FLEMING, Ian. Thunderball. London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.
8vo. Original dark brown publisher's boards, embossed with a skeleton's hand to upper cover duplicating the dustjacket; spine lettered in gilt; in the original pictorial dustwrapper (15s. Net) with an iconic Chopping design; pp. [viii], 9-253, [iii]; a wonderful example of this classic Bond novel, the binding clean and tight, with very minor marking to the outer edges; else for all intents and purposes a fine copy, the jacket very lightly toned to the folds and along spine; a couple of small nicks to head and foot, still vibrant.
First edition, first impression, first issue. Binding A. The ninth James Bond novel, Bond's first encounter with Ernest Stavro Blofeld and his organization, SPECTRE.
Thunderball was the first of Fleming's books to be a novelization of an unfilmed James Bond screenplay. It was born from a collaboration of Fleming with Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Ivar Bryce and Ernest Cuneo. The controversial shared credit of Fleming, McClory and Whittingham was, however, the result of a courtroom decision. The film starred Sean Connery in the title role.
The novel constitutes the second wave of Bond villains: the first being SMERSH and the second being the introduction of Blofeld and SPECTRE. The influence of Ernst Stavro Blofeld's name can be traced back to Tom Blofeld, a Norfolk farmer and a fellow member of Fleming's club Boodle's, who was a contemporary of the author whilst he was at Eton.
Gilbert A9a.
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