[ctb9]

I was struck by this sentence: "I have no message for suffering humanity and, though I was bullied at school and lost my virginity like so many of us used to do in the old days, I have never been tempted to foist these and other harrowing personal experiences on the public."

Is Ian Fleming saying that he was sexually abused as a child?

[Veen]

Perhaps. He went to Eton. Abuse and less-than-consensual sexual activity among the boys were pretty common in English prep and public schools of the time.

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/oct/12/publicscho...

[subsubzero]

This, having read "into the silence" about the mountaineer George Mallory it explained that in the 19th/20th century english prep schools were rampant with sexual abuse(student on student).

[tsm]

You can google for more information, but British boys' schools (especially in the 20th century) are notorious for bullying and sexual abuse.

[EricE]

I found the second half of that far more interesting (and refreshing given todays climate).

[99_00]

I assumed it meant he lost his virginity to a prostitute.

[ctb9]

That was my first thought too, but I don't see why that would be categorized as a 'harrowing experience.'

[99_00]

Could be as simply as him not being ready and going because of pressure or expectation. Or could be something worse, like a family member taking them to the prostitute.

>Before World War II, if a young man wanted sex, he had two basic options: marriage or a brothel. So in the 1930s, one in five American men lost his virginity to a prostitute.

https://abcnews.go.com/2020/superfreakonomics-prostitutions-...

[tc313]

It might have meant that had it not been included alongside his being bullied and described as a harrowing experience.

[99_00]

It depends how it happened. Having a parent or relative take you to a prostitute, or being peer pressured into it when you are a teenager and not ready is sexual abuse.

[Toenex]

Surely you don't think he invented the name 'Pussy Galore'?