Folio Society’s celebrated Ian Fleming Collection
Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels had been nothing more then paperbacks for years. Luckily, Folio Society brings them back in style!
You can love the movies, you can collect the toys, you can visit the places. But at one point all James Bond fans come down to this: You have to read the books by Ian Fleming. The spy turned author is the creator of 007 – one of modern history’s most famous pop icons. Within twelve books and two short story collections, published between 1953 and 1966, James Bond became a worldwide phenomenon.
For years the books were treated as nothing more than a penny dreadful, printed on cheap paper. But since 2015 London based Folio Society is releasing new illustrated hardback editions of Ian Fleming’s James Bond novels.
But are they worth it?
We looked into the first two editions – “Casino Royale” and “Live and Let Die” – as well as the newest entry, the 9th title “The Spy Who Loved Me”, published in March 2020.
A look into the book – the James Bond Books by Folio Society:
The novels are bound in blocked cloth and come with a slipcase. You feel the grace just by looking at them. All books so far are illustrated by Fay Dalton. She is a London-based illustrator and the winner of the 2010 Pickled Ink Award for illustration.
For Folio Society’s Ian Fleming collection she creates an atmospheric artwork reminiscent of 50s movie poster illustrations. You can sense the glamour and danger in her drawings – James Bond’s world comes to live in a dark, yet beautiful look.
If the illustrations won’t invite for a re-read of Ian Fleming’s novel – the edition by Folio Society might. For “The Spy Who Loved Me”, the publishing house has also reintroduced Ian Fleming’s original prologue, which had been removed from all modern editions of the text. It is the first book in which Fleming lets the reader see Bond from the eyes of somebody else: The short introduction suggests that the manuscript had been left on his desk by Vivienne Michel, the book’s narrator.
Waiting for “No Time To Die” to arrive in theaters, re-discovering Ian Fleming’s novels in a Bond-worthy style is really refreshing.
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The Folio Society edition of Ian Fleming’s The Spy Who Loved Me, illustrated by Fay Dalton, is available exclusively from www.FolioSociety.com
© HuntingBond (1, gallery) © Illustration 2020 Fay Dalton from The Folio Society Ian Fleming editions
I share your interest in Bond backdrops. I find them to be enthralling. And, I know they are not always shot in the actual locations suggested in the movies. So, to stumble upon your site where you lay things out was very enjoyable. And, as our world heals, I hope the basis of future vacation itineraries.
Hope you both are well and thank you for sharing your time and talents.