From Russia With Love
Antiquarian & Collectible Espionage Crime Thriller Action Adventure Cold War Thriller Spy Fiction British Mystery
Own a cornerstone of spy fiction: a 1957 (first printing, 1956) hardcover of Ian Fleming’s From Russia With Love. This is the fifth James Bond novel and the book that President Kennedy named as one of his ten favorites—an endorsement that rocketed 007 into global pop-culture and made early printings like this one the most sought-after of the entire series. A true first edition, it still carries its original dust jacket (price-clipped, with expected edge nicks and a few child’s pencil scribbles on the back panel) and the unmistakable red-and-black Ian Fleming lettering that collectors look for. Inside, the pages are clean, the binding is tight, and a previous owner has added only a neat gift inscription on the fly-leaf—no bookplates, no underlining, no book-club logo.
For vintage-thriller enthusiasts, this copy delivers the Cold-War atmosphere that defined the genre: the Orient Express, the deadly Rosa Klebb, and the introduction of the now-iconic SPECTRE organization. Because the film rights were sold quickly, most 1950s hardcovers were read to pieces; finding one complete with jacket and un-mutilated page block is increasingly difficult. The moderate wear only confirms that this book escaped a library shelf and spent decades in private hands, making it both a readable copy and a display-worthy piece of literary history.
Whether you are filling a first-state Bond set, hunting a gift for a thriller lover, or simply want to experience Fleming’s lean, electric prose in the format readers first encountered in the mid-50s, this 1956 first impression offers the perfect blend of rarity, condition, and nostalgia. Dust-jacket flaws are reflected in the price, giving collectors an affordable entry point into high-grade Fleming while the story inside remains as pulse-quickening as the day it left London’s Jonathan Cape press.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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