Literary James Bond #1: Casino Royale by Ian Fleming book overview and analysis

[@cinemaarts8795]

I just managed to get all 14 signet editions books recently, so good timing!

[@Tobeshadow]

Spent a glorious summer in the early 90s collecting the PAN books with the 'JAMES BOND' on the covers like the green Casino Royale behind you in the video. Felt like forever scouring second hand shops and car boot sales to find them all, it was great fun. I still have them and my uncle has the original hardbacks. Great video, thanks from the UK!

[@chris_stokes]

Great review! Loving the various editions on your shelf too! I agree with the delineation between literary and cinematic Bond. Partly because there are different custodians for both. As you say, the literary Bond has different variations, as does the cinematic Bond, but with the literary Bond being looked after by IFP (under various guises over the years) and the cinematic Bond being shepherded by Eon, which is also a family business then you've definitely got 2 distinct camps. And then you get the comics and radio plays and the occasional legal loophole resulting in other takes on him, which offer a glimpse of Bond through another lens. For a property which is derided for being 'formulaic' it's fantastic how much variety there actually is! Again, excellent video

[@iakona23]

I am finding the Nicholas Shakespeare biography of Ian Fleming to be more interesting than Ian Fleming’s James Bond stories. I really like Ian Fleming as a person.

[@GreatBooksGuy]

Yes! I am so excited for your Bond litverse reviews. I completed my first chronological pilgrimage through the Fleming Bond last year and it was a wonderful adventure. Looking forward to following along for your videos. Cheers!

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

Awesome! Welcome to the literary Bond world!

[@JCH2768]

This is the most "organic" and least planned out Bond book. It might also be the best.

[@andrews527]

Thou hast committed- Fornication: but that was in another country, And besides, the wench is dead.                The Jew of Malta, Christopher Marlowe, c. 1589

[@PaperlessWriter]

Great start to a new series; the wait for each review will be excruciating. Well done, sir:)

[@RobertR3750]

Good timing. I read all of the original Bond novels in the past few weeks. I have the 60s Signet editions, and the Bantam Casino Royale edition.

[@mymangodfrey]

Really enjoyed this video! I read Casino Royale last year and loved it. It's terrible that they're Bowdlerizing books by writers like Ian Fleming and Roald Dahl.

[@FatherJoe--NLO]

Nice, I've only read this and Live and Let Die. I keep meaning to read the others..

[@nitrateglow2087]

Same here. I need to get on that!

[@mac1701e]

I still can't believe that he wrote a children's book 😳

[@mac1701e]

I started with the Gardner Bond in the 80s, I tried to read Moonraker first, but I was unprepared for the difference between the movie and the book 😆 🤣 😂 😹 but I did eventually get to the Flemings, and acquired all of them, most were the 80s editions but I have the last 3 in the 60s signers, any reason why those 3 were never reprinted in the 80s? I know they're back in print now, but in the 80s I thought the Fleming ones stopped at Thunderball until I found a signet You Only Live Twice in a used book store and I was MIND BLOWN!!! Then I found the Octopussy collection and finally Man With A Golden Gun

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

The Berkley/Charter 80's reprints of the Fleming novels seem to have been done very sporadically and for whatever reason Moonraker is the rarest. I rarely see them in used shops and only have a few. Ironically the Charter Goldfinger paperback was my first ever full length Bond novel. They did indeed stop before reprinting the whole series. www.thebookbond.com/2011/10/fleming-in-80s-and-case-of-curious.html It's funny how we used think certain ways in the old pre-Internet days simply because we had no other wya of knowing!

[@RobertR3750]

Keeping spoilers in mind, the events between Bond and Vesper Lynd very much help shape his attitude towards women and relationships. As shown in Goldfinger and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Vesper was someone whom Bond definitely did not stop thinking about. She left an indelible mark on him.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

I’ve always liked how Fleming didn’t reference this a ton, but only in fleeting moments. The main one being Bond visiting a certain location from time to time. But the reader knows exactly how much it affected him.

[@matthewgaudet4064]

which uncensored edition is worthwhile and affordable? I have an old Goldfinger paperback i think its the 6th printing.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

Casino is one of the books supposedly without any changes. Basically any printing from before the new ones will have unaltered text. Only Live and Let Die had the alternate slightly different US text which Fleming approved. My favorite is always the vintage signet paperbacks which aren’t too expensive but you can choose most any paperback version for a decent price.

[@rjculliford]

Are there big differences in terms of page layout and text format between the vintage Signet and Pan paperback editions?

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

The Pans are a bit taller and thicker with larger text and margins compared to the Signets but outside of that they are a relatively comparable size. I have always really loved the very compact size and printing of the Signet paperbacks.

[@RobertR3750]

The Casino Royale paperback with the Bama cover has my favorite artistic rendering of Bond. He looks just like Fleming described him: Dark, rather cruel good looks, a dangerous man, a tough man, a man who intrigues women.

[@RobertR3750]

The events in Moonraker demonstrate that not only is Bond a world class gambler, he is a world class card SHARK, an ability that enables him to spot other card sharks.

[@DAGDRUM53]

Live And Let Die is edited in its Signet editions and recently re-edited again. Also I've discovered Signet 'toned down Bond's affair with Vesper' in Casino Royale. Does anyone know more?

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

There was some very light editing done in one or two spots by Macmillan for Casino Royale’s original USA printing. The main change was that it removed one of the lines during one of the love scenes. That was simply the American editor saying that was a little too spicy at the time. Live and Let Die had an American version approved by Fleming, which essentially changes the chapter title of one chapter and removes a passage that was frankly unnecessary and interrupts the flow of the plot. That was always the version in print in the United States until Penguin took over in 2002 and printed the UK text. Now the new version is the American text again which is being printed worldwide and Ian Fleming publications unbelievably decided to use this as an excuse to go and randomly tweak or edit the other novels.

[@DAGDRUM53]

@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Thank you for the long informative reply, DFIC. This irritating old Casino Royale tweak forced me to buy a collection of the Pan Bond novels, they're the ones I should've had on my shelves since the 60s anyway. Thanks again.

[@nitrateglow2087]

I never knew about the newspaper comic and Japanese musical versions! They sound fascinating!

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

They are! I never expected a Japanese musical version but it seems to have a lot of energy to it along with many additions to the plot. The newspaper comic strips are enormously important for the history of Bond as essentially bridging the public awareness gap between book and films before either achieved popularity. They are usually very faithful adaptations and the artwork is stunningly good. The comic image of Bond was the primary version people carried in their heads and there’s a certain Connery quality to how the character was drawn. Afterwards they did a number of original stories too which are collected in the Titan reprint volumes.

[@nitrateglow2087]

@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I shouldn't be too surprised about the musical since the Takarazuka Revue group has adapted a lot of western media-- they've also done musical versions of Casablanca and Gone with the Wind, if I remember correctly. I'll have to check out those comics. They sound really cool.

[@unclesporkums]

I was wondering when you were going to get around to these!

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

@@unclesporkums it’s been a long time coming, but I wanted to figure out a way to try and cover every aspect I could think of for each novel. I’m working on Moonraker currently.

[@unclesporkums]

@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader Awesome! His style of writing was a major influence on me. I've been listening to the BBC radio dramas and they're kind of hit and miss.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

@@unclesporkums same here very hit and miss.

[@jarjared3522]

I try to get into the books of Bond. I grew up with the movies and read four books. Casino Royale, From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, and Moonraker. They just weren't for me.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

That’s understandable. At least you gave them a try! Out of curiosity did you consider trying the other books or continuation novels? You might find some of those enjoyable as some like Benson’s books are a good cross between the book and film feeling.

[@jarjared3522]

@@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader I love Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan so I lean towards the camp side of James Bond.

[@DamnFoolIdealisticCrusader]

@@jarjared3522 I would definitely say give Benson’s novels a try and maybe some of the John Gardner books as of all the literary Bond novels those are the ones that have the most of that flavor.

[@krisjs1767]

I thought Skyfall was a pretty good franchise entry.

[@mac1701e]

I think Craig was the closest, visually to the literary version

[@RobertR3750]

I completely disagree. Craig does NOT look like the literary Bond at ALL. He looks like the third Russian thug from the left in a Bond novel or movie.