007 James Bond – Was James Bond A Romanticized Version Of Ian Fleming?

I've always thought he was. Fleming loved the sophisticated, international settings of the Bond novels and even wrote a non-fiction book about his travels to them called "Thrilling Cities" that could easily have been written by Bond. And the casinos, fine dining and wine... all places he felt at home. A lot of writers have given us characters who lived lives similar to those of their creators, only "more so". This always struck me as one such case.

He did live out the end of his life in the Caribbean (Jamaica), and the name of his home/estate (Goldeneye) found its way into the title of one of the movies.

So that could be. If you read the actual novels that Fleming wrote, you would see that he at least liked to write about the "high life". There are many mentions and descriptions of "high end/upscale" products and locales. (They would call it "product placement" today.)

The most notable are the Aston-Martins and various casinos and clubs -- e.g., at Monte Carlo and in London.

Those descriptions also extended to the little things, such as his cigarettes, cigarette cases, lighters, his suits, and the way he likes his Martini's made ("shaken, not stirred").

The attraction of the Bond movies, especially the early ones, is that fantasy combination of danger, daring, high living, exotic locales and, of course, the girls.

Thunderball

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0142003247/

From Amazon:

During World War II Ian Fleming served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, rising to the rank of Commander. His wartime experiences provided him with knowledge of secret operations. After the war, he built his house, Goldeneye, in Jamaica. There, at the age of 42, he wrote Casino Royale, the first of the James Bond novels. By the time of his death in 1964, Fleming’s 14 Bond adventures had sold more than 40 million copies and the cult of James Bond was internationally established.