Fleming’s Moneypenny Dies
By WENNSunday, December 20, 2009
A woman who is said to have inspired the character of MISS MONEYPENNY in IAN FLEMING’s JAMES BOND novels has died at the age of 88.
Dame Victoire ‘Paddy’ Ridsdale passed away on 16 December (09). The cause of death had not been revealed as WENN went to press.
Ridsdale, a British secretary and intelligence operative, served as the author’s assistant during World War II while he worked in naval intelligence.
She is one of five real-life women who are thought to have been Fleming’s model for the long-suffering secretary of 007’s boss M. Others linked to the character include Kathleen Pettigrew, Vera Atkins, Margaret Priestley and Loelia Ponsonby.
Ridsdale did little to dampen speculation she was the inspiration for flirtatious Moneypenny, telling People magazine in 1998, “(I was never) taken in by his charm. He’d go off and do something brave and come back with silk stockings and lipsticks for me.”
Ridsdale’s husband, former British politician Sir Julian Ridsdale, died in 2004. She is survived by a daughter.
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December 22, 2009: 1:57 am
I know fear of the death is not a correct way for reaching an authentic religiousness. Nevertheless, sometimes, that fear triggers a path of spiritual search. This is my case. Because of that fear I have been travelling extensively, searching for answers to the question if there is life after death. The spiritual quest led me to some extraordinary encounter. I want to draw to you attention the book I have recently written, about this topic. Its title is “Travels of the mind” and it is available at strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/TravelsOfTheMind.html |
Ettore Grillo