The Moneypenny Diaries

The Moneypenny Diaries

The Moneypenny Diaries
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Book Summary Information

Editor: Kate Westbrook
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-05-13
ISBN: 0312383185
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books

Book Reviews of The Moneypenny Diaries

Book Review: A Good Tribute to the World of 007
Summary: 4 Stars

I've had to accept Fleming's depiction of women with a grain of salt. His fictional female characters were foils for Bond in a Cold War world of suspense and mystery. They had to be interesting but disposable; cunning seductresses or damsels in distress.

Jane Moneypenny is neither of these women. In the movies she is seen as M's assistant, a polite and squeaky clean peer with a desk job. The contrast between her life and the hair-raising adventures of 007 couldn't be greater. But a new and intriguing past is created around Moneypenny and we are quickly introduced to her greatest weapon. It is not an exploding capsule, computer, or car: it is intelligence. Moneypenny is smart, resourceful, brave, and the only woman who knows Bond well enough to brush his affections aside. No doubt she cares for her employer but knows better than to fling herself into his arms, especially after the lose of his beloved wife Tracey. Bond's relationships with women come and go. He may return to Moneypenny after his missions but Bond can never stay focused on romance for long. Moneypenny knows this and focuses on her current tasks with M and the search for her father who mysteriously vanished during World War II.

Her diary carefully shadows Bond's events and follows Fleming's original stories which are parallel Moneypenny's own life. Historical facts and fictional suspense are woven into the novel at a quick pace and if you're not up-to-date on Fleming's novels then it's easy to get lost while reading the constant footnotes. This is a book for the hardcore Bond-fan.

The readers learn about the Cuban missiles crisis through Jane's eyes and follow her from Scotland to America where she meets President John F. Kennedy. We feel concern for her tightly-guarded life and suspect danger is afoot when she's stalked by alien agents, baited to betray her duties, and risks her career to save Bond from peril. Overall, this was a bit of a challenge to start reading but consider it a clever outlook on Ms. Moneypenny.

Summary of The Moneypenny Diaries

My heart breaks for James---so begin the explosive, true, private diaries of Miss Jane Moneypenny, personal secretary to Secret Service chief M and colleague and confidante of James Bond. Bound by the Offcial Secrets Act not to reveal anything about her work, Miss Moneypenny is forced to lead a secretive, clandestine life. But, contrary to popular belief, she was not simply a bystander while James Bond saw all the action.

Miss Moneypenny?s experience with mystery stretches all the way back to her childhood in Africa, when her father inexplicably disappeared in action during World War II. Now, as a young woman in 1960s London, Miss Moneypenny unknowingly stumbles upon her father?s trail. In a position like hers, there?s no file she can?t access, and no document she can?t read. Yet Miss Moneypenny is forced to decide whether it?s worth risking everything---her job, her safety, and even international security---for the possibility of finding her father alive.

A life of espionage has personal as well as political ramifications. For Jane Moneypenny, the price is high. Romantic relationships with outsiders are necessarily built on lies, and she automatically questions the motives of every man she grows close to. For as her diary quickly reveals, Miss Moneypenny is involved in far more than office politics.

Guarding so many secrets and with no one to confide in, she finds herself breaking the first rule of espionage. Unbeknownst to anyone, she keeps a diary charting her innermost thoughts and state secrets.

These diaries should not have been written. They were never supposed to be read. . . .

Praise for The Moneypenny Diaries:

?Beats pretend-Flemings hands down.?
?Literary Review (UK)

?Brilliant?Bridget Jones? Diary crossed with Spooks, but set in the 60s.?
?The Mirror (UK)

?There is more to Moneypenny than meets the GoldenEye, as she embarks on her very own secret mission?Read her riveting account in this explosive, page-turning diary.?
?OK Magazine (UK)

?Thrilling?
--Joanna Lumley

?A thoroughly enjoyable romp?
--The Guardian (UK)

?A damned good read?
--Roger Moore

?A compelling tour de force?
--Jeffrey Deaver

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