Ian Fleming's early literary appearances

Some of the works containing appearances by Ian Fleming

When he came to write the James Bond books, Ian Fleming frequently named his characters after his friends and acquaintances, and sometimes even gave the people he knew walk-on parts. In On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963), for example, Irma Bunt points out to Bond the presence, in Piz Gloria's restaurant, of Lady Daphne Straight, an old girlfriend of Fleming's, and her husband Whitney, as well as Ursula Andress, fresh from her appearance in the film of Dr No (1962). Ian Fleming was not alone in this habit, and, even before the birth of Bond, had had the same treatment, appearing as a character in fiction and other literary works.

Ian Fleming's first literary cameo was in Public Faces, a 1932 novel by Harold Nicholson. The story, set a few years in the future, follows the tribulations of government ministers and their staff as they deal with a developing crisis and the threat of world war. (The nature of the crisis is somewhat different from the circumstances of the Second World War, but, with the story taking place in 1939, the novel was in many ways prophetic.) Ian Fleming appears towards the end of the novel as himself - a journalist at Reuters ("What's his name? Hemming? Oh, yes, I know, young Fleming") - and has a small, if unseen, role in ensuring world peace.

Alaric Jacob, a colleague of Ian Fleming's at Reuters, gave Fleming his second walk-on part. Scenes from a Bourgeois Life, published in 1949, is Jacob's part-fictionalised autobiography and a polemic on post-war Britain (he bemoans the growth of the suburbs and the rise of the nouveau riche, among other things). His account of his time at Reuters, or Telenews, as it is called in the book, includes a portrait of Fleming, who, in the book is goes by the name of Hugo Dropmore. In his recently published Ian Fleming: the Notes, John Pearson comments on the quotability of Jacob's character study. He's not wrong: it's full of zingers: 

"Hugo Dropmore was a cross between Mr Darcy and the hero of a book by Stephen McKenna" (a novelist whose characters tended to come from upper-class circles); 

"He looked like a young actor who has never toured, but started right in the West End"; 

"He seemed to know something about everything; but if a subject arose on which he was not informed, he would own it at once, and it no longer seemed to matter;" 

"His good taste was such that you never observed what he was up to until it was too late." 

I could go on. These have more than the ring of truth, but I can't imagine Ian Fleming being particularly displeased with the characterisation. The choice of pseudonym is interesting. Dropmore Press was the name of a small publishing house owned by newspaper baron James Kemsley. Ian Fleming was involved with Dropmore from 1949. I don't know whether or not Alaric Jacob based the name Hugo Dropmore on this, but the coincidence is striking.

Over the years, Ian Fleming developed a deep friendship with writer Noël Coward. Fleming had leased a beachside home at St Margaret's Bay in Kent from Coward, and the playwright was an early guest at Fleming's Jamaican home, Goldeneye, famously labelling it 'Goldeneye, Nose and Throat' on account of its resemblance to a hospital (ironically, a leading brand of eye medicine in Jamaica at the time was Golden Eye Lotion). The two became neighbours of sorts when Coward himself came to live in Jamaica. As Fleming discovered, the only problem with being friends with a playwright is that one can end up as a character in a play. This is precisely what happened to Fleming - twice.

Volcano, written in 1957, is a play set in the fictional South Sea island of Samolo, standing in for Jamaica. It focuses on six individuals, whose relationships are tested by marriage breakdowns and infidelities during the eruption of the local volcano. Early on, we discover that Adela Shelley, a widow and resident of the island, had had an affair with Guy Littleton, who has flown in from London with his wife Melissa. Coward based Adela on Blanche Blackwell, a neighbour of Coward's in Jamaica, while Guy and Melissa were a thinly disguised Ian and Ann Fleming. The play, while set far away from Jamaica, painted a picture that Ian and others would have recognised, fictionalising the real-life affair between Blanche and Ian and giving voice to the sort of feelings that Ann had expressed about Blanche, Ian and Jamaica itself. 

Goldeneye is also alluded to in the play. Guy and Melissa are staying at 'Le Tellier's beach house'. Melissa tells Adela: 

"Guy loves it because of the lagoon and the reef; he spends most of the day under water spearing those unfortunate fish...Mr Le Tellier must be a rather Spartan type, the furniture is so unforgiving. He built the house by himself, didn't he?"

Perhaps fortunately for Ian and Ann, the play was never publicly performed until 2000, although it did have a rehearsed reading in 1989, with Judi Dench in the role of Adela and her husband, Michael Williams, in the role of Guy. The play was performed again in 2012, with Judi's daughter Finty taking a role.  

Reading the play, I was reminded of 'Quantum of Solace', Ian Fleming's short story, published in 1960, which deals with the breakdown of a relationship. Though the tale was inspired most directly by 'His Excellency', a short story by Somerset Maugham, its themes could easily have been drawn from Coward's play. 

Noël Coward returned to the subject of love and lust in Samolo in his 1960 novel Pomp and Circumstance, a comical tale set against the backdrop of an impending royal visit. Ian Fleming once again proved inspirational, spawning a character called Bunny Colville, whose roving eye leads to all sorts of complications among Samolan high society. Bunny's tropical house, incidentally, has the hallmarks of Goldeneye: an uncomfortable house that overlooks a coral beach (accessed via concrete steps), a large living room, and the general appearance of an austere and over-masculine barrack. 

Since his death, Ian Fleming has made further appearances in novels, for instance in William Boyd's Any Human Heart. But it is worth returning to his earliest appearances - written by people who knew him best. 

References:

Coward, N, 1960 Pomp and Circumstance, Heinemann

Coward, N, 2018 Collected Plays: Nine (introduced by Barry Day), Bloomsbury

Jacob, A, 1949 Scenes from a Bourgeois Life, Secker and Warburg

Lycett, A, 1995 Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond, Turner

Nicolson, H, 1944 Public Faces, Penguin

No Time To Die in the Gleaner

Back in 2013, during the 40th anniversary of the release of Live and Let Die (1973), I trawled through the archives of the Gleaner, probably Jamaica's best-known newspaper which James Bond reads from time to time in the novels, to find out how the newspaper covered the filming of Roger Moore's first Bond film, much of which was set on the island. 

The previous year, I delved into the Gleaner's archives to find out how the paper covered the filming of Sean Connery's first outing as Bond, Dr No (1962).  

Last year, Eon Productions returned to Jamaica to begin filming on Daniel Craig's final Bond effort (probably), No Time To Die. How did the coverage compare with that for Live and Let Die and Dr No? Did the presence of the film crew generate as much interest? Did James Bond still have a place in Jamaica's cultural environment? Once again, I took a look through the archives. 

The day after Eon's press conference to at Ian Fleming's former winter home, Goldeneye, James Bond was on the front page of the Gleaner on 26th April 2019. '007 comes home', ran the headline, with the article beginning with the familiar phrase: 'We've been expecting you, Mr Bond.' There was more inside the paper, with the item about the event taking up almost half a page. Apart from reporting what was revealed at the press conference, the article focused on the impact that the filming would have on the local economy; it was expected, the paper reported, that the filming would be mean employment for nearly a thousand Jamaicans, gaining work as extras, film crew and in support services, such as accommodation and transportation.

The Gleaner, 26th April 2019

The following day, the Gleaner published another photo of the launch event, this time of Daniel Craig, Naomi Harris and director Cary Joji Fukunaga being interviewed. 

In its entertainment pages on 15th May 2019, the Gleaner reported that Daniel Craig had been injured during filming in Portland at the eastern end of the island. The paper's coveraged remained positive, however, stating that such injuries are par for the course. The article also spoke to Jamaican radio celebrity Nikki Z, who, it was reported, might share some screentime with Daniel Craig in the film. Recounting her experience filming on set, she praised the way that the film had represented African-Americans: 'It wasn't something where you saw a lot of us "Europeaned" out.' Nikki Z continued: 'You saw so much culture from what I was involved in, it made me feel proud.'

The Gleaner returned to Bond on 26th June 2019. Kimberley Small reported on the release of a behind-the-scenes look at the filming in Jamaica. Though not a trailer, the video, accompanied by a 'groovy dancehall rhythm', was hugely welcomed, especially coming after a string of negative events, including news of a peeping tom in the women's toilets at Pinewood, and an explosion at the studio. The article also highlighted the incongruous appearance of Heineken, rather than Red Stripe beer in the Jamaican scenes. However, the article concluded that fans will nevertheless be getting 'giddy with excitement, to see their beloved MI5 (sic) agent having a romp on the Caribbean shoreline.'  

The Gleaner, 26th June 2019

An article on 25th July 2019 reported on the resurgence of the Jamaican film industry, thanks in part to the presence of the 'Bond 25' crew in the country. The article stated that the film had resulted in 400 jobs for Jamaicans. 

On 5th January, the Gleaner ran through the list of big cinema releases expected in 2020. Accompanied by a photo of Daniel Craig, the piece noted that Bond 25, now called No Time To Die, was scheduled for release in April. Since then, of course, Covid-19 arrived. January's piece won't be the end of the Gleaner's coverage, but for now everything is on hold. 

Comparing the coverage in 2019 with that for Dr No and Live and Let Die, it is striking how similar it is. For all three films, the Gleaner reflected interest in the jobs that the filming would generate, and the duration and location of the filming. Ian Fleming, who created James Bond at Goldeneye, was not forgotten either. 

What is different, though, is the more critical look at how Jamaica is being represented in No Time To Die. When the film crew touched down in April, they arrived in a very different country to that in 1962, when Jamaica had just become independent, and to a lesser extent in 1972, when the legacy of colonial rule (which never fully disappears) still cast a long shadow. One thing is certain, however: James Bond retains the power to generate headlines in Jamaica. 

Jamaica's other Goldeneye

As GoldenEye, the film that introduced Pierce Brosnan as Bond and relaunched the series to great acclaim (and relief) after a six-year enforced hiatus, turns twenty years old, the latest edition of MI6 Confidential celebrates the film's anniversary with an interview with director Martin Campbell, an examination of the essential ingredients of the film, a look at the film's most memorable stunts, and much more.

I'm proud to have contributed to the issue myself: a small article examining the legacy of Goldeneye, Ian Fleming's winter home in Jamaica, where he wrote all the Bond books. While I was researching the article, I made some interesting discoveries about some of Jamaica's other, lesser known Goldeneyes. The article wasn't quite the place to say much about them, so by way of an addendum, here they are.

If one were to ask Jamaicans in the late 1940s, when Ian Fleming built his house, what 'Goldeneye' meant to them, many would have replied that it was something to treat minor ailments of the eyes. The Daily Gleaner was full of adverts for 'Golden Eye' treatments. Sinclair's Drug Department on King Street in Kingston sold the lotion for two shillings per bottle. The lotion was a little more expensive at Williams Drug Store on West Queen Street, selling for 2/6, but it was cheaper that Optrex (3/6), and was alternatively available in ointment form, which was cheaper at one shilling per tube. Meanwhile, Dunker & Company on Harbour Street were offering 'huge savings', selling a dozen tubes of the ointment for eight shillings.
 

An advert in the Gleaner for medicines, including Golden Eye

This was good news for farmers. In an article published in April 1958 in the Farmers Weekly section of the Gleaner, 'Surgeon' recommended the application of Golden Eye lotion for the treatment of 'pink eye', a type of eye infection in cattle.

There was yet another Goldeneye known in Jamaica. In 1950, cinema-goers flocked to the Gaiety cinema, among other venues, and 'country theatres' around Jamaica to see Roland Winters star as Charlie Chan investigating the mystery of why an unprofitable gold mine is suddenly making lots of money. The film, released in 1948, was called The Golden Eye. 

The Golden Eye (1948) on the bill of the Gaiety Cinema

As a footnote, there is a curious link of sorts between the house and the eye treatment. Fleming's house was well known for its stark design and paucity of mod-cons. Friend and neighbour Noël Coward famously referred to the house as 'Goldeneye, nose and throat'. This is a play, of course, on ear, nose and throat departments in British hospitals, but it's possible that Coward had Golden Eye lotion, a product that would have been familiar to Jamaican residents at the time, in his mind too. 

Reception committee: Fleming and Bond arrive in Jamaica

In the novel Dr No, as James Bond flies into Kingston airport at the start of his investigation of Dr No's nefarious activities (Dr No, chapter 4), he runs into a photographer from the Daily Gleaner, who is eager to take Bond's picture. Bond is understandably keen to remain in the shadows and is worried about details of his visit reaching the paper. When Ian Fleming wrote this episode, which also appeared in the screen adaptation, he was writing from personal experience. Like Bond, he invariably gained the attention of the Press on his arrival in Jamaica, but, at least in the early days, he had his own reasons for wanting to keep his visits low key.

When celebrities came to Jamaica, the Daily Gleaner made sure that its readers knew about it. The paper even had a dedicated column, “Airport News”, to report the arrival and departure of notable visitors. Ian Fleming built Goldeneye, his Jamaican home, in 1946, and very soon afterwards the Gleaner, initially because of Fleming's association with the wealthy so-called 'resident-visitor' Ivor Bryce, had recognised Fleming as someone newsworthy. In February 1947, the Gleaner ran a story about wealthy visitors buying property in Montego Bay, and mentioned Fleming's recent purchase.

By 1947, Ian Fleming's relationship with Lady Ann Rothermere, the wife of newspaper proprietor Lord Rothermere, was some six years old. Ian and Ann were determined to keep their affair discreet, and on her first visit to Goldeneye in 1948, Ann had brought Loelia, Duchess of Westminster as a chaperone to help deflect suspicions and gossip.

Ann and Ian's flight into Kingston (Palidadoes) Airport on 12th January, however, had not passed unnoticed, and the following day, their arrival was reported in the Daily Gleaner. Fortunately for Ian and Ann, the piece, accompanied by a photograph of the couple, revealed nothing of their relationship, and appeared to suggest that Ian and Ann had to some extent made separate holiday plans. Readers learnt that Ann was to be in Jamaica for three weeks and was to stay with Ivor Bryce, as well as Ian Fleming, while Ian was planning to remain in the country for six weeks at Goldeneye.

When Fleming described James Bond's arrival into Jamaica in Dr No (1958), he was in essence recalling his own experience. The Gleaner's reporter who greets Bond at the airport asks Bond the same questions that the reporter must have asked Fleming: how long will you be in Jamaica ('in transit', Bond answers), and where will you staying ('Myrtle Bank')? There was also a flash of the camera and the prospect of Bond's picture appearing in print.

Ian Fleming drew from a wide range of sources and experiences when he wrote the James Bond books. Some of these experiences, such as his wartime role and post-war journalism, form an important part of Bond's character and adventures. But there are other, seemingly less significant events, including arriving in Jamaica, which also contribute and add fine detail to the stories.

Seashells and other tips for surviving the economic storm, by Ian Fleming

In 1948, Ian Fleming had not long established himself in Jamaica – he moved into his winter retreat, Goldeneye, in December 1946 – but even by that time was concerned with issues that affected the country. An edition of Jamaica's foremost newspaper, the Daily Gleaner, published in March 1948, carried an article by Ian Fleming. In it, he gave suggestions for the 'island's development' in the face of economic uncertainty. Reading the article now, we also detect the germ of an idea that would resurface nine years later in his novel, Dr No.

As now, the world in 1948 was experiencing an economic crisis. The Second World War had cost nations dearly. European states were heavily in debt, unemployment was high, and industry was still reeling from the war effort and the destruction of infrastructure. Recovery followed the implementation of the United States' Marshall Plan in 1947, but it was slow, and in 1948, the world's economy remained turbulent.

Ian Fleming recognised that Jamaica had not escaped these difficulties, and so he offered some advice on the what steps the inhabitants of Jamaica could take to lessen the impact of the 'economic hurricane' that was approaching. Supporting a plea from the Gleaner for Jamaica to make more use of its natural resources, Fleming suggested that for every tree cut down, two more should be planted, thus allowing the country to develop a sustainable resource. More wood could be used for shoes. The people in Europe, he said, had largely rejected shoes made with leather soles, preferring instead shoes with wooden soles and heels. This presented a basis for a thriving industry. Such shoes could readily be made in Jamaica and sold to visitors.

More use, Fleming wrote, could be made of the island's fish and shell fish. French restaurants would pay handsomely for the fat mussels normally used as bait by fishermen. A list should be prepared of all the edible sea food available in Jamaican waters, accompanied by advice on how to cook it. And a greater range of fish could be salted and preserved; Jamaicans need not rely solely on salted cod to get them through times of reduced fresh fish supply.

Fleming also urged people to look after their livestock more carefully, for instance by keeping them off the road. Animals are an important economic asset and should be protected. Fleming thought that native plants, another asset, were unreasonably regarded by the local population as weeds. Money could be made by selling the cuttings and seeds of those plants.

Finally, Ian Fleming suggested that the inhabitants of fishing villages collect the seashells brought in over the year and sell them at wayside stalls. The shells make excellent garden and household ornaments and souvenirs for tourists.

If this idea seems familiar, then it is because Fleming appears to have returned to it in his 1957 novel, Dr No. Honeychile Rider memorably emerges from the sea onto the beach of Dr No's island and meets James Bond. She clutches some seashells and tells Bond that she is collecting them for a dealer in Miami. Fleming wrote the novel in 1956, but clearly it was not the first time that he had thought about the economic value of seashells. The idea originated nine years earlier and was expressed again through a character that would become so iconic in the James Bond phenomenon, thanks in no small part to Ursula Andress's portrayal in the 1962 film.

A dish for James Bond

As a foodie and keen amateur chef, I have quite a few cookbooks at home. I was sorting my library  and rediscovered a booklet of recipes that came with Tex's range of seasonings, which, according to the brand's website, provide a 'taste of the Caribbean.' One of the recipes caught my eye: 007's Jamaican Curry Mutton.

You can find the recipe on Tex's website. The method is very simple. Cut the mutton into cubes, rub in Tex's Jamaican Style Curry Powder and Tex's Tropical Multi-Purpose Seasoning, and leave to marinate for an hour. Then, fry some onion and garlic, add the mutton and other ingredients (red pepper, tomatoes, lemon juice and hot pepper sauce), and stir. Cover the pan, turn the heat to low, and let the curry simmer until the mutton is cooked.

Curried mutton – actually goat in Jamaica – isn't an obvious dish to be associated with James Bond. He eats a shrimp curry during dinner with Goldfinger, but in Jamaica he dines on fish, eggs and vegetables (Live and Let Die, chapter 17), sucking pig and avocado salad (LALD, chapter 23), lamb cutlets (Dr No, chapter 16), and a roast chicken and more fish (The Man with the Golden Gun, chapter 10).

But Ian Fleming is likely to have eaten curried goat during his stays at Goldeneye, and perhaps often. Noël Coward recalls that when he rented the house for a time (at the rate of £50 per week), his meals gradually changed from sumptuous dinners to a diet of salt fish and ackee or curried goat. Presumably the cook was Fleming's cook, and if curried goat was a staple meal for Coward, then it probably was for Fleming as well. That said, the letters of Ann Fleming give the impression that the Flemings survived solely on lobster, which Ian Fleming caught in the bay by the house.

Returning to 007's Jamaican Curry Mutton, it seems that the association between James Bond and Jamaica is still strong, 50 years after Dr No was released, and 48 years after Ian Fleming's death. The memes that associate Bond with Jamaica are perpetuated in ways that go beyond the books and the films, being expressed in, for example, songs (such as '007 Shanty Town' by Desmond Dekker), airport names (Ian Fleming International Airport, formerly Boscobel Aerodrome), and, as we have now seen, recipes.

Reference:

Amory, M, 1985 The letters of Ann Fleming, Collins Harvill, London

From the pages of the Gleaner

In Ian Fleming's The Man with the Golden Gun (1965), we learn that Jamaica's Daily Gleaner is one of James Bond's favourite newspapers (presumably along with the Daily Express), and he buys a copy when he arrives in Kingston on route to Havana. In Bond's earlier Caribbean adventures, Fleming only adds passing references to the Gleaner, but in The Man with the Golden Gun, we have a lot more detail.

The edition Bond purchases can be dated to the 28th January 1964 or one of two days later. This date is provided by the reference in chapter 4 to French president Charles de Gaulle's recognition of Communist China, which happened on the 27th January. According to Fleming's description, the front page of Bond's edition is taken up with coverage of new laws preventing the consumption, sale and cultivation of marijuana. Fleming notes that de Gaulle's recognition of Red China appears well down the page.

In this case, Fleming was not being entirely accurate. A trawl through the archives of the Daily Gleaner reveals that the front page headline on the 28th January read: 'FRANCE RECOGNIZES RED CHINA'. There is no reference to drug laws. The story continued to be headline news the day after. The main headline on the front page was, 'FRANCE, RED CHINA DISPUTE POLICY'. Again, there was no mention of drug laws. De Gaulle slides from the front page after the 29th January, but there are no front-page references to drug laws over the following few days either.

There are two aspects of the Daily Gleaner that Fleming did record relatively accurately. One was the style of the paper's daily horoscope. Bond reads: 'CHEER UP! Today will bring you a pleasant surprise...' John Griswold gives Bond's birthday as 11th November, and on the 29th January 1964, his horoscope read: ACCEPTANCE: If there's any sacrifices to be made, it seems that you will have to make them.'

Fleming also captured the style of property auction notices rather well. Turning to the back page, Bond sees an advertisement for an auction of a property in Love Lane, Savannah La Mar. The auctioneers mentioned – the C D Alexander Co. Ltd of 77 Harbour Street – actually existed. A notice on the back page of the Gleaner dated 27th January 1964 began:

SALE BY AUCTION
at our offices, 77 Harbour Street, Kingston
On Friday the 14th February 1964 at 10.30 a.m.
UNDER POWERS OF SALE contained in a Mortgage:-

and ends with the name of the auctioneers, C D Alexander Co. Ltd, and their telephone number, 24897 (Fleming has an earlier phone number, 4897).

Reference:

Griswold, J, 2006 Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories, Author House