Once however, Fleming had this trick played back at him. Mario Modiano in Athens became Michael Manning, Mozandi in Tehran became Mostyn, while Geoffrey Bocca in New York one day received a terse cable from Fleming saying: allez bocca ave barker. His view was that, generally speaking, all foreign correspondents should have British-sounding names. Fleming sometimes 'ordered a correspondent to change his name if he did not like it. Kemsley, owner of The Sunday Times amongst others, offered Fleming a job as foreign news manager of Kemsley Newspapers after the war, and enabled him to write the Bond novels by allowing an unusual clause in Fleming's contract: Fleming would take January and February as his annual paid leave, during which time he worked on his novels at Goldeneye, on Jamaica's north shore Casino Royale was completed over this period in 1952. This is a wonderful association copy: the recipient was his friend Anthony Kemsley (later to become Sir Anthony Berry), the youngest son of Viscount Kemsley, a significant figure in Fleming's life.

First edition, first impression, in the first issue dust jacket, presentation copy, inscribed by the author, 'To Tony, Read & Burn, Ian'.

Casino royale original book cover