28/05/2020
Happy Ian Fleming Day!
Ian Fleming was an English author, journalist ,and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his James Bond series of spy novels.
His wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels.
Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two collections of short stories followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolve around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is also known by his code number, 007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve.
The Bond stories rank among the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide.
Fleming also wrote the children's story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008, The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".
You can read more about the life of Ian Fleming and his works in the upcoming edition of our newsletter. It will hit your inbox Sunday morning just in time for coffee.