The Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington

I recently visited the Lilly Library http://www.indiana.edu/~liblilly/ part of Indiana University in Bloomington, as it holds unique items related to James Bond creator, Ian Fleming. The library bought Fleming's book collection shortly after his death in the 1960's: it includes his original copies of the Bond books, complete with handwritten notes. More unique items have been added to this collection over the years including original manuscripts of interviews conducted with Fleming's friends and family. I visited the Lilly Library in the hope of finding out a bit more about the Bond creator and why he wrote about this hero in the way that he did. Certainly the unrelenting excitement which surrounds the character of Bond as he completes his various missions is an experience that was craved by Fleming and my future research may delve into the writer's psyche and the origins of the Bond conventions, which we take as a given today.