Guardian Angel

The story, without spoilers

Jane Moneypenny's polished office manner conceals a much more adventurous private life. When Bond's secret Cuban mission is endangered, she enters the field to try to save him. The diary form makes her account, rather than his, the centre of the story.

Weinberg begins an official alternative view of the Bond world through the person who normally manages its office life. It is an adult espionage novel, and the title is the first entry in the Moneypenny Diaries rather than another mission narrated around 007 alone.

Can I start here?

Yes. This is the first Moneypenny Diaries novel. Knowing Fleming's M and Moneypenny is helpful, but you do not need another Weinberg book first. Follow it with Secret Servant and Final Fling.

What stands out

The diary perspective is the reason to choose this series. Moneypenny's intervention changes her from an office presence around Bond into the person whose actions and private account drive the adventure.

Who wrote it

Weinberg, an award-winning non-fiction writer, became the first woman to write official Bond-world fiction with the diary sequence that includes Guardian Angel. She uses Kate Westbrook as its fictional editor and pen name.

Where it fits in Bond’s life

Guardian Angel follows Jane Moneypenny’s Cold War world alongside the familiar service. Read the diary trilogy in publication order; the changing viewpoint is more useful than forcing each volume between Fleming novels.

Content notes

Adult readers. Dangerous espionage, threatened violence, secrecy and adult relationships.

Setting

• The British intelligence office
• The Cuban mission

Main characters

Jane Moneypenny, James Bond, M.