IAN FLEMING LETTERS MYSTERY

A collection of letters have been released that offer a rare glimpse into Ian Fleming in his twenties. The Daily Mail has reported correspondences from the 1930s between the James Bond author and his Austrian lover, Edith Morpurgo, will be auctioned off by Peter Harrigton at next week's New York antiquarian book fair. The collection includes sweet exclamations like, "I'd like to sleep with you just once and do nothing to you, just wrap my arms around you and hold you tight and find you there when I wake up." But they also also reveal early examples of Fleming's tendencies toward dominance and submission in the bedroom: "‘If I were to say 'love' you would only argue, and then I would have to whip you and you would cry and I don't want that. I only want for you to be happy. But I would also like to hurt you because you have earned it and in order to tame you like a little wild animal. So be careful, you." I can't help but hear Sean Connery's voice delivering that line.

The collection is estimated to fetch upwards of 47,500 pounds, and also includes some illustrations with steamy captions by Fleming and a photograph. And here is where the mystery begins! The photo below of young Fleming is inscribed "The father of James Bond 007, a friend in 1934 in Austrian." But who did Fleming send this to? His lover, Edith Morpurgo sadly died in 1942 with her husband and daughter during the Holocaust- ten years before Fleming wrote his first James Bond novel, Casino Royale. I don't doubt the authenticity of the letters, but perhaps the press release has omitted this detail by mistake. Was the inscription written by Fleming to a member of her family? Did one of her relatives add the text later? I shall inquire! In the meantime, I do wish that all of Fleming's correspondences would be published as a collection. The existing volumes of letters by Noel Coward and Fleming's wife Ann Charteris are quite fascinating and useful to Fleming scholars. Want to learn more about young Ian Fleming? Check out my posts covering his favorite music- and his days playing Hawaiian guitar! Ian Fleming Music Series links: Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr.

Recent Ian Fleming posts on Spy Vibe: Appropriating Bond, Double 007 Book Designs,  Double 007 designs II, rare Ian Fleming edition, Book Design Dopplegangers, Turkish Bond design, Ian Fleming Letters, Erno Goldfinger, Noel Coward, Whispering Jack Smith, Hawaiian Guitar, Joe Fingers Carr, new Ian Fleming Catalog, Jon Gilbert interview, Double 007 Designs, Bond audio book reissues, discovery of one of Ian Fleming's WWII Commandos, James Bond book covers, Ian Fleming's Playboy interview for Kindle, Spy Vibe's discovery of a rare Ian Fleming serialization, rare View to a Kill, Fleming's Royal gold typewriter, Ian Fleming's memorial address, Spy Vibe's Ian Fleming image archive.

Recent Spy Vibe posts: Sylvia Anderson, Appropriating Bond, Trina Robbins Interview, Catsuits, Batman '66 Green Hornet Interview: Ralph Garman Ty Templeton,  Solar & Bionic Man Return, The Saint Library Released, DC Fontana Prisoner Video, James Bond Comic Event, Turkish James Bond Design, Edward Gorey's 1960s, Ipcress File cinematography, 007 SOLO cover designs, Batman Valentines cards, Saturday Cartoons: Marine Boy, Mary Quant, Patrick Macnee, Gloria Steinem and Denny O'Neil on MOD Wonder Woman, Win Scott Eckert interview, Siegel and Shuster's SPY, David McCallum: Son of Batman, Jon Gilbert talks Fleming, Barbarella TV series, Meet the Beatles 50th, Wonderwall comes to Blu-ray, Batman Strips, David Bowie at 67, Kevin Dart talks Ringo & Powerpuff Girls, Sherlock Exhibit, Fu Manchu history panel, Andy Warhol box set, Six-Million Dollar Man, Striped Light Nude, Buckminster Fuller, Dylan at Newport, Jane and Serge, The Goldfinger Variations, Mod Tales Interview, David Tennant's Ian Fleming audio books, Atomic Art, Shane Glines Batman.