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Miss Moneypenny

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Miss Moneypenny

Miss Moneypenny, later assigned the first names of Eve or Jane, is a fictional character in the James Bond novels and films. She is secretary to M, who is Bond's superior officer and head of the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6).

Although she has a small part in most of the films, it is always highlighted by the underscored romantic tension between her and James Bond (something that is virtually non-existent in Ian Fleming's novels, although it is somewhat more apparent in the Bond novels by John Gardner and Raymond Benson). On that note, she is not always considered to be a Bond girl, having never[clarification needed][citation needed] had anything more than a professional relationship with Bond.

Although not given a first name by Fleming, the character was given the name Jane in the spin-off book series, The Moneypenny Diaries; in the films, she received the first name of Eve in Skyfall (2012), which is set in the new continuity opened by 2006's Casino Royale, where the character spent time as a field officer before becoming secretary to M (Ralph Fiennes). According to the film You Only Live Twice (1967), Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell) holds the rank of second officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service.

In Ian Fleming's first draft of Casino Royale (1953), Moneypenny's name was originally "Miss 'Petty' Pettaval", which was taken from Kathleen Pettigrew, the personal assistant to MI6 director Stewart Menzies. Fleming changed it to be less obvious. Other candidates for Moneypenny's inspiration include Vera Atkins of Special Operations Executive; Paddy Ridsdale, a Naval Intelligence secretary; Joan Bright Astley, whom Fleming dated during World War II, and who was noted for giving a warm and friendly reception to senior officers who visited her office to view confidential papers; and Joan Howe, Fleming's red-haired secretary at The Times who had typed the manuscript of Casino Royale. The BBC has referred to Jean Frampton—who typed Ian Fleming's later manuscripts and suggested plot ideas—as "Fleming's Miss Moneypenny", despite the fact that they never met.

Miss Moneypenny is the private secretary of M, the head of MI6. She holds the rank of Second Officer in the Women's Royal Naval Service, which is a prerequisite rank for this position. She is cleared for Top Secret, Eyes Only, and Cabinet-level intelligence reports, the last of which she is often required to prepare, and in some cases present.

M's personal assistant is utterly dedicated to her work, which means she has little time for a social life. A close confidante of her boss, she also enjoys a flirtatious—though never[clarification needed][citation needed] consummated—relationship with James Bond, whom she understands perfectly.

Moneypenny was never given any backstory until the film Skyfall (2012), when she was re-introduced to the series following the 2006 reboot of the series' continuity Casino Royale. Moneypenny, now played by Naomie Harris and given the first name Eve, is originally a field officer assigned to work with Bond (Daniel Craig) on an operation in Istanbul. It ends in disaster when she is ordered to shoot through Bond while he is fighting hand-to-hand combat with Patrice (Ola Rapace), the mercenary they are chasing. She hits Bond, who falls off a bridge and is assumed dead. She is temporarily suspended for this and reassigned to desk duty, assisting Gareth Mallory (Ralph Fiennes), the Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, who has been assigned to watch over MI6. When Bond resurfaces and returns to duty, she meets with him in Macau and aids in locating Sévérine (Bérénice Marlohe), an agent of main villain Raoul Silva's (Javier Bardem) before returning to London. Later in the film, she is a participant in another shootout with Silva, when he ambushes a public inquiry into MI6. By the end of the film, she decides to retire from fieldwork and becomes Mallory's secretary once he takes over the role of M.

"Of course she's in love with Bond, but she's too much a lady to go chasing after him. So she smiles and bides her time. In a way, you can't blame her. Every woman would like to live dangerously with James Bond, if only for 20 minutes, or half a night..."

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