In an interview with BBC News , Helen Fielding was inspired for this book by the way the world responded to the September 11 attacks . She once spent some time in the Sudan as a journalist and loved her time there . In light of the invasion of Iraq , Fielding wondered why they had not sent a female spy in to interview the perpetrator . She felt that women have an air of innocence around them that men lack . Olivia parallels James Bond in many ways and Fielding was very fond of Ian Fleming 's novels
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Olivia Joules and the Overactive Imagination