Unearthed Story From James Bond Creator Will Shock Longtime Fans
If you're browsing the magazine section at your local bookstore, you should 100 percent grab a copy of the latest print edition of Men's Journal. And, after that, if you're ready to totally rethink your assumptions about James Bond creator Ian Fleming, you pick up an issue of the mystery magazine The Strand.
In it, you'll find a recently rediscovered story penned by Fleming, which will make even his biggest fans think differently about his writing and reputation. Here's why this newly rediscovered Fleming short story is so cool, where to read it, and what it means for the legacy of James Bond.
What is the new Ian Fleming short story?
In the current issue of The Strand magazine, the long-time mystery and thriller publication has recently unearthed stories from both Ian Fleming and Graham Greene. The Fleming story in The Strand is titled "The Shameful Dream," and it's not about a spy or an assassin at all.
Instead, the story is about an editor of a literary magazine who is 100 percent certain he's going to get fired from his job, because he's been ominously summoned to a meeting with his very rich boss. With a good amount of humor, but also self-deprecation, the narrator goes into all sorts of hypothetical situations in his mind, but also recalls the ways in which many of his other colleagues were fired or maneuvered into quitting outright. The stakes are oddly low, but the psychological realism and wit are compelling and gripping.
This is a story that represents what Fleming might have been like had he not become a thriller writer, but instead, a writer of odd short stories. Fleming was very good friends with the author Kingsley Amis in real life. This story has more of a touch of that kind of writing, a sort of short story version of Lucky Jim with smart observations about social class and money. It may not be the greatest Fleming work of all time, but it is a revelation. Before he invented James Bond, Fleming's older brother, Peter Fleming, was a well-known writer and considered a true literary talent. In some ways, "The Shameful Dream" represents a road not taken for Ian Fleming, a style of writing that may have put him in the same class as his brother.
Related: James Bond Author's Lost Writing Will Finally Be Published This Year
Are there more lost Ian Fleming Stories?
The newest unearthed Ian Fleming short story in The Strand is not the only bit of new lost Fleming writing out there. It's actually an excerpt from a new book called Talk of the Devil, which was published in May in the U.S. by Harper Collins.
Talk of the Devil includes this new short story, as well as several unpublished essays and various travelogues, which Fleming was famous for. While we're waiting for more news about the next James Bond film, The Strand's new excerpt and Talk of the Devil are great ways to dive deep into the universe of James Bond, and into unexplored artistic territories, charted by the man who started it all.
You can check out the latest issue of The Strand here.
Related: How Daniel Craig, Ian Fleming's Estate Reacted to Shock Bond News