Ian Fleming: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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In 1921 Fleming enrolled at [[Eton College]]. Not a high achiever academically, he excelled at athletics and held the title of ''[[Victor Ludorum]]'' ("Winner of the Games") for two years between 1925 and 1927.{{sfn|Macintyre|2008|p=33}} He also edited a school magazine, ''The Wyvern''.<ref name="Lycett (DNB)" /> His lifestyle at Eton brought him into conflict with his housemaster, E. V. Slater, who disapproved of Fleming's attitude, his hair oil, his ownership of a car and his relations with women.{{sfn| DelFattore |1989|p=86}} Slater persuaded Fleming's mother to remove him from Eton a term early for a [[Cram school|crammer]] course to gain entry to the [[Royal Military College, Sandhurst]].<ref name=":0" />{{sfn| DelFattore |1989|p=86}} He spent less than a year there, leaving in 1927 without gaining a commission, after contracting [[gonorrhea]].{{sfn|Macintyre|2008|p=33}}

In 1927, to prepare Fleming for possible entry into the [[Foreign Office]],{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=45}} his mother sent him to the Tennerhof in [[Kitzbühel]], Austria, a small private school run by the [[Adlerian]] disciple and former British spy Ernan Forbes Dennis and his novelist wife, [[Phyllis Bottome]].{{sfn|DelFattore|1989|p=87}} After improving his language skills there, he studied briefly at [[Munich University]] and the [[University of Geneva]].<ref name="Lycett (DNB)" /> While in Geneva, Fleming began a romance with Monique Panchaud de Bottens{{efn|Some sources provide the name as "Monique Panchaud de Bottomes".{{sfn|Chancellor|2005|p=17}}}} and the couple became engaged just before he returned to London in September 1931 to take the Foreign Office exam. He scored an adequate pass standard, but failed to get a job offer.{{sfn|Lycett|1996|p=46}}. His mother intervened in his affairs, lobbying [[Roderick Jones (1877–1962)|Sir Roderick Jones]], head of [[Reuters|Reuters News Agency]], and in October 1931 he was given a position as a [[sub-editor]] and journalist for the company.<ref name="Lycett (DNB)" /> In April 1933 Fleming spent time in [[Moscow]], where he covered the [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] [[show trial]] of six engineers from the British company [[Metropolitan-Vickers]].{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=46}} While there he applied for an interview with Soviet premier [[Joseph Stalin]], and was amazed to receive a personally signed note apologising for not being able to attend.{{sfn|Macintyre|2008|p=39}} Upon returning from Moscow he ended the engagement to Monique after his mother threatened to cut off his trust fund allowance.{{refn|<ref>{{sfn|Lycett|1996|p=59}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Buckton|first=Oliver|title=The World Is Not Enough: A Biography of Ian Fleming|year=2021|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield]]|location=Lanham, Maryland|isbn=9781538138588|p=42}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Cook|first=Andrew|title=The Ian Fleming Miscellany|year=2015|publisher=[[History Press]]|location=Stroud, England|isbn=978-0-7509-6577-4|p=19}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.spiegel.de/kultur/kino/50-jahre-james-bond-die-mutter-von-007-war-eine-schweizerin-a-859629.html|title=Und das ist die Mama von James Bond|website=[[Der Spiegel (online)|Der Spiegel]]|last1=Marti|first1=Michael|last2=Wälty|first2=Peter|date=7 October 2012|language=de|accessdate=14 July 2021}}</ref>}}

Fleming bowed to family pressure again in October 1933, and went into banking with a position at the financiers Cull & Co.{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=46}} In 1935 he moved to Rowe and Pitman on [[Bishopsgate]] as a stockbroker.{{sfn|Macintyre|2008|p=39}} Fleming was unsuccessful in both roles.{{sfn|Lycett|1996|p=72}}{{sfn|Benson|1988|p=46}} Early in 1939 Fleming began an affair with Ann O'Neill, ''{{nee}}'' Charteris, who was married to the [[Shane O'Neill, 3rd Baron O'Neill|3rd Baron O'Neill]];{{sfn|Lycett|1996|p=96}} she was also having an affair with [[Esmond Harmsworth, 2nd Viscount Rothermere|Esmond Harmsworth]], the heir to Lord Rothermere, owner of the ''[[Daily Mail]]''.<ref name="Lycett (Ann DNB)" />