Ian Fleming

First edition, first impression of the tenth Bond novel.

• Ian Fleming (British).
• London: Jonathan Cape, 1962.
• 221 pages.
• Octavo.
• Bound in black cloth with silver lettering and knife design on cover.

The tenth Bond novel. During its composition, Fleming had considered killing off his famous spy for the third time, after From Russia, With Love and Thunderball, but this time it was for different reasons. Fleming "had become alarmed that his earlier thrillers, designed for an adult audience, were increasingly read in schools...where young people made a hero out of James Bond...He did not regard Bond as a heroic figure 'but only as an efficient professional in his job.' Therefore he had sought to write a 'cautionary tale' to put the record straight, particularly for his younger readers" (Lycett, 401–402). Bond himself doesn't appear until the end of the book.

Gilbert A10a.1.1.