Casino Royale
The first James Bond novel, in which a British agent is sent to bankrupt a Soviet paymaster at the baccarat tables of a French casino.
Published in 1953, Ian Fleming’s first novel introduced James Bond. The British agent is sent to the casino at Royale-les-Eaux to ruin Le Chiffre, a Soviet operative who has lost his organization’s money, at the baccarat table. Aided by Vesper Lynd of his own service and Felix Leiter of the CIA, Bond finds that winning is only the start of his trouble. Fleming drew on his wartime work in naval intelligence, and the book launched one of fiction’s most enduring characters.
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Lee Child
Fleming was disillusioned after World War II and had a girlfriend who was pregnant, which back then meant a reluctant marriage. So he briefly escaped to Jamaica and wrote a spy novel he didn't think was very good. But a publisher took a chance, and James Bond became an icon. What if there'd been no pregnancy?
Article · May 2013
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