Books

London: Jonathan Cape. 1959. [Spy thriller] AN INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPY. Sixth printing. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.240. Publisher's black, gilt-embossed cloth-effect paper over boards, in purple dustwrapper. SIGNED by the author to the flyleaf. This copy is from the library of Stan Meyer, with his ownership plate to the endpaper. Minor wear, a little bumped, jacket with some wear to extremities, rubbed to joints. Very good. Meyer was the film producer responsible for 'Dragnet', the most successful police series on US television, and had an interest in acquiring the early James Bond titles for the big screen. Fleming first met him in August 1954 and presented an inscribed American first edition of Casino Royale (this copy previously sold through our offices). Although no film deal was forthcoming, the pair became friends and a character in the third book 'Moonraker' (Drax's card-playing partner Max Meyer), was named in his honour. They kept in contact and Meyer received several signed…

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.