Casino Royale
By Ian Fleming
Introduced by John Banville
Illustrated by Fay Dalton
‘In this book we witness the birth and first steps …of one of the emblematic figures of our time’ John Banville
The Folio Society is proud to present the first title in its new 007 collectors’ series.
Few characters have come to define a genre as James Bond has done, and this introduction to his world, with its merciless villains, spectacular dangers, ill-fated romances and exotic settings, is Fleming at his best.
A lavish edition, with seven original illustrations and a pictorial slipcase by acclaimed illustrator Fay Dalton, and an introduction by Booker-Prize winning author John Banville, pays homage to the enormous success of Ian Fleming’s iconic novels.
Darker and more visceral than those new to the novels might imagine, Casino Royale plunges Bond into a battle of luck, wits and physical endurance against Le Chiffre, a corrupt agent of the feared Soviet organisation, SMERSH.
James Bond, ‘the finest gambler available to the Service’, becomes his opponent in a game of baccarat – a game set on a ‘luminous and sparkling stage’, with violence lurking in the wings.
The beautiful and inscrutable Vesper Lynd has been sent to assist him, but their love affair will imperil them both.
As Banville writes in his excellent introduction on the genesis of the novels, Fleming based his hero on a number of people he had known during the war. Bond is absorbing and elusive; at once charming and, at times, shockingly ruthless.
He is often cold, but ‘easily tipped over into sentiment’; a subtly-evoked vulnerability and capacity for self-doubt temper the impression of a man who is unshakeable and undefeatable.
For all his extraordinary, single-minded precision when dealing with his enemies, his attitude is more equivocal than one might expect. Sometimes, he observes, ‘the villains and heroes get all mixed up’.
For over 65 years, The Folio Society has been publishing beautiful illustrated editions of the world’s greatest books. It believes that the literary content of a book should be matched by its physical form. With specially researched images or newly commissioned illustrations, many of its editions are further enhanced with introductions written by leading figures in their fields: novelists, journalists, academics, scientists and artists. Exceptional in content and craftsmanship, and maintaining the very highest standards of fine book production, Folio Society editions last for generations.
Bound in cloth and foil blocked. Set in Miller Text with Folio Bold Condensed as display.
192 pages. Frontispiece and 6 colour illustrations. Pictorial slipcase. 9” x 6 ¼ “.
UK £34.95 | US $59.95 | Can $74.95 | Aus $76.95
For more information on the release, and to pre-order your copy now, please Click Here.
