Books

Jonathan Cape. London: Jonathan Cape, 1963 8vo., brown publisher's cloth, backstrip printed in gilt, with white 'Ski' motif to upper panel; in the original unclipped Richard Chopping dust jacket (16s. net), featuring a black and white illustration of the author to the lower flap; pp. [viii], 9-288; a fresh, bright copy, with minor bumping and scratches to the edge of the text block the only defects; jacket clean and unrestored, with the red lettering to spine, often faded, here bright and clear; some very marginal toning and creasing to extremities, but otherwise an excellent copy.  First edition, first impression. Binding A in brown cloth.  After the mixed reviews arising from his previous book, The Spy Who Loved Me, Fleming endeavored to return to his tried and tested formula with OHMSS. The villain Blofeld reappears, as well as the SPECTRE organisation, and Fleming sets much of the action in Alpine Ski resorts, having recently traveled to Engadine, near St…

On Her Majesty's Secret Service is the tenth novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 1 April 1963. The story centers on Bond's mission to find and stop the villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld who is planning to destroy Britain's agricultural economy.

The true first edition, first printing can be identified by publishers 'Jonathan Cape' on the spine and the lack of any other printing statement on the copyright page.