Fleming wrote his first Bond novel,
Casino Royale, in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966. The novels revolved around
James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as
MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a
commander in the
Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among
the best-selling series of fictional books of all time, having sold over 100 million copies worldwide. Fleming also wrote the children's story
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction. In 2008,
The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of "The 50 greatest
British writers since 1945".
He was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second
Viscount Rothermere as a result of her affair with Fleming. Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a heavy smoker and drinker who suffered from heart disease; he died in 1964, aged 56, from a heart attack. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously; other writers have since produced Bond novels. Fleming's creation has appeared in film twenty-five times, portrayed by seven actors
courtesy:wikipedia