Casino Royale Ian Fleming

3/30/2022

Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, handsome, chillingly ruthless and licensed to kill. This, the first of Ian Fleming's tales of secret agent 0. Casino Royale is the first novel by the British author Ian Fleming. Published in 1953, it is the first James Bond book, and it paved the way for a further eleven novels and two short story collections by Fleming, followed by numerous continuation Bond novels by other authors.

James Bond Casino Royale Book
Casino Royale Ian Fleming Sparknotes

About This Item

London: Jonathan Cape, 1953. First edition of the first novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, 'To Ralph, We have now both reduced our remainders by one copy! Ian.' With a note of explanation by the recipient underneath, 'I having told Ian, from the depths of my publishing experience, that he would be lucky if he made GBP200 out of this, his first thriller!! R.A.' The recipient Ralph Arnold was a novelist, historical writer and publisher who joined Constable in 1936 and was chairman from 1958 to 1962. Arnold and Fleming studied together at the Tennerhof School in Kitzbuhel, Austria, and it was there that both made their first forays into story-writing. Having left Sandhurst without obtaining a commission, Fleming 'was sent to 'sort himself out' at a quasi-finishing school for men in Kitzbuhel ... There, while skiing and climbing mountains, he came under the benevolent tutelage of Ernan Forbes Dennis, a former British spy turned educationalist, and his wife, Phyllis Bottome, an established novelist. Forbes Dennis brought out Fleming's aptitude for languages and introduced him to literature, while his wife encouraged him to write his first stories.' (Oxford DNB). Near fine in a near fine first state dust jacket (without the Sunday Times review on the inner front flap) with the lightest of rubbing to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Casino Royale was written by Ian Fleming in Jamaica over a period of around two months, largely from his own experiences and imagination; he also devised the artwork for the cover. 'Within the first few pages Fleming had introduced most of Bond's idiosyncrasies and trademarks,' which included his looks, his Bentley and his smoking and drinking habits. The full details of Bond's martini were kept until chapter seven of the book and Bond eventually named it 'The Vesper', after Vesper Lynd' (Andrew Lycett). It has been filmed twice as a feature film, the first being the 1967 spoof starring David Niven, and later as the twenty-first official Bond film starring Daniel Craig as James Bond.

Synopsis

Ian Fleming (1908-1964), creator of the world's best-known secret agent, is the author of fourteen James Bond books. Born in London in 1908 and educated at Eton and Sandhurst, he became the Reuters Moscow correspondent in 1929. In the spring of 1939, Fleming went back to Moscow as a special correspondent for the London Times . In June of that same year, he joined Naval Intelligence and served throughout World War II, finally earning the rank of Commander, RNVSR (Sp.). Much of the James Bond material was drawn directly from Fleming's experiences as an intelligence officer. Later, Fleming became a consultant on foreign affairs for the London Sunday Times , by which time he had become far better known as the creator of James Bond.

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Details

Bookseller: Raptis Rare Books (US)
Bookseller Inventory #: 98575
Title: Casino Royale.
Author: Fleming, Ian
Book condition: Used
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Jonathan Cape
Place of Publication: London
Date published: 1953
Keywords: 007, Casino Royale first edition, Casino Royale Signed First Edition, Ian Fleming, ian fleming signed first edition, Signed Casino Royale James Bond

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About the Seller

Raptis Rare Books

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Palm Beach, Florida

About Raptis Rare Books

Founded by Matthew Raptis, Raptis Rare Books is an antiquarian book firm that specializes in literature, children's books, economics, photo books, signed and inscribed books, and landmark books in all fields. Our business model is simple: we strive to handle books that are in exceptional condition and to provide exceptional customer service. We are proud members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA) and the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB) and exhibit at major book fairs in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston, as well as other regional fairs.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

morocco: Morocco is a style of leather book binding that is usually made with goatskin, as it is durable and easy to dye. (see also...[more]
First Edition: In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...[more]
inscribed: When a book is described as being inscribed, it indicates that a short note written by the author or a previous owner has...[more]
jacket: Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...[more]
Cloth: 'Cloth-bound' generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...[more]
rubbing: Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usuallyused in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
first state: used in book collecting to refer to a book from the earliest run of a first edition, generally distinguished by a change in some...[more]
octavo: Another of the terms referring to page or book size, octavo refers to a standard printer's sheet folded four times, producing...[more]
clamshell box: A protective box designed for storing and preserving a bound book or loose sheets. A clamshell box is hinged on one side, with...[more]
fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...[more]

Frequently Asked Questions

“The licence to kill for the Secret Service was a great honour. It brought James Bond the only assignments he enjoyed, the dangerous ones. At the Casino in Deauville, Bond’s game is baccarat. But away from the discreet salons, the caviar and champagne, it’s 007 versus one of Russia’s most powerful and ruthless agents.”

UnivEx Review:

Forget Sean Connery, nobody does it better than Ian Fleming. The first Bond book ever, Casino Royale is a masterpiece. Fleming does a beautiful job of introducing the character of Bond through internal monologue as well as actions and conversations. He also introduces all the key players of the series including MI6, Moneypenny, Felix Leiter, and M.

The book begins with Bond in a casino in Royale.

“The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning.” (Casino Royale, p1).

With that opening line the road is paved for the longest running series of books in history: as well as the movies.

The plot is fairly simplistic, a man named LeChiffre has borrowed money from the organization known as SMERSH. Unless he pays it back, he will be killed. He sets out to win the money at the Baccarat table and that is where Bond, MI6’s best gambler, comes into the scene. Bond is sent to Royale with orders to bankrupt LeChiffre and ensure his death.

Aiding him in this task is CIA agent Felix Leiter as well as the gorgeous Vesper Lynd. Needless to say Bond wins the Baccarat game and LeChiffre is out of money. This is where the book gets interesting; Bond and Vesper are kidnapped and Bond is tortured.

The torture scene shows Bond’s strength, determination, and loyalty to Queen and Country. He never even considers telling LeChiffre where the money is. Eventually, they are rescued by SMERSH of all people and Bond goes into recovery.

It is in recovery where the most interesting part of the book occurs: Bond questions his reasons for being in the Service and has a conflict of morals. This is never seen in the movies and shows the human aspect of 007. The only reason he tries to resign in the films is due to differences of opinion with M.

Over the course of his recovery, Bond also goes into how he joined the Secret Service and got his Double-0 number. On top of all this soul-searching, there is a romance between Bond and Vesper that, just when it begins to get truly intimate, becomes ice cold.

All the way up through the shocking ending, Casino Royale delivers a great story with the naivete of a young Fleming. There was no political correctness and it is apparent in many scenes. Perhaps my only dislike about the book is it’s pace. While some scenes flew by, others had me dozing off while I read. But as a whole, a great start.

Casino Royale:
at-a-glance

Mission:
Casino Royale

Author:
Ian Fleming

First Published:
April 13, 1953

Villain:
Le Chiffre

Organization:
SMERSH

Bond Girl:
Vesper Lynd

Allies:
Felix Leiter, Rene Mathis

Casino royale ian fleming related people

Alternate Title:
You Asked For It

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