William Melville was one of the most influential counter - espionage figures of the twentieth century. This work presents the true story of the real M, William Melville, MI5s founding father and the inspiration for Ian Flemings character in "James Bond".

The amazing true story of the real "M", William Melville, MI5's
founding father and the inspiration for Ian Fleming's character
in James Bond. Melville was one of the most influential counterespionage
figures of the twentieth century. From a tiny outfit
based in Victoria Street, London, the counter-intelligence organization
that Melville lobbied the Government to create is today
a household name and one of the world's leading intelligence
agencies. He was perfect for the job, a velvet-gloved tough guy who
had run Scotland Yard's Special Branch and whose career had
already taken in some of London's great crime dramas including
the Jack the Ripper investigations, countering Irish Republican
terrorism, assassination attempts on Queen Victoria and anarchist
bomb plots. Now, with help of recently declassified records,
family material and documents that have still not officially seen
the light of day, the story of his Secret Service career - including
the breaking of German spy rings prior to the outbreak of World
War I--can finally be told.