The literary Bond

This chapter deals with the first phase in the formal relationship between Playboy, Ian Fleming and the Bond novels, which began in 1960 and lasted up to the middle of the decade. During this time, Fleming and his writing made regular appearances in Playboy, and there began a direct relationship between the author, the literary James Bond and Hefner’s men’s magazine that blurred the lines between real life and fiction. The chapter also considers how Fleming and the Bond novels endorsed Playboy, and how Playboy endorsed Fleming and the Bond novels, against the backdrop of James Bond’s introduction into American popular culture. Examples considered include Fleming’s Thrilling Cities trip to Chicago, his ‘Playboy Interview’, and the presentation of the Bond stories and serialisations as part of Playboy’s ‘Entertainment for Men’ formula. The chapter concludes by identifying that Fleming’s death in 1964 and the growing popularity of the Bond films in the mid-1960s, in association with the strength of Sean Connery’s public identification with the character of Bond, meant that as the decade continued Playboy’s relationship with James Bond entered its next phase.