The Moneypenny Diaries
Hardcore Ian Fleming fans and Cold War historians will best appreciate the initial installment of Miss Moneypenny's diaries, edited by Kate Westbrook (the pseudonym of British author Samantha Weinberg), the niece of the iconic James Bond supporting character, who was introduced in the first Bond book,Casino Royale. Covering the year 1962, the diary entries center on personal issues important to Jane Vivien (for the first time readers learn Moneypenny's full name), like her search for information about her father's mysterious disappearance in 1940. The Cuban missile crisis eventually looms large in a narrative slowed by copious footnotes. James Bond, still in mourning for his bride, Tracy, who died in a tragic car accident, acts surprisingly wimpy, except during a Cuban adventure when some much needed heat between Moneypenny and 007 is briefly generated. Two more volumes, hopefully more thrilling, will follow from the woman many revere as the first Bond girl.(May)Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.