Ian Fleming’s ‘Casino Royale’ Celebrates 70 Years This Year, So We’re Raising A Glass Of Blackwell Rum
The popular book has First Edition copies at auction through Sotheby’s this month
James Bond is such an iconic character that it feels as though he’s just always been here. Born of stardust and gunpowder into our collective consciousness. He’s such a deeply woven presence in literature, film, and culture that it’s hard to imagine a time when the phrase— “Bond, James Bond” would have meant nothing.
Well, as hard as it is to fathom, James Bond has a big birthday, and it’s upon us! Casino Royale, Ian Flemings's first book in the Bond series, celebrates its 70th anniversary since publication this year with many first editions and ‘proof copies’ going live at auction this month, hoping to fetch up to £50,000 ($62.500 USD), we’re watching closely with our rum in hand!
Casino Royale, a hugely successful crime novel debut by the new author launched the Bond series, making the character a household name around the world.
The book was so well read, and Bond as a character was so well loved, that author Ian Fleming went on a writing tear creating new story after new story for the lead man. Fleming published more than one Bond book a year for the next 13 years straight [1]. It’s hard to know if Fleming could have even predicted the explosion of James Bond's success, but it all started exactly 70 years ago with the all-time film and literature classic—Casino Royale.
In total, Fleming went on to write 14 books in the Bond series. After his untimely and sad death in 1964 [2], various other authors have continued to write Bond's adventures to varying degrees of success, but nobody could ever replicate the sophisticated and tense feeling that Fleming brought to the novels. In total, there have been 46 books in the continued Bond series, with six different authors taking on the challenge [3]. The most recent was published in 2022, so the character continues to find himself in the midst of new and daring adventures.
Beyond Fleming and Bond’s mutual success in the publishing world, the character has starred in 23 big-budget Hollywood films, including the latest No Time To Die which was partly filmed in Jamaica and featured our beloved, Blackwell Rum being enjoyed by the man himself.
From the very first book, Casino Royale, it was obvious to the public that Bond was a film star. He belonged on the big screen and was finally introduced to the public in the hit 1962 film, Dr. No. A brand new Bond movie, based on one of Fleming’s griping novels, was in the works on an almost annual basis for a decade after that movie hit theaters [4].
The eighth film in the iconic series is also coming up on an anniversary. Live and Let Die was released in 1973, based on Fleming’s second Bond novel.
So, this month at Blackwell Rum we’re celebrating the 70th anniversary of Bond’s first adventure, Casino Royale, and the 50th anniversary of the film adaptation of Fleming’s second Bond book, Live and Let Die.
Cheers to you, Mr Fleming!
