Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote.
In his latest book, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, Nicholas Shakespeare digs into Fleming’s childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother, who set the pattern for his ambition to be “the complete man.” Only a thriller writer for his last twelve years, Fleming’s dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction.
Nicholas Shakespeare's books have been translated into 20 languages. They include The Vision of Elena Silves, and The Dancer Upstairs, the latter of which was made into a film by John Malkovich. His nonfiction includes the critically acclaimed biography of Bruce Chatwin.
