007 story's editor became author's advisor.

[DesDownunder]

'Miss Moneypenny' revealed

April 13, 2008

It turns out that macho James Bond creator Ian Fleming got a little help from an unexpected source - a real-life Miss Moneypenny, whom he turned to for advice on plot points and character development.

A series of letters between Fleming and Jean Frampton, a typist-turned-adviser, was sold to an anonymous private collector yesterday for more than pound stg. 14,000 (A$29,700), far more than expected.

The novelist and the typist never met but, over time, she became a trusted aide to Fleming, who had been working in London as a newspaper editor in the 1950s when he dreamed up the Bond character.

At first, Frampton limited her advice to spelling mistakes and minor inconsistencies but gradually she took a more assertive role and gave Fleming substantial guidance on plot and character development, said Amy Brenan, an assistant auctioneer at Duke's of Dorchester, which sold the packet of letters.

Ref: http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,23527...from=public_rss