Review by Booklist Review
This is the first authorized biography of Fleming, the man known primarily as the creator of James Bond (although he did a lot of other things first) since 1966. Though there have been many books about the Bond creator, what sets this one apart, in addition to the legitimacy of authorization, is that Shakespeare (The Sandpit, 2020) was granted access to the Fleming family's private documents. Approaching the biography with the flair of a novelist, Shakespeare shows us the pre-Bond Fleming in lively detail. Fleming spent only the final dozen years of his life as a writer, and Shakespeare's approach helps readers understand how Fleming became the man who created Bond. It's an absolutely fascinating story full of astonishing career moves: Fleming was a reporter stationed in Russia and Germany; he was instrumental in the planning of several major Allied operations during World War Two; he ran a unit of intelligence-gathering commandos; and that's just a small taste. This richly detailed, well-documented, and exquisitely written biography is highly recommendable to fans of Fleming, Bond, or both.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Novelist Shakespeare (The Dancer Upstairs) delivers an exemplary biography of British spy novelist Ian Fleming (1908--1964). The scion of a wealthy banking family, Fleming was an indifferent student and at age 23 flunked the Foreign Office exam, after which he became a Reuters correspondent. After WWII began, Fleming used his contacts to join the Naval Intelligence Division as a lieutenant commander. Though Fleming's war service remains shrouded in mystery, Shakespeare builds a strong case that the novelist authored the memo that inspired operation Mincemeat, which fed the Axis powers bogus plans to distract from the upcoming Allied invasion of Sicily. After the war, Fleming became a Sunday Times editor, and in 1952, he wrote the spy thriller Casino Royale. The book's suave protagonist, James Bond, eclipsed Fleming's own fame after his death by heart attack at age 56. Shakespeare offers shrewd insight into the enduring appeal of Bond ("The lower the sun has sunk on the empire that Bond was born into, the more radiant his glow") and how Fleming's personal life shaped 007, suggesting the character reflects the heroism of Fleming's father, a major who died in WWI, as well as Fleming's own "cavalier treatment of women" (Fleming had many affairs during his fractious marriage to Ann Charteris). This will stand as the definitive biography of the popular author. Agent: Clare Alexander, Aitken Alexander Assoc. (Mar.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Twenty-nine hours listening to novelist/biographer Shakespeare's (The Dancer Upstairs) intriguing biography of Ian Fleming is time well spent. Fleming was much more than the author of the James Bond novels, and Shakespeare's well-researched account draws on interviews, diaries, and memories of those who loved and admired him. After his father's heroic death during World War I, young Fleming and his brother were brought up by a domineering and intrusive mother. During World War II, he worked for the British Naval Intelligence and organized a covert commando unit. He might also have been influential in the creation of the American CIA. The first part of the book reveals Fleming's military actions during World War II, for which he was never officially recognized. Fleming was well connected with many influential people, including Winston Churchill and John F. Kennedy, and was known for his many flagrant affairs with single and married women. British narrator Jonathan Keeble's engaging performance brings the book to life, with diction that brings James Bond himself to mind. VERDICT A captivating account of Fleming's covert operations during World War II and his Bond-like personal life. Recommended for history buffs, particularly those with an interest in WWII espionage.--Ilka Gordon
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A fresh appraisal of the creator of James Bond. In the introduction, award-winning biographer and novelist Shakespeare recounts how he was approached by the Fleming Estate to write another biography of Ian Fleming (1908-1964) using family materials never before seen that shed "new light that leads to new conclusions about the man." Indeed, writes the author, "under the jarring surface of his popular image I could see a different person." Drawing on these materials, diaries, and numerous interviews, Shakespeare neatly weaves the dramatic history of Fleming's times into a very detailed narrative of his rise to success. Shakespeare is insightful in his explorations of how Fleming's experiences influenced his books: his Scottish roots; his privileged, loveless upbringing; expensive private boarding school and then Eton, which furnished many characters' names. After a brief, difficult stay at Sandhurst and a bout of gonorrhea, he was off to Austria and Switzerland, preparing for a possible government job and honing his considerable language and wooing skills. Working for Reuters, he was sent to Stalin's Soviet Union to cover a high-profile trial of British engineers. After a lucrative banking job--when he got the book-collecting bug and had numerous affairs--he was selected for "intelligence work, the secret war that could save lives." Six years as the personal assistant to the director of Naval Intelligence, Shakespeare writes, "gave him the secret material that he drew on to write his novels." He emerged a "complete man," and "he would spend the rest of his life in peacetime, trying to recapture moments of time like these." Living in Jamaica, Fleming began Casino Royale: "Ian took the cards he had been dealt and slipped them to Bond." Later, with some chagrin, a wealthy, unhealthy Fleming said, "I have become the slave of a serial character." Shakespeare leaves no stone unturned in this exhaustive, highly readable biography. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
