Books

London: Jonathan Cape, 1954.. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, Second State. 8vo. (20 x 14 cm). pp.240. Publisher's black cloth-effect paper-covered boards, titled and decorated in gilt, with dust-wrapper, priced twice as issued, at 10/6. With 'author's skill' text incorrectly spaced to the rear panel, as described in the bibliography, page 61. Housed in a custom cloth clamshell case. Neat contemporary gift inscription to flyleaf, gilt on covers tarnished, some abrasion to top edge of rear panel; jacket otherwise bright and fresh. The second of the original fourteen James Bond books penned by Fleming, 1953-1966. This is the second state of the first issue, with jacket artist Kenneth Lewis' credit appearing 27mm below the final line of blurb on the front flap, about two-thirds down.

Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories, and is set in London, the US and Jamaica. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954. In the novel, Bond must defeat a dangerous drug lord with plans to finance Soviet espionage in America. The story was developed during Fleming's second stay in Jamaica, where he had extensive knowledge of the local scenery, wildlife, and underworld.