The Spy Who Loved Me

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For the James Bond film, see The Spy Who Loved Me (film).

The Spy Who Loved Me

First edition cover - published by Jonathan Cape.
Author	Ian Fleming
Cover Artist	Richard Chopping (Jonathan Cape ed.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	James Bond
Genre(s)	Spy novel
Publisher	Glidrose Productions
Released	16 April 1962
Media Type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	Thunderball
Followed by	On Her Majesty's Secret Service

The Spy Who Loved Me is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. It was first published by Jonathan Cape on April 16, 1962. It is the shortest and most sexually explicit of Fleming's novels, as well as a clear departure from previous Bond novels, in that the story is told in the first-person by a young woman named Vivienne Michel. James Bond actually does not appear until two-thirds of the way through the book (chapter 10). In order to maintain the fiction of the book's central character, Vivienne Michel (and, some critics suggest, distance himself from a book with which he was unsatisfied), Fleming gave "Michel" co-author credit. In his foreword to the novel, Fleming establishes a tongue-in-cheek fiction regarding the origin of the manuscript:

I found what follows lying on my desk one morning. As you will see, it appears to be the first-person story of a young woman, evidently beautiful and not unskilled in the arts of love. According to her story, she appears to have been involved, both perilously and romantically, with the same James Bond whose secret-service exploits I myself have written from time to time. With the manuscript was a note signed 'Vivienne Michel' assuring me that what she had written was 'purest truth and from the depths of her heart.' I was interested in this view of James Bond, through the wrong end of the telescope, so to speak, and, after obtaining clearance for certain minor infringements of the Official Secrets Act, I have much pleasure in sponsoring its publication. The Spy Who Loved Me, prologue by Ian Fleming

Due to the reactions by critics and fans, Fleming was not happy with the book and consequently only gave permission for the title to be used when he sold the film rights to Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli. In 1977 the title was used for the tenth film in the EON Productions series. It was the third to star Roger Moore as British Secret Service agent, Commander James Bond. Per Fleming's wish the film only uses the title and is therefore considered the first wholly original Bond film. The film was novelised the same year by screenwriter Christopher Wood and is the first novelisation of a Bond film. To avoid confusion with Fleming's novel, the book was named James Bond, The Spy Who Loved Me.

Fleming's novel is considered an interlude novel in what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy." This novel is generally not considered part of the story arc that includes the previous novel, Thunderball and succeeding books On Her Majesty's Secret Service and You Only Live Twice, although it clearly takes place after Thunderball and does make references to its adventure.

Contents 1 Plot summary 2 Characters in The Spy Who Loved Me 3 Publication history 4 Comic strip adaptation

[edit] Plot summary

The central character and narrator of The Spy Who Loved Me is "Vivienne Michel," a young Canadian woman who ends up running a cheap motel in the Adirondack Mountains to pay for a trip through America. The novel is broken up into three parts.

The first section of the book deals with Michel's past love affairs, the first being Derek Mallaby who took her virginity in a field after being kicked out of a cinema for indecent exposure. The relationship ended that night and Michel was subsequently dumped later when Mallaby sent her a letter from the University of Oxford saying he had met someone else and had recently gotten engaged. Michel details her second love affair to her German boss, Kurt Rainer, whom would eventually get Michel pregnant. After learning of her pregnancy and informing Rainer, he subsequently dumps her and pays for her to go to Switzerland to have an abortion.

The second section of the book details Michel's journey through America and how she came to work at "The Dreamy Pines Motor Court" in the Adirondack Mountains for Jed and Mildred Phancey, the managers. After a while of working for them the Phancey's take a vacation and leave her in charge for one day until the owner, Mr. Sanguinetti, arrives to resume business. In the meantime, however, two mobsters, "Sluggsy" Morant and Sol "Horror" Horowitz, show up under the guise that they work for Sanguinetti and are there to look over the motel for insurance reasoning. In truth, the two were hired by Mr. Sanguinetti to burn down The Dreamy Pines Motor Court so that Sanguinetti can make a profit on the insurance. The blame for the fire would fall on Michel, who was to perish in the fire. The mobsters, specifically "Sluggsy", are very cruel to Michel, threatening to rape her later that night and when she attempts to escape she is captured and beaten.

The two mobsters are however stopped in the third part of the book when British secret service agent James Bond appears, blaming his being there on a flat tire while passing by. He later details to Michel why he's actually in America, saying that after Operation Thunderball was completed, SPECTRE was pretty much finished except that the allied nations were still searching for Ernst Stavro Blofeld who had gotten away. The book ends with Bond protecting Michel through the night and later killing Sluggsy and Horror in a gun battle.

[edit] Characters in The Spy Who Loved Me

• Vivienne Michel -
• James Bond -
• Sol "Horror" Horowitz -
• "Sluggsy" Morant -
• Derek Mallaby -
• Kurt Rainer -
• Jed and Mildred Phancey -
• Mr. Sanguinetti -

[edit] Publication history

In the United States, a condensed version of the novel was published in the men's magazine, Stag, under the title, "Motel Nymph".

[edit] Comic strip adaptation

Main article: James Bond comic strips

Fleming's original novel was adapted as a daily comic strip which was published in the British Daily Express newspaper and syndicated around the world. The adaptation ran from December 18, 1967 to October 3, 1968. The adaptation was written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Yaroslav Horak. It was the last Ian Fleming work to be adapted as a comic strip, although the comic strip took great liberties with Fleming's novel, substituting a SPECTRE-related storyline involving Bond for the novel's autobiographical chapters involving Vivienne; the actual adaptation of the novel doesn't begin until the 2/3 point of the strip. The strip was reprinted by Titan Books in the early 1990s and again in 2004.