This weighty tome clocks in at almost 900 pages and is by far the most exhaustive biography I’ve read on Ian Fleming.

Nicholas Shakespeare claims to have been granted access to material never seen before, which doesn’t really amount to any bombshells, more just amplified texturing of Fleming’s life, from childhood to death, and how his wartime experiences and his habits and behaviours shaped James Bond. Fleming’s story is ultimately a sad one. Personally and professionally, he never seemed satisfied, and he died at the age of 56 before 007 became a true global phenomenon.

Bond was an echo of Fleming: total wish-fulfillment, a desire to recapture and utilise/embellish his time as the personal assistant to the director of Naval Intelligence. The contrasting anecdotes relating to Fleming’s importance to Britain’s war effort have always fascinated me; here, Shakespeare presents evidence that Fleming penned a memo that inspired Operation Mincemeat.

This is the definitive biography of Ian Fleming. It’s densely detailed, but superbly readable. Shakespeare never forgets his duty to entertain his reader. There’s no sugar-coating Fleming’s abhorrent treatment of women, or his unpleasantness, but nor does Shakespeare present Fleming as entirely cruel. He merely tenders the evidence of Fleming’s interactions and associations. It must be said, though, that if you’re only interested in Bond-era Fleming, the go-to book remains “The Man with the Golden Typewriter.”