Gala Brand - Background

Background

Fleming's own copy bears the following inscription, "This was written in January and February 1954 and published a year later. It is based on a film script I have had in my mind for many years." According to biographer Andrew Lycett, Fleming, writing in early 1954 at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, "wanted to make Moonraker his most ambitious and personal novel yet." Because of the subject matter, the author undertook significant homework on the novel, asking fellow Times correspondent Anthony Terry for information on V-2 rockets and the German Werewolves. Fleming also visited the Wimpole Street psychiatrist Dr E.B. Strauss to discuss the traits of megalomaniacs, and came away with information on diastema for the character of Drax.

The early chapters of the novel centre on Bond's private life, with Fleming using his own life as a basis for Bond's. Fleming used further aspects of his private life in the shape of his friends, as he had done in his previous novels: Hugo Drax was named after his acquaintance Admiral Sir Reginald Aylmer Ranfurly Plunkett-Ernle-Erle-Drax, while his friend Duff Sutherland (described as "a scruffy looking chap") was one of the bridge players at Blades. Other elements of the plot came from Fleming's knowledge of wartime operations carried out by T-Force, a secret British Army unit formed to continue the work of 30 Assault Unit, itself created by Fleming.

Moonraker is the only Bond novel that takes place solely in Britain, giving Fleming the chance to write about the England he cherished such as the Kent countryside, including the White Cliffs of Dover, and London clubland. Even though Fleming owned a cottage in St Margaret-at-Cliffe, he went to great lengths to get details right, lending his car to his stepson, Raymond O'Neill, to time the journey from London to Deal. Fleming used his experiences of London clubs for the background of the Blades scenes. As a clubman, he enjoyed membership of Boodle's, White's and the Portland Club. A combination of Boodles and the Portland Club is thought to be the model for Blades; author Michael Dibdin found the scene in the club to be "surely one of the finest things that Ian Fleming ever did."

Fleming considered a number of titles for the story; his first choice had been The Moonraker, until Noël Coward reminded him of a novel of the same name by F. Tennyson Jesse. Fleming then considered The Moonraker Secret, The Moonraker Plot, The Inhuman Element, Wide of the Mark, The Infernal Machine, "Mondays are Hell" and Out of the Clear Sky. George Wren Howard of Jonathan Cape suggested Bond & the Moonraker, The Moonraker Scare and The Moonraker Plan, while William Plomer suggested Hell Is Here; the final choice of Moonraker was a suggestion by Wren Howard.

John Payne unsuccessfully attempted to option film rights to the book in 1955, but nothing came of the attempt. The Rank Organisation also took up an option to make a film, but this also eventually fell through.