumption coloured the way I felt whilst reading.
This is a deep dive into Ian Fleming from his birth till his death and beyond. Very much The Complete Ian Fleming, warts and all. I can only balk at the research that must have gone into this weighty tome and through that appreciation my rating is still high. It has certainly challenged my views, not only on Fleming, but on society as a whole during his life. Encyclopedic!
This is a deep dive into Ian Fleming from his birth till his death and beyond. Very much The Complete Ian Fleming, warts and all. I can only balk at the research that must have gone into this weighty tome and through that appreciation my rating is still high. It has certainly challenged my views, not only on Fleming, but on society as a whole during his life. Encyclopedic!
May 12, 2025
The life story behind the invention of James Bond
This is a 823 pages book that dives deep into the fascinating life of Ian Fleming, a person most famous for creating the character of James Bond.
The author, Nicholas Shakespeare, was granted access from the Fleming estate to all of his files, making this long biography as close as accurate as can get: a narrative based on information gathered from unpublished letters and diaries, declassified files, previously uninterviewed witnesses; as well as interviews with Fleming's past biographers, friends, and family.
The biography reveals the privileged upbringing that Fleming had - including studying at Eaton and Sandhurst - but a difficult childhood nonetheless after his father's death in World War I and while having a controling mother. It shows the era when he was working at Reuters going around Europe covering the rise of Hitler, among many other now-historical pivotal events, and a brief life as a stockbroker in the City of London.
The book also shows his time at the military during World War II, serving as a personal assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey, the Director of Naval Intelligence, where Fleming contributed in planning covert operations, and helped to create a special commando unit known as 30 Assault Unit (30AU). The occurrences in this era later hugely contributed to his early ideas of James Bond, where the spy character is actually inspired by his own experiences and from the people around him.
But his James Bond part of his life, as we shall see in the book, comes much later in his life. In fact, the character only appear in the last fifth of his life, almost as an afterthought. And instead, there's so much that Fleming himself did in his lifetime that makes this book a real page turner, the kind of life that would be a force of nature even if he had never created James Bond.
"The pre-Bond Fleming was a patriotic Scot who had lived in Austria, Munich and Geneva as Hitler was coming to power", Shakespeare remarks, "He made a noteworthy contribution to the Second World War – and not only in organising covert operations in Nazi-occupied Europe and North Africa that helped to shorten the conflict." Shakespeare then continues, "He was also one of a trusted few who were charged with trying to bring the United States into the fight, and worked to set up and then coordinate with the foreign Intelligence department that developed into the CIA. Following the Allied victory of 1945, he continued to play an undercover role in the Cold War from behind his Sunday Times desk."
It was during his stint at Sunday Times (that he held from after World War II in 1945 until his death in 1964) that he really began to write the Bond novels, where he incorporated his years of knowledge to pen and paper while overseeing the network of foreign correspondents and playing an undercover role. Particularly after he bought a 6.1 hectare estate in Jamaica for a holiday house (that he named Goldeneye) with a house on the edge of a cliff overlooking a private beach. It was there when the idea of writing James Bond novels really came to him as he was swimming in his bay. As Fleming remarks, "Would these books have been born if I had not been living in the gorgeous vacuum of a Jamaican holiday? I doubt it."
And it's very intriguing, for example, that Fleming got his inspiration for "From Russia, With Love" from his time in Moscow as a Reuters journalist covering a controversial international trial during Stalin's Soviet. Or his own experience in money matters (including being excluded from his wealthy grandfather's will) can come up in the way James Bond refused a 1 million Pounds dowry from Marc-Ange Draco in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Or the fact that the villain's nerve center in "Moonraker" was the actual site of Fleming's pre-war Pimlico address. Or the headquarter of the terrorist group in "Spectre" was inspired by a real-life encounter in France during World War II. Or how "You Only Live Twice" ended with James Bond on a small island peacefully living on the sea, with no memory of his past, that is until he gets a message that sends him back to the world that will corrupt him, which was written during a period of time when he had a turmulous marriage and just wanted to get away from it all.
But the novels didn't become an instant hit from the get go. In fact, none of Fleming's first 5 novels sold more than 12,000 copies in hardback. So much so that he was so sick and tired of Bond at one time and was very close to killing off the character in 1956. But as luck have it, the novels then took off in 1957 following the Suez Crisis in the autumn of 1956, when British Prime Minister Anthony Eden (whom was at Jamaica at the time to rest from sickness) decided to use Ian's Goldeneye home as his basis for global operation hub, with the sick leader "sending secret telegrams to London, Washington, Paris, Tel Aviv, Moscow, Ottowa, Sydney, Wellington and Cairo."
His Goldeneye base gave Fleming the unintended exposure, which eventually led to people reading his books. And much later, JFK helped to boost James Bond's popularity into the stratosphere as the young American Senator (and later President) publicly lauded the novels as some of his favourite books.
If fact, the book recorded the moment when James Bond became instantly popular: "In the 1950s, the idea of individual agency was not yet so strong. It took off two months after Ian’s dinner with JFK, with the shooting down on 1 May 1960 of a top-secret U-2 surveillance plane over Soviet territory. On parachuting free, the American pilot, Gary Powers, was captured by the Russians, forcing President Eisenhower to admit what had occurred. As soon as it was revealed that spies really existed, the fantasy of James Bond became more real to American readers."
Moreover, this book also shows the human side of Fleming, such as his troubled marriage to a toxic Ann Charteris, his love to his only son Caspar (whom he wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for), the dire effects of their marriage on Caspar, and his numerous affairs (all of which reflected in the demeanor of James Bond as a playboy). It mentions all the people that helped him along the way, and his many writing influences, such as William Plomer, Alfred Adler, Leo Perutz, Thomas Mann, James Joyce, including his number 1 inspiration Ernest Hemingway. But Hemingway was not by all means his only inspiration. In fact, Fleming read a wide range of books in impressively several languages, with the German edition of "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy mentioned as his dessert island book.
Furthermore, the book also delightfully shows the random name pop throughout the story, such as Fleming's downstair neighbour during his time working at the City of London that happened to be T. S. Elliot whom was working at Lloyd's Bank, or meeting J. P. Morgan Jr. when he went to America, having a contact with Alan Turing in World War II, casually diving with Jacques Cousteau, having a family connection with Winston Churchill, being friends with Roald Dahl, having dinner with JFK, having a brief encounter with Alfred Hitchcock at an airport, and of course his encounter with the real James Bond: an American ornithologist by the name of Dr. James Bond, whom Fleming (an avid bird watcher) had a copy of his book "Birds of the West Indies."
Perhaps nobody can summarize Fleming better than Christopher Moran, the professor of US National Security who specializes in Ian Fleming's Secret Service work. Moran was quoted in the book where he said, "It's impossible to cling to the orthodoxy that Ian Fleming was a nobody. He was unique, there is nobody to compare him with. He was invested in and aware of the whole cycle of intelligence, which is remarkable when you think of the compartmentalised world – “the need to know” – of intelligence. Fleming transcended that world. He was not a desk officer, he was the desk officer. He knew it all, as a spy chief should, operating as a proxy spy chief for three to four years. He was the glue that glued these bits and pieces."
All in all, this is a long book filled with impressive intricate details. If this is in a film form, this would likely be several episodes mini-series rather than one whole movie. It is in my opinion best read in a slow pace, in order to fully emmersed at every aspect of Ian Fleming's life, which in turn he poured into the character of James Bond. And once you read his whole story, you'll understand how and why James Bond can be such a brilliant spy novel.
This is a 823 pages book that dives deep into the fascinating life of Ian Fleming, a person most famous for creating the character of James Bond.
The author, Nicholas Shakespeare, was granted access from the Fleming estate to all of his files, making this long biography as close as accurate as can get: a narrative based on information gathered from unpublished letters and diaries, declassified files, previously uninterviewed witnesses; as well as interviews with Fleming's past biographers, friends, and family.
The biography reveals the privileged upbringing that Fleming had - including studying at Eaton and Sandhurst - but a difficult childhood nonetheless after his father's death in World War I and while having a controling mother. It shows the era when he was working at Reuters going around Europe covering the rise of Hitler, among many other now-historical pivotal events, and a brief life as a stockbroker in the City of London.
The book also shows his time at the military during World War II, serving as a personal assistant to Rear Admiral John Godfrey, the Director of Naval Intelligence, where Fleming contributed in planning covert operations, and helped to create a special commando unit known as 30 Assault Unit (30AU). The occurrences in this era later hugely contributed to his early ideas of James Bond, where the spy character is actually inspired by his own experiences and from the people around him.
But his James Bond part of his life, as we shall see in the book, comes much later in his life. In fact, the character only appear in the last fifth of his life, almost as an afterthought. And instead, there's so much that Fleming himself did in his lifetime that makes this book a real page turner, the kind of life that would be a force of nature even if he had never created James Bond.
"The pre-Bond Fleming was a patriotic Scot who had lived in Austria, Munich and Geneva as Hitler was coming to power", Shakespeare remarks, "He made a noteworthy contribution to the Second World War – and not only in organising covert operations in Nazi-occupied Europe and North Africa that helped to shorten the conflict." Shakespeare then continues, "He was also one of a trusted few who were charged with trying to bring the United States into the fight, and worked to set up and then coordinate with the foreign Intelligence department that developed into the CIA. Following the Allied victory of 1945, he continued to play an undercover role in the Cold War from behind his Sunday Times desk."
It was during his stint at Sunday Times (that he held from after World War II in 1945 until his death in 1964) that he really began to write the Bond novels, where he incorporated his years of knowledge to pen and paper while overseeing the network of foreign correspondents and playing an undercover role. Particularly after he bought a 6.1 hectare estate in Jamaica for a holiday house (that he named Goldeneye) with a house on the edge of a cliff overlooking a private beach. It was there when the idea of writing James Bond novels really came to him as he was swimming in his bay. As Fleming remarks, "Would these books have been born if I had not been living in the gorgeous vacuum of a Jamaican holiday? I doubt it."
And it's very intriguing, for example, that Fleming got his inspiration for "From Russia, With Love" from his time in Moscow as a Reuters journalist covering a controversial international trial during Stalin's Soviet. Or his own experience in money matters (including being excluded from his wealthy grandfather's will) can come up in the way James Bond refused a 1 million Pounds dowry from Marc-Ange Draco in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Or the fact that the villain's nerve center in "Moonraker" was the actual site of Fleming's pre-war Pimlico address. Or the headquarter of the terrorist group in "Spectre" was inspired by a real-life encounter in France during World War II. Or how "You Only Live Twice" ended with James Bond on a small island peacefully living on the sea, with no memory of his past, that is until he gets a message that sends him back to the world that will corrupt him, which was written during a period of time when he had a turmulous marriage and just wanted to get away from it all.
But the novels didn't become an instant hit from the get go. In fact, none of Fleming's first 5 novels sold more than 12,000 copies in hardback. So much so that he was so sick and tired of Bond at one time and was very close to killing off the character in 1956. But as luck have it, the novels then took off in 1957 following the Suez Crisis in the autumn of 1956, when British Prime Minister Anthony Eden (whom was at Jamaica at the time to rest from sickness) decided to use Ian's Goldeneye home as his basis for global operation hub, with the sick leader "sending secret telegrams to London, Washington, Paris, Tel Aviv, Moscow, Ottowa, Sydney, Wellington and Cairo."
His Goldeneye base gave Fleming the unintended exposure, which eventually led to people reading his books. And much later, JFK helped to boost James Bond's popularity into the stratosphere as the young American Senator (and later President) publicly lauded the novels as some of his favourite books.
If fact, the book recorded the moment when James Bond became instantly popular: "In the 1950s, the idea of individual agency was not yet so strong. It took off two months after Ian’s dinner with JFK, with the shooting down on 1 May 1960 of a top-secret U-2 surveillance plane over Soviet territory. On parachuting free, the American pilot, Gary Powers, was captured by the Russians, forcing President Eisenhower to admit what had occurred. As soon as it was revealed that spies really existed, the fantasy of James Bond became more real to American readers."
Moreover, this book also shows the human side of Fleming, such as his troubled marriage to a toxic Ann Charteris, his love to his only son Caspar (whom he wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for), the dire effects of their marriage on Caspar, and his numerous affairs (all of which reflected in the demeanor of James Bond as a playboy). It mentions all the people that helped him along the way, and his many writing influences, such as William Plomer, Alfred Adler, Leo Perutz, Thomas Mann, James Joyce, including his number 1 inspiration Ernest Hemingway. But Hemingway was not by all means his only inspiration. In fact, Fleming read a wide range of books in impressively several languages, with the German edition of "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy mentioned as his dessert island book.
Furthermore, the book also delightfully shows the random name pop throughout the story, such as Fleming's downstair neighbour during his time working at the City of London that happened to be T. S. Elliot whom was working at Lloyd's Bank, or meeting J. P. Morgan Jr. when he went to America, having a contact with Alan Turing in World War II, casually diving with Jacques Cousteau, having a family connection with Winston Churchill, being friends with Roald Dahl, having dinner with JFK, having a brief encounter with Alfred Hitchcock at an airport, and of course his encounter with the real James Bond: an American ornithologist by the name of Dr. James Bond, whom Fleming (an avid bird watcher) had a copy of his book "Birds of the West Indies."
Perhaps nobody can summarize Fleming better than Christopher Moran, the professor of US National Security who specializes in Ian Fleming's Secret Service work. Moran was quoted in the book where he said, "It's impossible to cling to the orthodoxy that Ian Fleming was a nobody. He was unique, there is nobody to compare him with. He was invested in and aware of the whole cycle of intelligence, which is remarkable when you think of the compartmentalised world – “the need to know” – of intelligence. Fleming transcended that world. He was not a desk officer, he was the desk officer. He knew it all, as a spy chief should, operating as a proxy spy chief for three to four years. He was the glue that glued these bits and pieces."
All in all, this is a long book filled with impressive intricate details. If this is in a film form, this would likely be several episodes mini-series rather than one whole movie. It is in my opinion best read in a slow pace, in order to fully emmersed at every aspect of Ian Fleming's life, which in turn he poured into the character of James Bond. And once you read his whole story, you'll understand how and why James Bond can be such a brilliant spy novel.
July 27, 2025
Extraordinary 700 page biography of Ian Fleming’s life! Ian struggled to find his place for most of his early life. His father died young (WW I) and his mother was constantly looking for her children to live up to his image. It created a toxic environment. Had a rocky relationship with his mother, who was very controlling, especially of his relationships (once forbade him to marry a long time Swiss girlfriend).
His talent and passions were clearly languages, travel, reading and culture. Fleming loved Kitzbühel where he spent many of his younger years and learnt to speak German fluently. He also spoke good French and a bit of Russian.
He did not enjoy numbers or ‘business’ work - he worked a stint as a stockbroker (right next to BlackRock on Throgmorton Avenue), largely due to his grandfather’s legacy - creator of the Fleming banking dynasty. He found the work he most enjoyed was journalism (unsurprisingly - it combined many of his interests and passion). He worked at Reuters, Kemsley Group (owned Sunday Times).
Ian began to find his way during WWII, where he excelled in his role as Chief of Staff to the Head of Naval Intelligence. This is where he found much of the inspiration for the Bond novels. He loved his time at Reuters and in journalism, which is what he returned to after the War. It was a chance for him to keep up his international interests and work.
Socially could be quite reserved, although loved the company of certain people. He could come across completely differently depending on the mood you catch him in. He hosted many people at Goldeneye (his Jamaican estate), including Anthony Eden after the Suez crisis. Ian loved Goldeneye, Golf, Smoking and Drinking.
Ian’s health began to collapse in his late 40s, early 50s (stress created by his marriage, plagiarism accusations over Thunderball, smoking, drinking, etc). He had achieved success with Bond however he seemed more concerned with becoming Captain at the Royal St George Golf Club in Kent than with his books. He managed to hold the post for one day before passing away that evening, aged 56.
His talent and passions were clearly languages, travel, reading and culture. Fleming loved Kitzbühel where he spent many of his younger years and learnt to speak German fluently. He also spoke good French and a bit of Russian.
He did not enjoy numbers or ‘business’ work - he worked a stint as a stockbroker (right next to BlackRock on Throgmorton Avenue), largely due to his grandfather’s legacy - creator of the Fleming banking dynasty. He found the work he most enjoyed was journalism (unsurprisingly - it combined many of his interests and passion). He worked at Reuters, Kemsley Group (owned Sunday Times).
Ian began to find his way during WWII, where he excelled in his role as Chief of Staff to the Head of Naval Intelligence. This is where he found much of the inspiration for the Bond novels. He loved his time at Reuters and in journalism, which is what he returned to after the War. It was a chance for him to keep up his international interests and work.
Socially could be quite reserved, although loved the company of certain people. He could come across completely differently depending on the mood you catch him in. He hosted many people at Goldeneye (his Jamaican estate), including Anthony Eden after the Suez crisis. Ian loved Goldeneye, Golf, Smoking and Drinking.
Ian’s health began to collapse in his late 40s, early 50s (stress created by his marriage, plagiarism accusations over Thunderball, smoking, drinking, etc). He had achieved success with Bond however he seemed more concerned with becoming Captain at the Royal St George Golf Club in Kent than with his books. He managed to hold the post for one day before passing away that evening, aged 56.
March 15, 2025
Fascinating book. Written at the behest of the Fleming estate, IF is put on a proper pedestal. Fair enough. There does come a problem with the portrayal of Ann, Ian’s wife. She is rendered so unsympathetically (“If I have to keep talking to commoners I’ll go mad”) as to give one pause. She is Cruella de Ville on her worst day, every day. The last thing in the book is her burning a previously unknown Bond manuscript, p 704.
Other than the slightly hysterical treatment of Ann, the book is solid. It’s a look into an almost unfathomably high end of the capitalist world. Fleming’s grandfather, Scottish American Investment Company and merchant bank Robert Fleming and Company, may have been the richest man in England. Fleming’s no account buddy from school marries either the richest woman in the world or the sixth richest woman in the United States. It’s not clear. Before she married Fleming, Ann gave dinner parties for 400. She reportedly spent the equivalent of £40,000 a year on flowers. You know, like to put in vases around the house. Fleming had a wonderful eye for detail and so in his books we see some of this. In “Moonraker” there is an early on episode at a gambling club in London, Blades, where M is a member. Actually, Fleming was a member of Blades, so the reader can assume the dining, the games, the stakes, the service, the portraits on the walls are taken from life.* Fleming is a phenomenal observer. The effect is Proustian. The reader becomes, like Proust, an observer of the upper classes. Fleming, of course, does no analysis, it being his natural habitat. The reader is on their own in that respect.
——————-
*The veracity of this sentence is deeply suspect.
Other than the slightly hysterical treatment of Ann, the book is solid. It’s a look into an almost unfathomably high end of the capitalist world. Fleming’s grandfather, Scottish American Investment Company and merchant bank Robert Fleming and Company, may have been the richest man in England. Fleming’s no account buddy from school marries either the richest woman in the world or the sixth richest woman in the United States. It’s not clear. Before she married Fleming, Ann gave dinner parties for 400. She reportedly spent the equivalent of £40,000 a year on flowers. You know, like to put in vases around the house. Fleming had a wonderful eye for detail and so in his books we see some of this. In “Moonraker” there is an early on episode at a gambling club in London, Blades, where M is a member. Actually, Fleming was a member of Blades, so the reader can assume the dining, the games, the stakes, the service, the portraits on the walls are taken from life.* Fleming is a phenomenal observer. The effect is Proustian. The reader becomes, like Proust, an observer of the upper classes. Fleming, of course, does no analysis, it being his natural habitat. The reader is on their own in that respect.
——————-
*The veracity of this sentence is deeply suspect.
August 17, 2024
When the title says "The Complete Man", they weren't kidding! 704 pages of information about the man who invented James Bond. Fleming's life was not a happy one in many ways (his father died young, his mother was overbearing and irrational, his only child died by suicide, his marriage was dreadful, he died young, a seven-year court case because Fleming was accused of plagiarizing the Bond stories), but the highlights are the huge impact Fleming had on the success of Britain in World War II and of course, his success in creating a global icon that is still hugely popular and profitable 70 years after its inception. There is always more to the story about people we think we know. Oh, and then there is the fact that the author's last name is the same as one of the (or "The God"?) gods of English literature--no relation but surely one would feel pressure to live up to such a name.
June 9, 2024
The subtitle is The Complete Man and this book certainly is. It’s like a buffet at a Las Vegas casino. Far too much to easily read. It is 700 pages and more detail than you really need. I wanted to know about Bond and in actuality there is very little about the Bond books. Fleming was quite the character in real life, although like Bond one wonders where fact and fantasy often cross. The writing is very high quality and I managed to slog through all 700 pages. But I will need to look elsewhere for information about the Bond novels.
May 22, 2024
As good as biography gets.
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