James Bond First Editions

The Passion Flower Hotel.

ERSKINE, Rosalind [pseudonym of LONGRIGG, Roger Erskine] (1929-2000).

London: Jonathan Cape, 1962. [Erotic comic novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.189; [3], blank. Publisher's pink cloth with gilt titles to spine, top edge green, dust-jacket priced at 15s. Contents clean, small splash to fore-edge else fine in a clean, fine wrapper, lightly worn to crown. Now a forgotten classic, Rosalind Erskine's 1962 novel The Passion Flower Hotel caused a sensation and became a bestseller. It tells the story of Bryant House, an exclusive private girls' school whose sixth-formers find themselves unable to meet boys or learn about sex. Over at Longcombe school for boys, the equivalent problem exists. The solution is shocking: the girls set up a brothel in the school basement, with a menu of categories and prices. The book was a runaway success, spawning two sequels, a film starring Nastassja Kinski, and a West End musical with Bond-like score written by John Barry. Cape sent an advance copy to their golden goose Ian Fleming, hoping for a favourable review, accompanied by a note that 'you'd better not let [your son] Caspar have it just yet'. Item #67842

See Gilbert, pp.588, 671.

Price: £95.00