Calogero Ciancimino: The Sicilian Writer Who Anticipated James Bond

Calogero Ciancimino (Sciacca, 1899 – Milan, 1936) was a Sicilian writer and sea captain whose spy novels predated the James Bond series. After surviving a shipwreck off French Guiana, he became a long-haul captain. In his final four years, he published fifteen adventure novels, some co-written with Luigi Motta, spanning sea voyages, espionage, and science fiction. His spy cycle "Sfinge Gialla" (The Yellow Sphinx), inspired by Sax Rohmer's Fu Manchu, has been recently republished by Cliquot. Ciancimino also created the character Cody Junior in the series "Il Figlio di Buffalo Bill" and wrote naval war narratives. He founded a publishing house in the early 1930s. His science fiction works, co-authored with Motta, include "Il prosciugamento del mediterraneo" (1931) set in 1959 and "Negli abissi, per sempre…" (1935). Ciancimino died of illness at age 37. His pioneering spy fiction is now recognized as a precursor to Ian Fleming's James Bond.