Part of the British aristocracy, Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was similar to his fictional character: he was a spy, a notorious lover and liked his martinis shaken, not stirred. He was a journalist, a banker and a military man, and started writing at 43. In 11 years, he wrote 13 Bond novels and the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. His father was a member of the Parliament and he was educated at Eton. Then he joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst before studying languages at a private school in Austria. Fleming worked as a sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters news agency, as a stockbroker (agente di borsa) in the City of London and as an agent of the naval intelligence on the eve (vigilia) of World War 2. He served Admiral John H. Godfrey who became the model for James Bond’s commanding officer, “M”. During the last year of the war, Fleming visited Jamaica on military business and decided to settle (stabilirsi) there: he designed and built a home in Jamaica, and called it Goldeneye. He left naval intelligence after the war, and little is known about his real adventures; however, Bond would not come to life if Fleming had not spent the time he did in the intelligence services. In 1953, he published his first novel, ‘Casino Royale’; the protagonist……. secret agent James Bond, also famously known by his code number, 007 – which gave him a “licence to kill” (licenza di uccidere). It is believed that, in this initial story, he based the female character “Vesper Lynd” on real life SOE agent, Christine Granville. In 1961, he sold the film rights (i diritti) to his novels and short stories to Harry Saltzman, who, with Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, co-produced the film version of ‘Dr. No’ (1962). For the cast (attori) , Fleming suggested friend and neighbour (vicino di casa) Noël Coward as the villain (cattivo) Dr. Julius No, and David Niven or, later, Roger Moore as James Bond. Broccoli and Saltzman chose Sean Connery. The success was followed by From Russia with Love (1963), the second and last James Bond movie Ian Fleming saw because he died of a heart attack in 1964 at 56. His widow, Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming (1913-1981), and son Caspar Robert Fleming (1952–1975), are buried next to him (sono sepolti accanto a lui).Part of the British aristocracy, Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, was similar to his fictional character: he was a spy, a notorious lover and liked his martinis shaken, not stirred. He was a journalist, a banker and a military man, and started writing at 43. In 11 years, he wrote 13 Bond novels and the children’s book Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. His father was a member of the Parliament and he was educated at Eton. Then he joined the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst before studying languages at a private school in Austria. Fleming worked as a sub-editor and journalist for the Reuters news agency, as a stockbroker (agente di borsa) in the City of London and as an agent of the naval intelligence on the eve (vigilia) of World War 2. He served Admiral John H. Godfrey who became the model for James Bond’s commanding officer, “M”. During the last year of the war, Fleming visited Jamaica on military business and decided to settle (stabilirsi) there: he designed and built a home in Jamaica, and called it Goldeneye. He left naval intelligence after the war, and little is known about his real adventures; however, Bond would not come to life if Fleming had not spent the time he did in the intelligence services. In 1953, he published his first novel, ‘Casino Royale’; the protagonist……. secret agent James Bond, also famously known by his code number, 007 – which gave him a “licence to kill” (licenza di uccidere). It is believed that, in this initial story, he based the female character “Vesper Lynd” on real life SOE agent, Christine Granville. In 1961, he sold the film rights (i diritti) to his novels and short stories to Harry Saltzman, who, with Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, co-produced the film version of ‘Dr. No’ (1962). For the cast (attori) , Fleming suggested friend and neighbour (vicino di casa) Noël Coward as the villain (cattivo) Dr. Julius No, and David Niven or, later, Roger Moore as James Bond. Broccoli and Saltzman chose Sean Connery. The success was followed by From Russia with Love (1963), the second and last James Bond movie Ian Fleming saw because he died of a heart attack in 1964 at 56. His widow, Ann Geraldine Mary Fleming (1913-1981), and son Caspar Robert Fleming (1952–1975), are buried next to him (sono sepolti accanto a lui).2013-05-17