Fleming Ian. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (James Bond #11)

Jonathan Cape Ltd., 1963. -- 196 p.When Bond rescues a beautiful, reckless girl from self-destruction, he finds himself with a lead on one of the most dangerous men in the world — Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. In the snow-bound fastness of his Alpine base, Blofeld is conducting research that could threaten the safety of the world. To thwart the evil genius, Bond must get himself and the vital information he has gathered out of the base and keep away from SPECTRE’s agents. After tracking the SPECTRE chief to a stronghold in the Swiss Alps, Bond uncovers the details of Blofeld’s latest plot: a biological warfare scheme more audacious than anything the fiend has tried before. Now Bond must save the world once again-and survive Blofeld’s last, very personal, act of vengeance.In the aftermath of Operation Thunderball, Ernst Stavro Blofeld’s trail has gone cold-and so has 007’s love for his job. The only thing that can rekindle his passion is Contessa Teresa ‘Tracy’ di Vicenzo, a troubled young woman who shares his taste for fast cars and danger. She’s the daughter of a powerful crime boss, and he thinks Bond’s hand in marriage may be the solution to all her problems. Bond’s not ready to settle down-yet-but if Tracy’s father can lead him to Blofeld, he’ll consider it. James Bond, sentimental Scot, recurrently finds direction, rejuvenation and repair in the broken girl with the fast car.Without a doubt this is Fleming’s most human and emotional portrayal of the British master spy. We see more depth to Bond’s character and Fleming provides more character development than in any of the previous installments in the series. We are also introduced to Tracy (Teresa di Vicenzo) who will become Bond’s wife.Described as wild and reckless as Bond himself, Tracy is nonetheless shown in the peripheral, not so much about her as Bond’s reaction to her. We also meet her father and see how Fleming describes this mafia strongman as a resistance fighter in the war. Fleming’s use of characters’ war time experience in the novels is a recurring theme that the lines of good and evil can be blurred, most readily revealed as Bond’s own conscious about killing opponents.The 11th Bond novel was written at Fleming’s Jamaican property in 1962 while Doctor No was being filmed nearby.