List of James Bond Novels and Stories - Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

During World War II Fleming had mentioned to friends that he wanted to write a spy novel, but it was not until 17 February 1952 that he began to write his first novel, Casino Royale. He started writing his book at his Jamaican home Goldeneye, typing out 2,000 words in the morning, directly from his own experiences and imagination; he finished work on the script in just over two months, completing it on 18 March 1952. Publishers Jonathan Cape were initially reluctant to publish the book, but were persuaded by Fleming's brother Peter (1907–1971), who had previously published material through them. On 13 April 1953 Casino Royale was released in the UK in hardcover, priced at 10s, 6d, with a cover that had been devised by Fleming himself. The first edition of 4,728 copies of Casino Royale sold out in less than a month; a second print run the same month also sold out, as did a third run of more than 8,000 books published in May 1954. At the time, Fleming was the Foreign Manager for Kemsley Newspapers, an organisation which owned The Sunday Times. Upon accepting the job, Fleming requested that he be allowed three months holiday per year, which allowed him the freedom to write.

The novel centred on the exploits of James Bond, an intelligence officer in the 00 section of the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his code number, 007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Fleming took the name for his character from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. Fleming based his creation on a number of individuals he came across during his time in the Naval Intelligence Division during World War II, admitting that Bond "was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war". After the publication of Casino Royale, Fleming used his annual holiday at his house in Jamaica to write another Bond story; in total, between 1953 and 1966, two years after his death, twelve Bond novels and two short-story collections were published, with the last two books—The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights—published posthumously.