I recentlyy finished reading/listening to Andrew Lycett’s biography of Ian Fleming. As I wrote here a couple of weeks ago, the text in the book version I got from Amazon was too small for me to read comfortably, so I went looking for it in audio form. That has proven a great success, and I was able to whizz through the 450 page book in no time. It has, however, left me with a mixed view of James Bond’s creator. In many respects, Ian Fleming was a complete arsehole: a racist, sexist snob who seemed to think men like him should rule the world. The way he treated his wife Ann was abominable. At the same time, it would be unfair to completely dismiss Fleming: as Lycett points out, he was also capable of great acts of kindness and humanity. Thus, after finishing his biography, I really don’t know what to make of him, and I find myself wanting to know more. After all, Fleming created one on cinema’s most enduring characters. What on earth would he make of what his creation has now become, Olympic appearances and all? I want to reread the text in case I missed anything, or go on to other books about Fleming in order to get other perspectives. I also now want to read all the Bond novels. Thanks to Audible, that now seems much easier.