Add MS 89670

This extensive collection, comprising both sides of a correspondence, albeit unevenly (there are around 97 letters from Ian and around 56 from Ann; some are incomplete), gives an intimate and detailed insight into Ann and Ian Fleming's relationship, from the complexities of the 1940s when Ann was still married to Esmond Harmsworth (in one letter Ian begs Ann to keep his letters well hidden instead of leaving them in her underwear drawer), through the death of Ann and Ian's daughter, Mary, just eight hours old, in 1948, their married life (they married in March 1952), and into the 1960s. It was at times a turbulent relationship and both had numerous affairs. The tension and strain of these affairs, as well as that caused by their long separations (even after their marriage, Ian spent three months every year at the house, Goldeneye, in Jamaica, he had built in 1945), is apparent in many of the letters. On the other hand, many other letters are traditional love letters, showing the depth of their feelings for each other.

The letters also discuss: the flora and fauna of Jamaica; the development of, and domestic arrangements at, Goldeneye; gossip from the newspaper world (Ian Fleming was foreign manager of the Kemsley newspaper group, the then owner of the Sunday Times, from 1945 to 1959; thereafter he continued to contribute articles into the 1960s), discussion of his 'Atticus' column, and reference to his role in the Sunday Times securing an exclusive interview with spies Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean after their defection to Moscow; their respective health, both physical and mental; the health, development, well-being, and schooling of Caspar, their son born in August 1952; and their international travels (India, Tangiers, Chicago, Miami, New York, Paris, Italy, Hong Kong, Istanbul, and Switzerland) and life onboard luxury liners such as the Queen Elizabeth, complete with vivid pen portraits of their fellow travellers.

A major thread in the correspondence is discussion of the figures within their social circles or passing through their orbit, including Leolia Ponsonby, Blanche Blackwell (with whom Ian had a long affair), Ivar Bryce, Bill Paley, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Lucian Freud, Micky Renshaw, Noel Coward, Truman Capote, Gomer Berry, Brendan Bracken, Hugh Gaitskell (with whom Ann had a long affair), Erica Marx, Alfred Hitchcock, Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh, Edith Sitwell, Rosamund Lehmann, Eleanor Berkson, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Rex Harrison, Solly Zuckerman, Gladwyn Jebb, Joyce Grenfell, Pamela Churchill, Paul Gallico, Oscar Hammerstein, Charles Boyer, and Sidney Bernstein. Some of these people were guests at Goldeneye, fellow guests at others’ dinners and social events attended by Ian or Ann, or just the subjects of their gossip.

There are also references to Fleming's James Bond books, which he began in 1952, discussing the progress, and occasional plot details, of mostly unnamed books, and alluding to some of the inspiration and sources for the stories. For example, he mentions Blanche Blackwell's gift of a coracle which he named Octopussy. The short story of the same name would be published posthumously in 1966. (Fleming had previously used 'Blanche' as the name of the guano-collecting ship in Dr. No, published in 1958, and used Blackwell as the model for Pussy Galore in Goldfinger, published in 1959). Fleming also describes Truman Capote's positive reaction when reading a proof copy of Diamonds Are Forever. However, there are also occasional allusions to Fleming's dissatisfaction with Bond as a character and with some of the stories. Even so, his later letters make reference to possible television and film adaptations of his books, and on a trip to Hollywood, the positive reaction to his books gave him particular hope (the first Bond film, Dr. No, was released in 1962). There is even a reference to the gold-plated typewriter he bought while writing Casino Royale.

The collection comprises autograph letters signed, typed letters signed, telegrams, a postcard, autograph verse, a typed fragment from various locations. Some of the items include small, rough sketches. Mostly on headed stationery (household, hotels and club, cruise ship, Kemsley Newspapers, and airline) but some written on the endpapers of books, one letter on the verso of a hospital temperature chart, and one on the verso of a gin rummy score card.