James Bond creator Ian Fleming reveals in his notebook 13 Rules of Life that he was wary of female drivers and wary of men with sideburns
- Among the pages, former spy Fleming was working on iconic 007 lines for his novels
- He recommended approaching people with mustaches or beards “carefully”.
- The book is due to be auctioned in Texas next month and could fetch up to £17,000
James Bond Creator Ian Fleming was suspicious of female drivers and suspicious of men with sideburns, his notebook revealed.
The ex-spy wrote his “13 rules of life” in a notebook, which he used only twice when planning his novel You Live Only Twice.
One of the rules of life was: “Beware of cars with two women in the front seat”. Others included “beware of people who smell” and “use caution around mustaches, sideburns and beards”.
Ian Fleming, a former spy himself, published You Only Live Twice in 1964. It was the last novel he wrote before his death
The author instructed himself “not to waste time on women who wear a bracelet on their left ankle” and to avoid “all politicians”.
His final instruction is simply, “Live until you’re dead,” and Number 12 adds, “Don’t worry about liver chlorosis or cancer.”
The notebook contains 39 pages and will be auctioned this month by a private collector at Heritage Auctions in Texas. It is expected to fetch up to £17,000.
Other notes in the book reveal the moments Fleming crafts iconic 007 lines, including a doodle that says, “You only live twice.” Once at birth and once just before death.’
In the last aphorism of Fleming’s novel he adapted this and wrote: “You only live twice: once when you are born and once when you face death”.
You Only Live Twice, published in 1964, was the last novel he published. He died of a heart attack a year after publication and the book was later made into a film starring Sean Connery as 007.
Joe Maddalena of Heritage Auctions said: “James Bond has become such an icon in literature, film and pop culture that we take the character and his creation for granted.
“But these handwritten documents straight from its creator give us an insight and perspective that often makes 007 seem brand new. We are allowed to enter the creative process. We’re over his shoulder when Bond is born.’
