james bond
BOND, JAMES BOND
May 28 marks centenary of 007's creator Ian Fleming
Mrityunjay Bose
For all lovers of James Bond thrillers and novels, May 28 is a special day and in 2008, it is a day to remember. Ian Fleming, the genius who created James Bond – was born on this day 100 years ago. Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) is still one of the widely read novelists, more than 40 years after his death.
The James Bond series of movies – in which several legendary actors have played the character of the fictional British spy, are still hit – such was the magic and thrill of the man whom he created – the world's best known secret agent. To highlight – over a 100 Bond novels have been sold till date, since the first which was launched in 1953. All the James Bond movies were big grossers.
Ian Fleming was born on May 28, 1908 in London, the second of four brothers. He was educated at Eton and did further studies in Austria and in Germany.Writing was far from being Fleming's first or expected career. He tried for the army after leaving school, but that didn't work out, and he sat the exams for the Foreign Office but did not pass high enough to be accepted for a diplomatic career.In the thirties, he worked briefly for Reuters, a news agency. This gave him invaluable experience of writing fast and accurately. But in order to make more money he became a stockbroker instead – and not a very successful one. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was recruited to be the personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, and there, at the Admiralty, he remained throughout the war. It was his experience in this job that was to provide many of the characters and incidents that he was to write about later in the Bond books.
After the war he became foreign manager for Kemsley newspapers, working chiefly for the Sunday Times. But his creative imagination remained under wraps until 1952, When, at the age of 43, he settled down in his house in Jamaica, and produced – in not much more than two months - Casino Royale, the first adventure of James Bond.
He married Ann Rothermere that same year, after a long on-off relationship. It was his first marriage and her third. They had one son, Caspar, for whom Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died on August 12, 1964 of a heart attack, his Bond books having become enormously successful, and having seen his character played by Sean Connery in the first two films, Dr No and From Russia with Love.
Ian Fleming' interests included cars, and golf, swimming and snorkelling, and book-collecting.He built up a very distinguished book collection. The theme of the collection was 'Mile Stones of Human Progress' and included volumes as diverse as Einstein's 'Theory of Relativity' and the first book on golf. This collection now belongs to the Lilly Library at Indiana University, according to http://www.ianflemingcentenary.com/, a website dedicated to the centenary celebrations.
The Ian Fleming Publications Ltd is celebrating the anniversary with several exciting publishing events. The highlights of the year-long centenary celebrations include include the worldwide publication of Devil May Care, the brand new Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks, and a major exhibition celebrating Fleming's life at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Fleming was also an accomplished and vivid travel writer. A series for the Sunday Times about a trip round the world was published in book form entitled Thrilling Cities. A series about the diamond trade was published as The Diamond Smugglers. New editions of these will shortly be made available by the publishers.
When a senior Intelligence officer was asked about the James Bond novels, he said: "These are interesting. The first is the language and use of English and secondly the thrill. However, these are basically fictional stories, and sometimes unrealistic. But it helps learn tricks of the trade."
After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner and Raymond Benson. In addition Charlie Higson has begun to write a series of books detailing the "Young James Bond. In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a Bond novel for publication in 2008. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.
List of James Bond books:
Casino Royale (1953)
Live and Let Die (1954)
Moonraker (1955)
Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
From Russia with Love (1957)
Dr. No (1958)
Goldfinger (1959)
For your Eyes Only (1960)
Thunderball (1961)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1962)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)
You Only Live Twice (1964)'
The Man With The Golden Gun (1965)
Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966)
Actors who played James Bond
Sean Connery
Roger Moore
George Lazenby
Timothy Dalton
Pierce Brosnan
Daniel Craig
May 28 marks centenary of 007's creator Ian Fleming
Mrityunjay Bose
For all lovers of James Bond thrillers and novels, May 28 is a special day and in 2008, it is a day to remember. Ian Fleming, the genius who created James Bond – was born on this day 100 years ago. Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) is still one of the widely read novelists, more than 40 years after his death.
The James Bond series of movies – in which several legendary actors have played the character of the fictional British spy, are still hit – such was the magic and thrill of the man whom he created – the world's best known secret agent. To highlight – over a 100 Bond novels have been sold till date, since the first which was launched in 1953. All the James Bond movies were big grossers.
Ian Fleming was born on May 28, 1908 in London, the second of four brothers. He was educated at Eton and did further studies in Austria and in Germany.Writing was far from being Fleming's first or expected career. He tried for the army after leaving school, but that didn't work out, and he sat the exams for the Foreign Office but did not pass high enough to be accepted for a diplomatic career.In the thirties, he worked briefly for Reuters, a news agency. This gave him invaluable experience of writing fast and accurately. But in order to make more money he became a stockbroker instead – and not a very successful one. At the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, he was recruited to be the personal assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, and there, at the Admiralty, he remained throughout the war. It was his experience in this job that was to provide many of the characters and incidents that he was to write about later in the Bond books.
After the war he became foreign manager for Kemsley newspapers, working chiefly for the Sunday Times. But his creative imagination remained under wraps until 1952, When, at the age of 43, he settled down in his house in Jamaica, and produced – in not much more than two months - Casino Royale, the first adventure of James Bond.
He married Ann Rothermere that same year, after a long on-off relationship. It was his first marriage and her third. They had one son, Caspar, for whom Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died on August 12, 1964 of a heart attack, his Bond books having become enormously successful, and having seen his character played by Sean Connery in the first two films, Dr No and From Russia with Love.
Ian Fleming' interests included cars, and golf, swimming and snorkelling, and book-collecting.He built up a very distinguished book collection. The theme of the collection was 'Mile Stones of Human Progress' and included volumes as diverse as Einstein's 'Theory of Relativity' and the first book on golf. This collection now belongs to the Lilly Library at Indiana University, according to http://www.ianflemingcentenary.com/, a website dedicated to the centenary celebrations.
The Ian Fleming Publications Ltd is celebrating the anniversary with several exciting publishing events. The highlights of the year-long centenary celebrations include include the worldwide publication of Devil May Care, the brand new Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks, and a major exhibition celebrating Fleming's life at the Imperial War Museum in London.
Fleming was also an accomplished and vivid travel writer. A series for the Sunday Times about a trip round the world was published in book form entitled Thrilling Cities. A series about the diamond trade was published as The Diamond Smugglers. New editions of these will shortly be made available by the publishers.
When a senior Intelligence officer was asked about the James Bond novels, he said: "These are interesting. The first is the language and use of English and secondly the thrill. However, these are basically fictional stories, and sometimes unrealistic. But it helps learn tricks of the trade."
After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner and Raymond Benson. In addition Charlie Higson has begun to write a series of books detailing the "Young James Bond. In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a Bond novel for publication in 2008. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.
List of James Bond books:
Casino Royale (1953)
Live and Let Die (1954)
Moonraker (1955)
Diamonds Are Forever (1956)
From Russia with Love (1957)
Dr. No (1958)
Goldfinger (1959)
For your Eyes Only (1960)
Thunderball (1961)
The Spy Who Loved Me (1962)
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)
You Only Live Twice (1964)'
The Man With The Golden Gun (1965)
Octopussy and the Living Daylights (1966)
Actors who played James Bond
Sean Connery
Roger Moore
George Lazenby
Timothy Dalton
Pierce Brosnan
Daniel Craig
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