Abstract
ABSTRACT The creator of James Bond, Ian Fleming, served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence throughout World War II and played a leading role in many of its key operations. Yet despite Fleming’s grounding and experience in actual wartime intelligence operations and organisations, the origin of the Bond novels in real wartime intelligence has been neglected. Instead, the adventures of James Bond have more often been read as escapist fantasies concocted by Fleming for fame, profit, and imperial propaganda. This article will respond to this neglect of Fleming’s realism by tracing numerous parallels between wartime intelligence operations, agents, and institutions – such as Operation MINCEMEAT, Operation RUTHLESS, 30 Assault Unit, and Camp X – and the plots and personnel of Bond novels including Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, From Russia, with Love, and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. The article will further explore how Fleming artfully evaded the constraints of Official Secrecy by disguising classified intelligence material as ‘romanticized caricatures’ in his postwar spy fiction. The profound impact of Fleming’s personal wartime trauma on the Bond novels will also be examined to ground the stories more firmly in actual wartime experience and intelligence.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
