Did Ian Fleming proof read his novels?

perdogg

I am a big fan of the novels, more so than I am of the movies. However Ian Fleming made a lot of errors of continuity.

The prime example The ending of Casino Royale to the beginning of LIve and Let Die. CR ends in late June possibly July, yet LALD begins in January. However, there was supposed to be only two weeks between the ending of CR and the beginning of LALD. Bond thinks about what happens to him in CR and says he wonders what has happened to Smersh after Beria, so it has to be January of 1954.

Also we know that From Russia with Love Takes place in August of 1954. About six months later, Dr No will take place in March of 1955.

So, Moonraker and Diamonds are Forever must take place in the summer of 1954, correct?

7289

It's a little more complicated than "proofreading".... remember these are "thrillers' not a treatise on the history of espionage. So IF did indeed make ocassional errors.... most of which were eagerly pointed out by his contemporary readers.

For details on the inconsistancies, and for a deeper enjoyment of the Bond thrillers get this book:

Ian Fleming's James Bond, Anotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories by John Griswold, published by Authorhouse.

This is an excellent and indispensible reference for any who is serious about the Bond saga!

chrisno1

Interesting question.
When I went to the Fleming exhibition at the War Museum, London, they had a typed manuscript of (I thinnk) Dr No. Fleming was a journalist by trade and spent many months researching and cataloging prior to writing his first draft every winter at Goldeneye in Jamaica. I expect he probably had sheaves of pre-written prose to stir his creative juices. The manuscript was remarkably free of alterations. There were a few scribbles by an editor. The novel would certainly have been read by Fleming's agent, the publishing house and a few of his cronies. Fleming also had a great many contacts that he would probe for information regarding things like food, cars, drinks, tailoring, espionage, guns, foreign customs etc etc.

Regarding your continuity issue, perdogg, I think this is a case of Fleming not appreciating (certainly early on) how popular his product was. There are a raft of continuity or time line errors in the original novels, but they don't bear close inspection. Time lines become a real problem for me when Gardner and Benson treat their modern hero as if he is still in his forties when 20-40 years have elapsed since the original novels. I think now, given the 60 year history of 007, we need to take it all with a pinch of salt. Fleming clearly did when he wrote the originals!

As a side point, I recall, IF wrote each novel in February, submitted his early draft and then spent almost a year revising it. Each Bond book was published around the start of the year. This may explain why Fleming gets his years confused every so often as he's writing a year behind and publishing a year behind that. It also explains why TMWTGG (1965) was published so long after Fleming's death in 1964, as it fitted neatly into the established release pattern. TMWTGG is IMO, an example of Fleming's work before he adds all his customary flair and attention detail. Was it "proof read"? Yes. Did the publishers feel it appropriate to tailor it? No.