- "In his own quiet way he was a very wicked bastard. He indulged me, gave me exactly what I wanted, and made me what I am. It's only now I realize how much he was enjoying it."
- ― James Bond.
Maddox was a British intelligence operative and spymaster stationed in France by the Secret Intelligence Service. He would later serve with the Forces Françaises Libres, before becoming a mercenary in his final years. The character served as an ally and antagonist in John Pearson's 1973 continuation novel, James Bond: The Authorised Biography.
Biography[]
Described as a tough, small, frog-like man with a bald head and bright bespectacled black eyes, Maddox was a well-connected, wealthy collector of paintings and of women, gourmet and wit. Officially, he was military attaché at the British Embassy in Paris. Unofficially, he ran the British Secret Service inside France. In the late 1930s, Maddox approached the sixteen year old James Bond and deceived him into assassinating his lover (and incidentally, Maddox's former lover); suspected spy and brothel owner, Marthe de Brandt. In retrospect, the woman had been revealed to be innocent. Capitalizing upon Bond's guilt, anxiety for purpose in life and patriotism, Maddox introduced Bond to the world of espionage.
After the fall of France in June 1940, he had made his way to London, picked up a colonel's job with Military Intelligence and spent most of the war in the Middle East. Later, he joined the Free French in Algiers and returned to Paris with the ending of the war in 1945. There, he became a high-level security consultant and worked with various big French commercial houses, chiefly with connections throughout Africa. By that time he had married a Parisienne named Regine and had two sons.
Bond and Maddox's paths separated in 1943; but unexpectedly crossed again in 1946 outside the Ritz Hotel in London. He offered Bond, who had recently been dishonourably discharged from the Secret Service, a consultant job (effectively, a mercenary) and the pair worked together for the next four years. Bond's friendship with- and unreciprocated love for- Maddox's wife eventually concluded their business together; with the vengeful husband setting Bond up for a humiliating death in Oran, Algeria in the summer of 1950. The plot was foiled by the death of Bond's assailant and rather than seeking revenge, Bond covered up the incident and left his employ. Maddox died at some point during the following two years - sad and embittered with the world, according to his widow.
References[]
- ↑ See John Pearson's timeline.