On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is the eleventh novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. First published by Jonathan Cape on April 1, 1963, it is the first novel to be written after the start of the official film series by EON Productions.

On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is considered the second book in what is known as the “Blofeld trilogy”, which resumes from Thunderball after the interlude novel The Spy Who Loved Me, and concludes with You Only Live Twice.

Plot summary: For more than a year, James Bond, British secret agent 007, has been trailing the private criminal organisation SPECTRE and its leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, in ‘Operation Bedlam’. This pursuit is partially described in The Spy Who Loved Me, where Bond explains to Vivienne Michel the aftermath of ‘Operation Thunderball’ and the escape of Blofeld. By the time of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Bond is convinced SPECTRE no longer exists. Frustrated by his inability to find Blofeld, Bond composes a letter of resignation for M. Meanwhile, Bond encounters a suicidal, beautiful, young woman named Teresa di Vicenzo and interrupts her attempted drowning.

Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo (‘Tracy’ to her friends) is the daughter of Marc-Ange Draco, head of the Union Corse, the biggest European crime syndicate. Draco believes the only way to save his daughter is for Bond to marry her. To facilitate this, he offers Bond a great dowry—as well as Blofeld’s whereabouts; Bond refuses the offer, but agrees to continue romancing Tracy while her mental health improves.

Draco informs Bond that Blofeld has been hiding in Switzerland; upon further investigation, Bond discovers he has assumed the title and name Comte Balthazar de Bleuville. Blofeld has undergone plastic surgery to physically pass as heir of the de Bleuville bloodline—to the degree that he has asked the London College of Arms to declare him the reigning count. Impersonating a College of Arms representative, Sir Hilary Bray, Bond infiltrates Blofeld’s lair atop Piz Gloria and finally meets Blofeld.

At Piz Gloria, Bond learns Blofeld has been curing a group of young British and European women of their livestock and food allergies. In truth, Blofeld and his homely aide, Irma Bunt, have been brainwashing them into carrying biological warfare agents back to Britain and their home countries in order to destroy Britain’s agriculture economy, upon which post-World War II Britain depends.

Believing himself discovered, Bond escapes by ski from Piz Gloria and encounters Tracy, who helps him escape SPECTRE Smitten by the resourceful, headstrong woman, he proposes marriage, and she accepts.

Helped by Draco’s Union Corse, Bond mounts an air assault against the clinic and Blofeld, who escapes—later avenging himself on James and Tracy Bond moments after their wedding.

See also:

• Bond novels: Ian Fleming