Welcome back, fellow spy enthusiasts, to another captivating episode of the Spybrary Spy Book Podcast! Today, we are thrilled to present a very special 90-minute episode titled “Ian Fleming: The Complete Man” with the esteemed novelist and Iatest Ian Fleming biographer Nicholas Shakespeare.
Now you can watch the interview with Nicholas, Ajay and Jeremy on YouTube.
For this interview, Spybrary host and founder Shane Whaley recruited James Bond and Ian Fleming scholars Ajay Chowdhury and Jeremy Duns, to dive deep into the life and works of the legendary creator of James Bond, Mr. Ian Fleming with biographer Nicholas Shakespeare.
With unrivaled access to the Fleming family, archives, and a trove of new material, Shakespeare presents a new, nuanced portrait of Ian Fleming's life. So place your devices on do not disturb and enjoy this in depth interview with Ian Fleming biographer Nicholas Shakespeare.
This episode was made possible by Spybrary Patreon supporters – please consider subscribing today to help us continue to bring you the spy book content you crave.
More About Ian Fleming – The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare
A fresh portrait of the man behind James Bond, and his enduring impact, by an award-winning biographer with unprecedented access to the Fleming family papers.
Ian Fleming's greatest creation, James Bond, has had an enormous and ongoing impact on our culture. What Bond represents about ideas of masculinity, the British national psyche and global politics has shifted over time, as has the interpretation of the life of his author. But Fleming himself was more mysterious and subtle than anything he wrote.
Ian's childhood with his gifted brother Peter and his extraordinary mother set the pattern for his ambition to be “the complete man,” and he would strive for the means to achieve this “completeness'”all his life. Only a thriller writer for his last twelve years, his dramatic personal life and impressive career in Naval Intelligence put him at the heart of critical moments in world history, while also providing rich inspiration for his fiction. Exceptionally well connected, and widely travelled, from the United States and Soviet Russia to his beloved Jamaica, Ian had access to the most powerful political figures at a time of profound change.
Nicholas Shakespeare is one of the most gifted biographers working today. His talent for uncovering material that casts new light on his subjects is fully evident in this masterful, definitive biography. His unprecedented access to the Fleming archive and his nose for a story make this a fresh and eye-opening picture of the man and his famous creation.
Order your copy of Ian Fleming – The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare today!
The mission begins now.
Meet Today's Spybrary Guest Hosts
Ajay Chowdhury
Ajay Chowdhury was born in London and read Law at university there and in The Netherlands. For over two decades, Ajay has consulted on various motion picture, music, publishing, television and theatrical projects. Ajay has been involved with British and European feature film production in various capacities. He was the associate producer on two feature films, ‘Lost Dogs’ (2005) and ‘Flirting With Flamenco’ (2006). Ajay has been an Advisory Board member on Tongues On Fire – London Asian Film Festival.
In 2015, he co-wrote the internationally bestselling, ground-breaking ‘Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond Films‘ with Matthew Field, published by The History Press. The book was updated in paperback to cover The Road To Bond 25 and published in August 2018. They also co-authored the 100 page plus bookazines, ‘Remembering Roger Moore' (2018) and ‘Sean Connery: A James Bond Journey' (2022) featuring new interviews with over 75 co-stars of the Bond açtors, published by MI6 Confidential. In 2023, they both contributed to VICE TV's ‘Icons Unearthed: James Bond', the most in-depth documentary series on Ian Fleming and the 007 phenomenon ever made, based on their book. In 2024, their work was cited in Paul Duncan's ‘James Bond: Dr No' (Taschen).
Ajay has written extensively about Ian Fleming and James Bond and has contributed to numerous books, websites, articles, podcasts, broadcasts and exhibitions about all things 007. Ajay is the global spokesperson for The James Bond International Fan Club.
Jeremy Duns
Jeremy Duns is the author of Dead Drop: The True Story of Oleg Penkovsky and the Cold War’s Most Dangerous Operation (titled Codename: Hero in the US), and the spy novels Free Agent, Song Of Treason (originally titled Free Country), The Moscow Option and Spy Out The Land.
His journalism has been published in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, Time Out and elsewhere. Free Agent was one of the Daily Telegraph’s ‘Thrillers of the year’ in 2009, and was praised by William Boyd as ‘a wholly engrossing and sophisticated spy novel set against a forgotten corner of 20th century history’. The Times called Song Of Treason ‘a masterly excursion back to the bad old days of the Cold War’, while The Guardian said it was ‘a treat for fans of traditional Len Deighton-style spy thrillers’. Oleg Gordievsky called Dead Drop an ‘excellent book’ that ‘contains lessons that are still valid in the 21st century’ and Francis Wheen called it an ‘irresistible real-life thriller’.
Producer: Shane Whaley
Ian Fleming The Complete Man Discussion
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On a scale from “research novice” to “Fleming expert,” where do you stand with your knowledge of Ian Fleming? Share one new thing you learned from this inerview with the biographer of Ian Fleming The Complete Man with Nicholas Shakespeare.
That and more in this episode of the Spybrary Spy Podcast.
Want more James Bond chat? Check out Spybrary's James Bond Book Club, where we review each Ian Fleming James Bond novel as if we are in the year of publication.
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What a brilliant interview! Well done Jeremy and Ajay.