The Spy Who Loved Me.

FLEMING, Ian.

Item Number: 88973

London: Jonathan Cape, 1962.

First edition of the ninth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by Roger Moore on the title page, the actor who played James Bond in the feature film. Contemporary inscription to the front free endpaper, near fine in a very good dust jacket with some notes to the front flap. Jacket design by Richard Chopping. Desirable signed by Moore.

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.