“The Real Ian Fleming” with Nicholas Shakespeare

Summary

Nicholas Shakespeare (X; Website) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the life and legacy of Ian Fleming. Nicholas is an award-winning novelist and biographer.  

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

• Fleming’s family and upbringing
• Debunking misconceptions about Fleming’s character
• Fleming’s career in intelligence
• British Naval Intelligence operations during WWII

Reflections

• Life influencing literature
• The lasting impact of storytelling

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“Whatever the ingredients of Bond – As a kind of, both a hero of modernization, but also as a symbol of retrospective power – The films have allowed this protean creature to exist in the future, in the present, and so that almost all over the world, the words, the names “Bond, James Bond” will ignite a smile.” – Nicholas Shakespeare.

Resources 

SURFACE SKIM

*Spotlight Resource*

• Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, Nicholas Shakespeare (Harper, 2024)

*SpyCasts*

• Bond After Fleming, the Continuation of an Icon with Mark Edlitz (2024)
• The James Bond Collector with Mike VanBlaricum (2024)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 1 of 2 (2023)
• 70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007, Part 2 of 2 (2023)

*Beginner Resources*

• Ian Fleming – Life Story, Short Biographies, YouTube (2023) [8 min. video]
• List of Books by Ian Fleming, Barnes and Noble (n.d.) [List of literary works]
• Ian Fleming Life Timeline, Ian Fleming Publications (n.d.) [Timeline]

DEEPER DIVE

Books

• Ian Fleming’s War: The Inspiration for 007, M. Simmons (Rare Bird Books, 2021)
• The Man with the Golden Typewriter: Ian Fleming's James Bond Letters, ed. F. Fleming (Bloomsbury, 2016) 
• The Life of Ian Fleming, J. Pearson (Jonathan Cape, 1966)

Primary Sources 

• Diana Rigg Obituary (2020)
• Ian Fleming about James Bond and himself (1964)
• Our Spy-Boss Who Loved Bond by Allen Dulles (1964)
• Allen Dulles and Ian Fleming (1964)
• Operation “Mincemeat” Brief (1943)
• Postagram Concerning Operation Mincemeat (1943)
• Valentine Fleming Eulogy by Winston Churchill (1917) 

*Wildcard Resource*

• Spymaker: The Secret Life of Ian Fleming (1990)
• A TV movie that stars Jason Connery as Ian Fleming. Jason Connery is the son of Sean Connery – the first actor to portray James Bond in film.

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