M References

Venus Elegans – The Elegant Venus

Bond walked the few steps down the beach and bent and picked up one of the shells. It was alive and the two halves were shut tight. It appeared to be some kind of a cockle, rather deeply ribbed and coloured a mauve-pink. Along both edges of the hinge, thin horns stood out, about half a dozen to each side. It didn't seem to Bond a very distinguished shell. He replaced it carefully with the others.

Dr No, chapter 8
Pitar (Hysteroconcha) dione, or the elegant Venus clam,

James Bond has met Honey Rider on the Island of Crab Key and having already compared her in his mind to Botticelli's Venus, Bond learns that there really IS a Venus involved here, albeit a shell, a rare shell that Honey is collecting.

‘Well then, yes, they are rare. Very. You can get five dollars for a perfect specimen. In Miami. That’s where I deal with. They’re called Venus elegans-The Elegant Venus.’ Her eyes sparkled up at him with excitement. ‘This morning I found what I wanted. The bed where they live,’ she waved towards the sea. ‘You wouldn’t find it though,’ she added with sudden carefulness. ‘It’s very deep and hidden away. I doubt if you could dive that deep. And anyway,’ she looked happy, ‘I’m going to clear the whole bed today. You’d only get the imperfect ones if you came back here.’

Bond assures here that he is not here to take her shells, and when she asks what he is doing here, he claims to only be interested in roseate spoonbills. 

Is it a coincidence that Ian Fleming has two separate Venus references in the same chapter? The Roman goddess of love, sex, beauty, and fertility, first as a painting recalled by Bond, and then as a shell? There is also a third separate Venus reference, later in the book.

I would hazard the guess that Fleming was familiar with the works of Carl Linnaeus, who named the species Venus dione in 1758. Linnaeus uses a number of obscene terms in describing the shell – "What is disquieting is that words usually associated with the anatomy of the human female, such as vulva, anus, nates, pubes, montis veneris, labia, hymene, strike a discordant note in the description of a clam." That linked page is actually a fascinating read, and the more I think of it, I'm in fact fairly certain Fleming knew of this history and the inclusion of this particular shell is on purpose and with a huge wink to the segment of the readership that would also be in on the joke. 

M Music

Marion (Mary Ann)

The girl looked down into her left hand and began to whistle softly to herself. There was a happy note of triumph in the whistle. She was whistling ‘Marion’, a plaintive little calypso that has now been cleaned up and made famous outside Jamaica. It had always been one of Bond’s favourites. It went:

All day, all night, Marion,

Sittin’ by the seaside siftin’ sand…

The girl broke off to stretch her arms out in a deep yawn. Bond smiled to himself. He wetted his lips and took up the refrain:

“The water from her eyes could sail a boat, The hair on her head could tie a goat…”

Dr. No

James Bond has just awoken on Crab Key and has seen what he compares mentally to Botticelli’s Venus, he watches a few more moments, as she picks up shells, she begins to whistle a tune that Bond recognizes.

Interestingly in The Man With The Golden Typewriter, there is a letter from Fleming to William Plomer where he gives the background of the song and how it ended up in the book.

I got the words and title of “Marion” in Jamaica, where it has long been my favourite, but it has now been put on records and cleaned up and I dare say it is now called “Mary Ann”. My version is the original Jamaican but I dare say there will be much writing in about it and I will have to decide what to do.

Ian Fleming to William Plomer, 19th June 1957

There was a footnote about this reference in the above book: “Fleming had included a slightly risqué song in his original manuscript.“

The “cleaned up” tune referenced by Ian Fleming here is actually entitled Mary-Ann (or Marianne). Composed by Roaring Lion (Rafael de Leon) in 1941, the song was not released until 1945. (Interview with Roaring Lion.)

As Fleming/Bond note the song did become famous outside of Jamaica, as versions from Terry Gilkyson and The Easy Riders, Burl Ives, The Hilltoppers, The Brothers Four, The Merrymen, and Harry Belafonte were released during the late 1950’s and 60’s.

Here is the version from Roaring Lion himself:

Pretty catchy!

M References

Botticelli’s Venus

The whole scene, the empty beach, the green and blue sea, the naked girl with the strands of fair hair, reminded Bond of something. He searched his mind. Yes, she was Botticelli's Venus, seen from behind.

Dr. No

After James Bond and Quarrel arrive on Crab Key, they catch a little bit of sleep. Bond chooses a spot behind a growth of sea-grape.

Sea-grape 

As Bond awakens, he is treated to a magnificent site – an (almost) nude woman standing about five yards away from where he is laying. After taking in the scene, Bond is reminded of Botticelli's Venus.

The Italian painter Sandro Botticelli, who lived about the years 1445 – 1510, is said to exemplify the artistic achievement of Renaissance Florence in the 15th century. His works include The Birth of Venus (c. 1486) and a follow up, Venus (c. 1490).

It seems likely that Bond was thinking of The Birth of Venus due to the water background of the painting. 

At a recent exhibition of Botticelli's work in London, co-curator Ana Debenedetti said part of its success is in the main subject: a woman with long blonde hair that fits the Western ideal of beauty. 

"She fits the image of perfect beauty celebrated since the Middle Ages in poetry, literature and which was embedded in our imagination: the Western woman, blonde, with a pale complexion and a large forehead, blue eyes and a proud bearing," she told AFP.

Sandro Botticelli's Venus was painted after his best known work depicting the goddess, The Birth of Venus. 

The Venus painting is a stand-alone. The life-size painting shows her in a similar in pose, but her torso's strong contours and pale skin are covered with a sheer top. Her red hair is tightly braided, not blown by the breath of angels, making her more earthly than godlike.

Classic art in a James Bond novel? To think, there are those who still dismiss them as trashy pulp! 

M Whisky

Canadian Club Blended Rye

When James Bond and Quarrel have finished their training period in Dr. No, Bond prepares for his visit to Crab Key. 

Bond went to the icebox and took a pint of Canadian Club Blended Rye and some ice and soda-water and went and sat in the garden and watched the last light flame and die. 

A whisky and soda was a favorite drink of Bond’s. It seems natural he would turn to this simple highball when prepping to leave on a dangerous mission. 

Canadian Club is a classic whisky created by Hiram Walker and Sons. It derived its name from its popularity among gentlemen’s clubs in the United States and Canada in the late 19th century. 

As with most whiskys from Canada, Canadian Club is known as “rye” whisky due to tradition rather than straight facts. Fleming was likely using Canadian Whisky’s reputation as “rye” when describing the brand as “Canadian Club Blended Rye.”

Bond apparently drank most of that pint in that sitting, as Fleming’s description goes on: 

He picked up the bottle and looked at it. He had drunk a quarter of it. He poured another big slug into his glass and added some ice. What was he drinking for? Because of the thirty miles of black sea he had to cross tonight? Because he was going into the unknown? Because of Dr. No? 

Canadian Club has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, ironically in part to a television show based in the 1960’s – where Canadian whisky is also referred to as “rye.”

M Jamaica, References

Devil’s Racecourse

After James Bond and Quarrel arrive at their training grounds on the north shore of Jamaica, Bond checks the paper for any news of a diversion he had set up in an attempt to shake off anyone who had been watching him since his arrival on the Island.
The Gleaner said that a Sunbeam Talbot, H. 2473, had been involved in a fatal accident on the Devil’s Racecourse, a stretch of winding road between Spanish Town and Ocho Rios — on the Kingston — Montego route.
DR NO
Devil’s Racecourse
Looking at the section of road above, one can easily envision an “accident” being arranged on such a precarious stretch. Devil’s Racecourse is also the name of a geological formation in the Benbow Inlier in central Jamaica, right around the area of the road. The formation contains some of the oldest Cretaceous marine sediments and fauna fossils in the Caribbean.

Click to access devils-racecourse.pdf

M Jamaica

Castleton Gardens

In Dr No, James Bond and Quarrel are headed to their training grounds in the Austin A.30, near Stony Hill.

Bond changed up into top and dawdled through the cool beautiful glades of Castleton Gardens.

The Castleton Botanical Gardens are some of the oldest public gardens in the Western hemisphere, having been founded in 1862. The grounds had previously been a sugar plantation owned by an Englishman, Colonel Castle. Among the variety of plants present, there are around 200 species of palms and at least 400 specimens of other flora.

Located about 20km north of Kingston, the grounds are a popular spot for getting away from the city.

M Cars

Austin A.30

In Dr No, James Bond and Quarrel are headed out of Kingston and toward their training ground at Morgan’s Harbour.

They were at the saddleback at Stony Hill where the Junction Road dives down through fifty S-bends towards the North Coast. Bond put the little Austin A.30 into second gear and let it coast. The sun was coming up over the Blue Mountain peak and dusty shafts of gold lanced into the plunging valley.

The Austin A.30 was a small car manufactured for only four years, from 1952 to 1956. According to reviews, “The car’s newly designed A-Series straight-4 engine was state of the art for the time and returned an average fuel consumption of 42 mpg / under 7L/100 km. With spirited driving the A30 was able to attain a top speed of 70 mph (110 km/h).”

M Food, Jamaica

Salt Fish and Ackee

In Dr. No, in the morning following their night at The Joy Boat, James Bond and Quarrel reconvene at Bond’s hotel, the Blue Hills.

‘Yes, come on in, Quarrel. We’ve got a busy day. Had some breakfast?’
‘Yes, tank you, cap’n. Salt fish an’ ackee an’ a tot of rum.’
‘Good God,’ said Bond. ‘That’s tough stuff to start the day on.’
‘Mos’ refreshin’,’ said Quarrel stolidly.

SaltFish and Ackee is Jamaica’s National Dish.

The Ackee fruit was originally native to West Africa, and was introduced to Jamaica where it has become the national fruit of the country. The fruit grows on evergreen trees, in pods which ripen from green to red, and then split open when completely ripe. Even then, care must be taken to separate the yellow aril from the black seeds.

The Salt Fish and Ackee dish is a common breakfast meal, as the edible part of the Ackee fruit when cooked, has the texture and even the taste, of scrambled eggs.

In addition to the Salt fish, onion and various colorful peppers are usually a part of the dish.

During my trip to Goldeneye, I was sure to eat Salt fish and Ackee each morning for breakfast.

It is traditionally served with those fried dumplings, which complement the dish very well.

I did not have the “tot of rum” with breakfast, however. Instead I stuck with the Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.

M Products

Leica With Flash Attachment

After arriving in Jamaica in Dr No, and settling into his hotel, James Bond goes with his friend Quarrel for dinner at the Joy Boat restaurant.

A glint of light caught the corner of Bond’s eye. He turned quickly. The Chinese girl from the airport was standing in the nearby shadows. Now she was dressed in a tight-fitting sheath of black satin slashed up one side almost to her hip. She had a Leica with a flash attachment in one hand. The other was in a leather case at her side. The hand came out holding a flashbulb. The girl slipped the base into her mouth to wet it and improve the contact and made to screw it into the reflector.

This photographer was previously using the Speed Graphic Press Camera but has switched up to a smaller, more mobile camera for the restaurant. She was likely using either a Leica III or M3, two of the most popular Leica cameras during the 1950’s, along with a flash attachment.

Leica M3 Camera

Leica III Camera

The flash attachment could’ve been one such as this:

Or perhaps another brand such as Minox.

In Goldfinger, Bond uses a Leica M3 when going to Auric Goldfinger’s suite to photograph Jill Masterton assisting her employer in cheating Mr Du Pont.

Bond took the elevator up to his suite. He went to his suitcase and extracted an M3 Leica, an MC exposure meter, a K2 filter and a flash-holder. He put a bulb in the holder and checked the camera. He went to his balcony, glanced at the sun to estimate where it would be at about three-thirty and went back into the sitting-room, leaving the door to the balcony open. He stood at the balcony door and aimed the exposure meter. The exposure was one-hundredth of a second. He set this on the Leica, put the shutter at f 11, and the distance at twelve feet. He clipped on a lens hood and took one picture to see that all was working. Then he wound on the film, slipped in the flash-holder and put the camera aside.

He then startles her with the flash when photographing the scene.

M Cocktails

Gin and Tonic

In Dr No, James Bond arrives in Jamaica and is brought to The Blue Hills Hotel (Not Myrtle Bank, as, in an effort to protect his cover, he told the eager photographer)  by Quarrel, Bond settles into his room, showering off “the last dirt of big-city life: and pulling on his favorite Sea Island cotton shorts. He then sets about relaxing with a drink.

Bond ordered a double gin and tonic and one whole green lime. When the drink came he cut the lime in half, dropped the two squeezed halves into the long glass, almost filled the glass with ice cubes and then poured in the tonic. He took the drink out on to the balcony, and sat and looked out across the spectacular view.

It’s a fairly straightforward drink. A couple of items which I find worthy of mentioning here.

The Limes

First, the whole green lime. In the past when making this drink following the instructions above, I found it a bit of a challenge to fit both halves of the squeezed lime into the glass, along with the ice cubes, a double portion of gin (4 oz, at least) and the tonic.

When I went to Jamaica in 2106 and stayed at GoldenEye, there were limes provided in my bungalow as part of the mini-bar. I noted these limes were much smaller, paler, rounder and firmer than I was used to purchasing in the U.S, perhaps 1/2 to 1/3 the size of a supermarket lime. At first I thought maybe I had been provided some old shriveled limes, but upon cutting them, they were very juicy inside. They were also seedless. (No, they weren’t Key Limes.) When in the local markets, I saw all the limes for sale were also of this size and type. I’m fairly sure they were Persian Bearss limes, which are a variety grown on the island.

I remember it striking me then – this was probably the size of the lime Bond used to make his gin and tonic – it made sense; it fit into the glass better, leaving plenty of room for the rest of the ingredients, and it still contained plenty of juice. A small detail, and perhaps obvious to others, but something that clicked in and felt like a revelation to me at the time.

Supermarket (Mexican) lime on left. Persian lime on right.

The Tonic

As for tonic, I’d grown disillusioned with modern-day tonic water, the major brands are all sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup. This ingredient did not exist in Fleming’s day, so I always felt I wasn’t getting an authentic taste for what they were drinking. (The same with other mixers such as ginger ale.) A few years ago I began seeking out smaller brands which were using pure cane sugar to sweeten the tonic water, brands like Fever Tree. I can honestly say that it does make a difference, so now, even though I don’t drink much soda or tonic, the ones that I do use when mixing these Bond drinks are sweetened with sugar. I’ve been using a small bottling works located in my area called Squamscot Beverages. Their motto is even – “Experience the Past… One Sip at a Time”!

The Gin

I’ve recently discovered Diplôme Dry Gin Original 1945 Recipe which seems a natural fit for this drink.