The Moneypenny Diaries by Kate Westbrook

These diaries should not have been written.They were never supposed to be read.They reveal the fact behind the fiction.The true story of the real Miss Moneypenny.

'My heart breaks for James' -- so begins the explosive, true, private diaries of Miss Jane Moneypenny, Personal Secretary to Secret Service chief M. and colleague and confidante of James Bond. From her childhood in wartime Kenya to her death in 1990, Jane Moneypenny led an extraordinary life. At the heart of British intelligence she had a ringside seat at the political intrigues that shaped world history. But, contrary to popular belief, she was not simply a bystander while James Bond saw all the action. But a life of espionage has personal as well as political ramifications. For Jane Moneypenny, the price was high. Romantic relationships with outsiders were necessarily built on lies -- sometimes on both sides -- and you could never trust the motives of anyone you met. So many secrets and yet no one she could confide in, Jane Moneypenny found herself breaking the first rule of espionage. Unbeknownst to anyone, she kept a secret diary. This became an outlet into which she could commit her innermost thoughts and classified secrets without fear of reprisal. But it should never have been released ...

This was definitely an interesting read. I spent most of the book actually beginning to doubt whether it (and the entire James Bond collection) was fiction or not. It is backed up so well by what I assume are accurate historical footnotes. And that, I guess, makes it a pretty good book actually. It's occasionally a little tricky to get into (since you keep jumping out of the storyline to read the plethora of footnotes) but it's a decent read. Not quite as fast paced as we're used to from James Bond, but he's really just a side-story here.