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The secret life of Ian Fleming : spies, lies and social ties
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Moran, Christopher R. and McCrisken, Trevor (2019) The secret life of Ian Fleming : spies, lies and social ties. Contemporary British History, 33 (3). pp. 336-356. doi:10.1080/13619462.2018.1545579 ISSN 1361-9462.
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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/13619462.2018.1545579
Abstract
This article explores the fascinating interactions and experiences of James Bond creator, Ian Fleming, with the real world of intelligence. It has long been known that Fleming worked in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. However, accounts of his time there tend to portray him as a lowly and slightly eccentric administrator. Drawing on newly discovered archival materials, plus memoirs and histories, it is argued here that Fleming was a respected and influential figure in the great game of espionage for some three decades. During the war, he was a central cog in the machinery of naval intelligence, planning operations, working with partners in American intelligence and liaising with secret Whitehall departments, including the Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park. Before and after the war, he was involved in a range of intelligence networks, often using journalistic cover to hide his clandestine connections. Throughout his life, his social circle was a ‘who’s who’ of spies and saboteurs, including CIA Director Allen Dulles. In short, he straddled the state-private divide. Taken together, these dealings with real intelligence paved the way for and gave veracity to his fiction, which continues to shape public perceptions of intelligence to this day.
Item Type: | Journal Article | ||||||||
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Subjects: | J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General) | ||||||||
Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Politics and International Studies | ||||||||
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Fleming, Ian, 1908-1964 -- Biography, Espionage, Great Britain. Navy -- Intelligence specialists, Intelligence service -- Great Britain | ||||||||
Journal or Publication Title: | Contemporary British History | ||||||||
Publisher: | Routledge | ||||||||
ISSN: | 1361-9462 | ||||||||
Official Date: | 2019 | ||||||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | 33 | ||||||||
Number: | 3 | ||||||||
Page Range: | pp. 336-356 | ||||||||
DOI: | 10.1080/13619462.2018.1545579 | ||||||||
Status: | Peer Reviewed | ||||||||
Publication Status: | Published | ||||||||
Reuse Statement (publisher, data, author rights): | “This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Contemporary British History on7/12/2018 available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/13619462.2018.1545579” | ||||||||
Access rights to Published version: | Restricted or Subscription Access | ||||||||
Date of first compliant deposit: | 7 November 2018 | ||||||||
Date of first compliant Open Access: | 7 June 2020 | ||||||||
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