Description

MOONRAKER, SCARCE FIRST EDITION,  PRESENTATION/ASSOCIATION COPY, INSCRIBED BY IAN FLEMING  TO FRIEND AND EDITOR WILLIAM PLOMER

FLEMING, Ian. Moonraker. London: Jonathan Cape, (1955). Octavo, original black cloth, original dust jacket. Housed in custom clamshell box.

Scarce first edition of Fleming’s third novel, in first-issue dust jacket, inscribed to William Plomer, his close friend and editor at Jonathan Cape, “To William with humble duty Ian 1955.” One of the most difficult of the Bond titles to find in fine condition ( due to the tendency of the jacket to fade), even more so inscribed.

Considered by many to be one of the best of the Bond series, Moonraker is the only one of the books set entirely in England, and the first to provide glimpses into Bond’s professional and private life. The title “moonraker” is a term used for the moonsail on a sailing ship, the highest sail on the mast. “Ian Fleming accomplished an extraordinary amount in the history of the thriller. Almost single-handedly, he revived popular interest in the spy novel, spawning legions of imitations, parodies, and critical and fictional reactions? Through the immense success of the filmed versions of his books, his character James Bond became the best known fictional personality of his time and Fleming the most famous writer of thrillers since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle” (Reilly, 571). The early Bond novels are quite scarce. “This title is extremely rare in fine condition” (Biondi & Pickard, 41).

South African author William Plomer moved to London at the behest of his publisher, Virginia Woolf. “In addition to productive work in poetry and fiction, and as a reviewer, Plomer [was hired] as literary consultant to the firm of Jonathan Cape, proving a discerning and discreet adviser. The James Bond novels of Ian Fleming were a valuable property he brought to the firm. Plomer had encountered Fleming during war service in the Admiralty, as a temporary civilian officer in the Naval Intelligence Division” (DNB). Fleming later dedicated Goldfinger (1959) to Plomer.

With “shoot” on page 10, penultimate line; no priority established. First-issue dust jacket, with front flap price “10s. 6d. net.” Clute & Nicholls, 434.

Unusually fresh and bright copy. Scarce, particularly inscribed by Fleming to a friend so closely associated with his work.