FLEMING, Ian.
The Spy Who Loved Me.
London: Jonathan Cape , 1962.
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First Edition of Ian Fleming's The Spy Who Loved Me; Inscribed by Him to close friend Philip Brownrigg
First edition of the ninth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Philip Tho its a bit old for him! from Ian." The recipient, Philip Brownrigg was one of Fleming's old friends from Eton. He had been an editor at the Sunday Graphic before joining de Beers, the diamond merchants. As noted by Pearson, "..as a senior executive of de Beers [Brownrigg] enjoyed the entree to that curiously closed society of the London diamond market" (The Life of Ian Fleming, London, 1966, p. 250). It was through Brownrigg that Fleming gained access to a number of contacts connected to the illicit diamond trade. These contacts (including Peter Sillitoe, former head of MI5) assisted Fleming in his research for both Diamonds are Forever (1956) and also his non-fiction work The Diamond Smugglers (1957). Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Richard Chopping. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise clamshell box. An exceptional association.
In light of the novel's immense presence as a classic thriller, it's amusing to learn that it was at first poorly received. The novel was banned in several countries due to its heightened sexual writing. The reception was so bad that Fleming wrote to Michael Howard of the Jonathan Cape publishing company to explain why he wrote the book: "I had become increasingly surprised to find my thrillers, which were designed for an adult audience, being read in schools, and that young people were making a hero out of James Bond ... So it crossed my mind to write a cautionary tale about Bond, to put the record straight in the minds particularly of younger readers ... the experiment has obviously gone very much awry" (Chancellor 2005). Upon Fleming's request, no reprints were made until after his death in 1964. It was the basis for the tenth film in the James Bond series, starring Roger Moore, Barbara Bach and Curt Jürgens. It was directed by Lewis Gilbert and the screenplay was written by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum.
The Spy Who Loved Me.
$30,000.00
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