It is evident from the 007 novels that both Fleming and Bond, who doesn't even appear until a third of the way through this story, were misogynists and snobs. At times the James Bond of 'From Russia With Love' acts more like Inspector Clouseau making some incredibly stupid decisions. And as for the women, either they are beautiful, weak and blindly subservient or ugly, brutish and lesbian.... But the novel is fast-moving, thrilling and evocative of the 50s when it was written and it is well-written. I have never read any of Fleming's later novels so will be interested to see how Bond develops.