
Ian Fleming
A Personal Memoir
Robert Harling(Author)
Biteback Publishing
Published on 30. January 2020
Book
Paperback/Softback
384 pages
978-1-78590-547-6 (ISBN)
Description
Forged during the Second World War, the close and abiding friendship of Robert Harling and Ian Fleming, one of the twentieth century's most iconic authors, would go on to define the lives and literature of both men significantly.
Their paths first crossed in 1939, and Harling later became Fleming's deputy in the commando unit dubbed `Fleming's Secret Navy', which was tasked with obtaining equipment, codebooks and intelligence from the enemy. The war made fast friends of the two writers, and Fleming would go on to immortalise Harling in his hugely popular Bond novels Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Yet beneath the pair's charm, charisma and creativity was an altogether darker reality. Documenting in vivid detail his private exchanges with Fleming, Harling exposes the personality behind his protagonist - one tempered by debilitating bouts of depression and a deep-rooted distrust of women.
This extraordinary memoir provides a fascinating and unprecedented insight into the mind of the creator of James Bond - from one of those who knew him best.
Their paths first crossed in 1939, and Harling later became Fleming's deputy in the commando unit dubbed `Fleming's Secret Navy', which was tasked with obtaining equipment, codebooks and intelligence from the enemy. The war made fast friends of the two writers, and Fleming would go on to immortalise Harling in his hugely popular Bond novels Thunderball and The Spy Who Loved Me.
Yet beneath the pair's charm, charisma and creativity was an altogether darker reality. Documenting in vivid detail his private exchanges with Fleming, Harling exposes the personality behind his protagonist - one tempered by debilitating bouts of depression and a deep-rooted distrust of women.
This extraordinary memoir provides a fascinating and unprecedented insight into the mind of the creator of James Bond - from one of those who knew him best.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 131 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
354 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78590-547-6 (9781785905476)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
01/2020
Biteback Publishing
€4.00
Available for download
Person
Robert Harling's post-war career included twenty-eight years as editor of House & Garden magazine and almost forty as The Sunday Times's celebrated typographic adviser. He was the author of some eighteen books of fiction and non-fiction. He died in 2008.
Content
Acknowledgements
Foreword by Fiona MacCarthy OBE
1 Weekly Intelligence Report
2 Recall from Western Approaches
3 Travels and travails
4 Rendezvous with 30AU
5 Preludes to D-Day
6 A brush with D-Day
7 A Fleming clash
8 A first whisper of Bond
9 Probes and problems
10 Ramble to Kelmscott
11 Beginning of the end
12 Variant journeys
13 To the Elbe
14 A querying interlude
15 Trondheim finale
16 Fleming goes solo
17 Return to fresh starts
18 East Anglian reflections
19 Double lives
20 Goldeneye gambol
21 Fleming as publisher
22 Debut of Bond
23 Chez Fleming
24 Transatlantic headhunting
25 Octagons of friendship?
26 Metropolitan encounters
27 Legal and locale defeats
28 Flemings in Vogue
29 Farewells too soon 3
Index