Bond, James Bond. Agent 007. Master Spy in service to Her Majesty.
Thanks to Ian Fleming’s 17 novels and subsequent movies the fictional spy, James Bond, is famous. Even his preference for alcoholic beverages is known worldwide – martini, shaken, not stirred. In real life, I believe, all his notoriety would have made him somewhat ineffective as a secret agent. But James Bond, spy, is fictional and anything is possible in fiction.
The real life James Bond, however, remains relatively obscure. There was one. He was a serious bird watcher. There is no doubt that Ian Fleming blatantly appropriated his name to use for his fictional spy. Fleming actually admitted it. It was a true case of identity theft.
The real life Bond, born in Philadelphia and educated at Cambridge, was a 20th century ornithologist with his own modest claim to fame (at least among birders). He travelled to the Amazon as a youngster and conducted many field studies in the Caribbean. He was considered “the expert” on birds of the Caribbean area. Among ornithologist he is known for proving that birds of the Caribbean originate in North American, not South America. Eventually, he became curator of birds at the prestigious Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. In 1936 he published the authoritative book “Birds of the West Indies” which later became part of the Peterson Field Guide Series. And today an updated version continues to be part of the Collins Field Guide Series.
How (and why) did James Bond, spy, assume the name of James Bond, ornithologist? This isn’t a case of alter egos, Superman and Clark Kent, Batman and Britt Reid, or the Green Hornet and Bruce Wayne.
The story: In addition to serving as a Lieutenant Commander for the British Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, Fleming was an avid birder (he was British after all). While attending a spy conference in Jamaica he fell in love with the island, and after the war purchased an estate there that he called “Goldeneye” – a good name for a book, a villain, or a duck. In the early 1950s he was in Jamaica finishing the final draft of his first novel, Casino Royale. But he was not completely happy with the name he had given his main character. On the side table was his copy of James Bond’s Birds of the West Indies which Fleming referred to as his bible. Fleming’s eye fell on the author’s name, he shouted “eureka” and ran to tell the king. No, I think that is part of another story. Well, he liked the name James Bond. So he stole it.
Later he would write “I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, ‘James Bond’ was much better than something more interesting, like ‘Peregrine Carruthers’. Exotic things could happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure.” So Fleming’s protagonist was dubbed James Bond. The books became best sellers, first in Britain, then in the US. and James Bond became a household name.
In the meantime, the real James Bond was unaware of this identity theft until 1960. He was reading a review in the London Sunday Times of the new edition of his field guide. The Times reviewer jokingly wrote “I can barely bring myself to write that James Bond, like practically everyone else these days is trying to establish a new image for himself. Bond has revealed himself as a bird-watcher.” The reviewer then became serious and went on to acknowledge that the real Bond was, in fact, “a top banana in ornithology”.
Bond was somewhat amused and stated he was “fine with it.” But his wife, Mary, wrote to Fleming lightheartedly chastising him for stealing her husband’s name for his “rascal” character. Fleming wrote back explaining that he was just looking for the dullest name he could find. The name struck him as “brief, unromantic, yet very masculine”. Still he understood why Mary might be upset and offered a trade. “In return” he wrote “I can only offer your James Bond the unlimited use of the name Ian Fleming for any purpose he may think fit. Perhaps one day he will discover some particularly horrible species of birds which he would like to christen in an insulting fashion.”
Fleming invited the Bonds to visit with him in Jamaica which they did a few years later. While there Bond also appeared in a documentary that was being filmed about Fleming. In 1964 Fleming presented Bond with a first edition copy of You Only Live Twice inscribing it “To the real James Bond, from the thief of his identity.” . Fifty years later that book was sold at auction for $84,000.
Once the story behind the origin of the name became better known subtle references appeared. In one scene of the 2002 film Die Another Day, Bond, played by Pierce Brosman, is shown examining a book titled Birds of the West Indies with a cover that looks exactly like Bond’s book but with the author’s name obscured. In the same film, Bond introduces himself to Halle Berry as an ornithologist.
Depending on your perspective, James Bond is either a serious scientist studying Caribbean birds or a debonair spy searching for an evil mastermind intent on ruling the world. What about you? When you are in the field, high-powered optics slung around your neck, which Bond do you emulate? Are you actually looking for a rare bird or would you prefer to be a, suave secret agent out to save the world?
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