- Evelyn St. Croix Fleming
Evelyn St. Croix Fleming, born Evelyn Beatrice St. Croix Rose, known as Eve Fleming (1885-1964), was married to
Valentine Fleming (1882-1917) and within that marriage was the mother of four sons:Peter Fleming ,Ian Fleming (thenovelist who wrote theJames Bond books), Richard Fleming, andMichael Fleming .Eve was the daughter of a Berkshire solicitor, and was known for her flamboyant beauty.
After Valentine's death in action in May 1917, Evelyn inherited his large estate in trust, making her very wealthy. However, the trust cut her out should she ever re-marry which virtually guaranteed that she would remain forever Valentine's widow, regardless of other loves or circumstances.
She became the mistress of painter
Augustus John with whom she had a daughter, the cellistAmaryllis Fleming .References
* Andrew Lycett, [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/33168 ‘Fleming, Ian Lancaster (1908–1964)’] , "Oxford Dictionary of National Biography", Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 2008, accessed 3 June 2008.
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