James Bond Creator Ian Fleming’s Favorite Book Will Surprise You—And It’s a Literary Epic
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
While Ian Fleming is globally celebrated for creating the suave, gadget-wielding James Bond, his literary compass pointed far beyond espionage and exotic escapades. During a rare appearance on the BBC’s iconic Desert Island Discs in 1963, Fleming revealed a surprising literary favorite: Leo Tolstoy’s monumental 1869 novel War and Peace.
Fleming, who penned 12 Bond novels and multiple short stories from his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye, was a master of thrilling narratives. His real-life experience as a WWII naval intelligence officer gave rise to iconic tales like From Russia with Love and Dr. No. Yet, behind the author of one of fiction’s most lethal characters was a man drawn to the philosophical weight and historical scope of Tolstoy’s epic.
Though only a nine-minute fragment of Fleming’s radio appearance survives, it confirms his luxury item of choice would be a typewriter with endless paper. And when it came to literature, along with Shakespeare and the Bible, he named War and Peace as the one novel he’d want on a desert island—specifically requesting it in German. That detail makes sense considering Fleming’s multilingual background; he studied in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland after Eton, becoming fluent in both German and French.
It’s also a practical pick. Tolstoy’s opus spans over 1,200 pages, enough to keep a stranded mind well-occupied. But beyond the length, perhaps it was the moral complexity, the exploration of human nature, and the sweeping portrait of history that appealed to Fleming—a stark contrast to the punchy style of his own spy novels.
Fleming passed away just a year after his Desert Island Discs episode, only managing to visit the set of Goldfinger before dying at 56. Yet his literary tastes offer a richer, more introspective view of the man behind 007—someone who, despite crafting one of the 20th century’s most enduring pop culture icons, found comfort and depth in one of history’s most profound literary achievements.
