Letters unveil Ian Fleming's Moneypenny

Britain: A private collector has paid more than 14,000 pounds(Dh101,362) for letters between James Bond creator Ian Fleming and a woman believed to have been his real life Miss Moneypenny.

The letters sold on Friday show Fleming used typist Jean Frampton as a sounding board and turned to her for advice on plots and characters.

At first she corrected spelling mistakes, but over time made more substantial suggestions and inspired the Moneypenny character.

They never met, but the letters include a note from her to Fleming's secretary expressing sorrow at his death in 1964.

In one letter, dated 31 March, 1960, he asks her to use her "keen mind" to help get his novel Thunderball "into shape".

"Anything your quick eye falls upon would be endlessly welcome," he adds.