Valentine Fleming's will left his entire estate to his wife in such a way that she could, if she wished, disinherit any of their sons, and during her lifetime she had absolute control over all of the income from her late husband's fortune. As a result, Ian Fleming, who survived his mother by less than a month, coveted but never enjoyed the luxury of inherited wealth. Throughout his life he associated with wealthy and class-conscious people, in part because of family connections but largely by choice. Perhaps because he had less money and less leisure than many of his friends, he made a point of stressing quality, exclusiveness, and singularity in clothing, food, wine, and recreational activities. James Bond's much-discussed snobbery and his somewhat eccentric epicureanism derive primarily from this source.
Fleming's formal education began when, at the age of eight, he was sent to Durnford School on the Isle of Purbeck, near Corfe Castle. Its headmaster,Tom Pellatt, placed great emphasis on the cult of physical toughness, which was to become an important part of Fleming's self-image and a primary characteristic of his fictional hero. The boys at Durnford School bathed naked in a cold natural pool every morning, ate large quantities of unpalatable food, bullied one another, played rough games, and roamed freely around the countryside.
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