In 1939, Fleming took on an assignment for The Times in Moscow - in
effect a cover. He was spying for the Foreign Office and later for
Naval Intelligence where he attained the rank of Commander.
During the second world war, he worked from room number 39 in the
Admiralty building in Whitehall as assistant to Admiral John Godfrey.
He was involved in the evacuation of Dieppe in 1940, in the smuggling
of King Zog out of Albania and in setting up the Office for Special
Services, the precursor of the CIA.
As commander of the 30th Assault Unit, he sometimes operated behind
the German lines, trying to secure important documents and files from
destruction. But, mostly, he directed the Unit's operations from
London.
When the war was over, he built a house - Goldeneye - in Jamaica. He
worked for the Kemsley group of papers and vacationed every winter in
the island.
While awaiting the divorce of one of his numerous paramours - the
pregnant Lady Anne Rothermere - the 44 years old Fleming wrote "Casino
Royale" published in 1953. It was the first of 12 James Bond
thrillers, translated to 11 languages and with total sales of 18
million copies.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78