Never Shaken, Never Stirred (The Story of Ann Fleming and Laura, Duchess of Marlborough)

Glamorous, entertaining, and packed with scandalous anecdotes and exclusive interviews, Never Shaken, Never Stirred tells the story of two extraordinary sisters, Ann and Laura Charteris, who turned marrying well into an art form.

Laura would eventually become the Duchess of Marlborough, while Ann’s third and final husband was journalist Ian Fleming—whom she inspired to begin writing the spy novels that would make him famous. Along the way, both sisters experienced a series of marriages and affairs with some of the most powerful and celebrated figures of the twentieth century. Between them, their husbands included a duke, four peers, Jacqueline Kennedy’s former brother-in-law, and the alleged illegitimate son of Queen Elizabeth’s uncle. Their romantic lives also featured passionate affairs with a Labour leader, a press baron, and a constellation of film and literary stars.

History has often defined Ann and Laura by the men they married, but their marriages are only part of the story. From royals to writers, film stars to politicians, aristocrats to academics, the Charteris sisters knew everyone who mattered. Their extensive friendships gave them a privileged ringside seat to many of the defining moments of the last century.

With their beauty, charm, riotous behavior, and energetic love affairs, the aristocratic Charteris sisters blazed a glamorous trail through British society—alternately delighting and scandalizing it. Their remarkable lives continue to fascinate to this day.