London (AFP)
The torrid correspondence of British novelist Ian Fleming, creator of the character of James Bond, to the love of his life Ann has not found auctioneer, it was reported Wednesday at the auction house Sotheby's.
The auction organized on the internet did not allow this set of 160 letters to find a buyer, but "we hope that this important collection will find a home that suits him in the near future," told AFP the house of sale. Its value is estimated between 200,000 and 300,000 pounds sterling (between 233,000 and 349,000 euros).
This correspondence covers two decades of the couple's life, from their first secret idyll, when Ann, née Charteris, was married to another man until the last years of their marriage.
The author of the series of novels featuring the famous agent 007 writes to his "monkey" or "darling pig" in missives that evoke their sadomasochistic practices, but also gossip about their rich and famous friends and of course the incredible success of Fleming's novels.
"In addition to retracing a relationship with an extraordinary erotic charge, this correspondence traces the meteoric rise of Bond and paints a living picture of the high society living in the post-war," said in a statement announcing the sale Gabriel Heaton, specialist books and manuscripts at Sotheby's.
Ian and Ann met in 1934, when Ann was the wife of Baron Shane O'Neill while Ian was a banker in London. They become lovers, while maintaining each other relationships in parallel.
In 1948, Ann gave birth to a girl born of her union with Ian, while she was married to her second husband, the press mogul Esmond Harmsworth, Viscount Rothermere. The child, born prematurely, lives only a few hours and the drama brings the couple closer, who begins to consider living together in their letters.
"I wish a fairy would come with a magic wand and make everything go well, give Esmond a perfect wife and put me in your bed with a leather whip in her hand so that I can keep you good for forty years ", writes Ann.
The couple finally married in 1952, the year of the birth of their son Caspar and the publication of "Casino Royale", the first installment of the saga 007.
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