Monique Delacroix Help needed

modelmaker007

Hi
Can anyone help me with the exact place where Bonds Mother came from, I know its Canton de Vaud in Switzerland, but a Canton is like a County, does anyone have a town??
I've been searching the net for an answer but couldn't find one that was satisfactory.
Thanks

youknowmyname

I did an internet search and also looked into some books on Bond that I have and couldn't find anything more specific than Canton de Vaud. I reckon that since Fleming never developed this storyline any further he really felt no need to elaborate on her actual town of origin. The only possibilities I can think of are Lausanne (due to its prominence) or the Lake Neuchatel region due to its upper-class notoriety and vineyards (possibly where the young mademoiselle Delacroix developed her penchant for wine and passed on a subtle alcoholism to her young son, James :v).

Anyone else?

chrisno1

Ditto.
In Pearson's biography of Bond he merely calls it 'the Vaud' (twice) and hardly mentions it again.
He does say that on the day of their death, Bond's father followed Monique out of her family home towards Geneva and caught up with her abandoned car near Chamonix. He must clearly have driven through France to do this. If you look at a map of the Vaud, Geneva is at the toe of the Vaud (I think Geneva has a Canton of its own) while Chamonix is of course in France, toward the heel of the Vaud.
It's always said Bond's parents were killed climbing in Switzerland, (Pearson reinforces this twice) but the Aiguilles Rouges is actually a range of mountains in the French prealps. They are very close to Chamonix however, so he got one thing right at least.
Pearson also suggests Monique and Andrew Bond were killed on one particular mountain called Aiguilles Rouges, but as that's the name of the whole range (the Red Peaks) he maybe got that wrong too.
Very odd. Back on subject, I have to agree with the post above and suggest the Delacroix family lived anywhere that the monied elite resided in Vaud. They did live in a nice big house and were stinking rich!

modelmaker007

Thanks Guys, Well, looks like I will never know for sure, I have Just returned from Switzerland and spent a Day on Lake Geneva in Lausanne and drove along the Road parallel to the Lake with all the Vinyards and it is a very exclusive area and one that does credit to the Bond story.

We took a trip across the Lake in a boat from Lausanne to Evian which is France, it was stunning, the Lake has a Fantastic view to the Mountains but it was a bit hazy when I crossed.

I will be returning there in June and it would have been great to go to the Town with a Bond Connection but I'll just have to make do that I was in the Area.

Thanks again for your effort.

youknowmyname

No problem! How fantastic that you got to cruise around the area. Honestly I never had looked into going there before, but after perusing some tourist sites I am highly tempted to head to Lausanne the next time I am in Europe...however, it is on to Peru next (and maybe La Paz)!