James Bond

James Bond, also known as 007 (pronounced "double-oh seven"), is a fictional British spy introduced by writer Ian Fleming in 1953. Fleming wrote numerous novels and short stories based upon the character and, after his death in 1964, further literary adventures were written by Kingsley Amis, John Pearson, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, and Charlie Higson; in addition, Christopher Wood wrote two screenplay novelizations and other authors have also written various unofficial permutations of the character.

Character's biography

James Bond is the son of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond, and a Swiss mother, Monique Delacroix, both of whom died in a mountain climbing accident in the Aiguilles Rouges, when Bond was 11 years old. James went to live with his Aunt, Miss Charmian Bond, in Kent. Bond's family motto, which was later adopted by James Bond during "Operation Corona" in the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service is Orbis non sufficit (Latin for "The world is not enough").

Related Topics:
Scottish - Swiss - Climbing - Aiguilles Rouges - Kent - Motto - On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Latin

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With the exception of the Young Bond series of novels by Charlie Higson launched in 2005, Bond for the most part is an ageless character in both films and literature. He is roughly in his late thirties (the age of 37 can be deduced from Moonraker). According to John Pearson's ', Bond was born on November 11, 1920; no Fleming novel supports this date. According to an obituary of James Bond in the novel You Only Live Twice, Bond left school when he was 17 years old and joined the Ministry of Defence in 1941. If Bond was 17 in 1941, then he was born in 1924. Fleming also establishes that Bond bought his first car, a Bentley (driven in several early novels and the second Bond film, From Russia With Love), in 1933, contradicting both birthdates—he would have been too young to buy a car had he been born in either 1920 or 1924, though he might have purchased the vehicle at a later date. Many Fleming biographers agree that Fleming never really intended to write as many James Bond adventures as he did and to keep writing the novels he had to "tinker with Bond's early life" and change dates to ensure Bond was the appropriate age for the service, particularly due to a statement in Moonraker that 007 faced mandatory retirement from the 00 Section at age 45. The issue of the car is one such example. Ian Fleming Publications recognised this issue for their new series of novels featuring Bond as a teenager in the 1930s and along with its author, Charlie Higson, defined Bond being born in the year 1920 (no specific date has thus far been declared).

Related Topics:
Young Bond - Charlie Higson - Ageless - November 11 - 1920 - You Only Live Twice - Ministry of Defence - 1941 - 1924 - Bentley - From Russia With Love - 1933 - Ian Fleming Publications - 1930s

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The continuation Bond novels by John Gardner and Raymond Benson published between 1981 and 2002 depict Bond as being active in the present day (with Gardner in particular tying Bond to then-current events such as the 1991 Gulf War). Gardner depicts Bond as being in early middle age at the time of License Renewed, making it likely that his version of the character must have been born sometime after that of Fleming's Bond. Benson's Bond appears to be patterned after Pierce Brosnan's film portrayal, suggesting a birth year in the early 1950s.

Related Topics:
1991 Gulf War - License Renewed

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It is also debated where James Bond was born. According to Pearson, Bond was born near Essen, Germany; however, Charlie Higson, in his novel SilverFin claims Bond was born in Switzerland.

Related Topics:
Essen - Germany - Switzerland

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Bond briefly attended Eton College starting at the age of 12, but was expelled after two halves when some "alleged" troubles with one of his maids came to light. In Fleming's short story "From a View to a Kill," Bond admits to losing his virginity on his first visit to Paris at the age of 16. John Gardner's novel Brokenclaw also references this moment in Bond's life. After Eton, Bond attended and continued his education in the prestigious Fettes College in Edinburgh, Scotland. In "Octopussy", Fleming writes that Bond briefly attended the University of Geneva. With the exception of Fettes, Bond's attendance at these schools parallels Fleming's own life, as he attended these same schools.

Related Topics:
Eton College - From a View to a Kill - Virginity - Paris - Brokenclaw - Fettes College - Edinburgh - Scotland - Octopussy - University of Geneva

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In 1941, Bond lied about his age in order to enter the Royal Navy's Volunteer Reserve during World War II, from which he emerged with the rank of Commander before joining MI6. During his tenure writing James Bond novels in the 1980s and 1990s, Gardner promoted Bond to Captain, but he was subsequently demoted back to Commander in Benson's novels without explanation.

Related Topics:
1941 - Royal Navy - World War II - Commander - MI6 - 1980s - 1990s - Captain

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In both the literary and cinematic versions of On Her Majesty's Secret Service, James Bond marries, but his bride, Teresa di Vicenzo (Tracy), is killed on their wedding day by his archenemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld; the event resonates in both versions of the character for many years thereafter. In the novels, Bond gets revenge in the following novel, You Only Live Twice, when he by chance comes across Blofeld in Japan, whilst the cinematic Bond takes on Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever with mixed results.

Related Topics:
On Her Majesty's Secret Service - Teresa di Vicenzo - Ernst Stavro Blofeld - Japan - Diamonds Are Forever

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Bond had one child, by Kissy Suzuki in You Only Live Twice, although he did not know of the boy's existence until sometime later. Exactly when he learned this is not known, however he is aware of his son, James Suzuki, by the time of Raymond Benson's short story "

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In the novels (notably From Russia, With Love), Bond's physical description has generally been consistent: a three-inch, vertical scar on his left cheek (absent from the cinematic version); blue-grey eyes;a "cruel" mouth; short-cut, dark hair, a comma of which falls on his forehead (greying at the temples in John Gardner's novels), and (after Casino Royale) the faint scar of the Russian cyrillic letter "?" (SH) on the back of one of his hands (carved by a SMERSH agent).

Related Topics:
John Gardner - Casino Royale - Russian - Cyrillic - SMERSH

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The literary and cinematic secret agent's attitude towards his job is similar. Although licensed to kill, Bond dislikes killing—resorting to flippant jokes and off-hand remarks as after-the-fact relief, often misinterpreted as cold-bloodedness. Pearson's biography (disputed canonically) suggests Bond first killed as a teenager. The novel Goldfinger begins with Bond's memory haunted by the small-time, Mexican gunman he had killed with his bare hands days earlier. In the films, there is a subtle hint in GoldenEye that he might be haunted so, and, in The World Is Not Enough, he admits that cold-blooded killing is a filthy business. Nonetheless, James Bond kills when needed, and on film commits acts that might be considered murder in other circumstances (in Dr. No, shooting Professor Dent in the back; killing the unarmed Elektra King in The World Is Not Enough). The literary James Bond was reserved in his licensed killing; there are Fleming works in which Bond does not kill anyone.

Related Topics:
Canonically - Mexican - GoldenEye - The World Is Not Enough - Murder - Dr. No - Elektra King

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The cinematic Bond is famous for ordering his vodka martinis "shaken, not stirred." The literary Bond prefers vodka, but also drinks gin martinis, and in Casino Royale orders a martini that includes both types of liquor. Bond initially calls it "The Vesper" martini, after his lover in that book, Vesper Lynd. Throughout the novels, 007 orders his martinis with a slice of lemon peel (Fleming felt that olives were added by bartenders to decrease the amount of liquor in the drink), though this only occurs on film in Dr. No. In real life, martini bars often dub a martini made "shaken, not stirred" as a "Martini James Bond." (See martini cocktail for a detailed description of how a shaken martini differs from a stirred one). In the novels, most of the drinks that Bond has—beyond Casino Royale—aren't martinis at all.

Related Topics:
Vodka - Gin - Vesper Lynd - Olive - Martini cocktail

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Age is the notable difference between the literary and the cinematic versions of James Bond. As noted above, per Fleming's novel Moonraker, agent 007 faced mandatory retirement from active duty at age 45, while many of the films feature a considerably older hero. Assuming the correctness of either the 1920 or 1924 birthdates, Fleming's Bond would have retired between 1964 (coincidentally the year Fleming died) and 1969 (after Colonel Suns 1968 publication). Pearson's biography suggests Bond continued working for MI6 as a special agent, beyond retirement age, and continued serving as agent 007 into the 1970s. John Gardner's version of James Bond is a man born after Fleming's version, since he remains an active agent in the 1980s and the 1990s, while Benson's hero serves as 007 in the 1990s and 2000s, suggesting a later birthdate than Gardner's version.

Related Topics:
1964 - 1969 - Colonel Sun - 1968 - 1970s - 1980s - 1990s

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The cinematic James Bond (introduced in 1962) already had a history with MI6. In Dr. No, when reluctantly re-equipped with a 7.65 mm Walther PPK pistol replacing his under-powered .25 ACP calibre Beretta automatic pistol, agent 007 protests, telling M that he has used the weapon for ten years, suggesting he has been a secret agent for at least that long.

Related Topics:
Walther PPK - .25 ACP - Beretta - M

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Bond in the films is a graduate with a degree in Oriental languages from Cambridge University, as stated in You Only Live Twice. Bond can also be seen in other films speaking a variety of different languages, most notably Russian, which he uses in The World Is Not Enough.

Related Topics:
Degree - Oriental languages - Cambridge University - You Only Live Twice - Russian - The World Is Not Enough

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Although never stated outright, in his books, Fleming drops hints that Bond was smuggled into Hungary during its anti-Soviet uprising in 1956. A popular legend holds that a British secret agent was sent to Hungary to attempt to train the rebels, although they eventually lost. Using his literary licence, Fleming implies that Bond was this agent.

Related Topics:
Hungary - Soviet - Uprising - 1956 - Legend

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