Bond is absorbing and elusive at once charming and, at times, shockingly ruthless. The beautiful and inscrutable Vesper Lynd has been sent to assist him, but their love affair will imperil them both.Īs Banville writes in his excellent introduction on the genesis of the novels, Fleming based his hero on a number of people he had known during the war. James Bond, ‘the finest gambler available to the Service’, becomes his opponent in a game of baccarat – a game set on a ‘luminous and sparkling stage’, with violence lurking in the wings. Darker and more visceral than those new to the novels might imagine, Casino Royale plunges Bond into a battle of luck, wits and physical endurance against Le Chiffre, a corrupt agent of the feared Soviet organisation, SMERSH. Few characters have come to define a genre as James Bond has done, and this introduction to his world, with its merciless villains, spectacular dangers, ill-fated romances and exotic settings, is Fleming at his best.Ī lavish edition, with seven original illustrations and a pictorial slipcase by acclaimed illustrator Fay Dalton, and an introduction by Booker-Prize winning author John Banville, pays homage to the enormous success of Ian Fleming’s iconic novels. The Folio Society is proud to present the first title in its new 007 collectors’series.
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