James Bond First Editions

Very Special Admiral. The Life of Admiral J.H. Godfrey C.B.

[IAN FLEMING / BONDIANA] BEESLY, Patrick (1913-1986).

London: Hamish Hamilton, 1980. [Espionage] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.345; [1], blank. Illustrated with a suite of black and white plates. Publisher's green cloth lettered in gilt, typographic dust-wrapper designed by Mon Mohan and priced at £9.95. Jon Gilbert's reference, used while compiling his bibliography of Ian Fleming; a gently-used copy with one bump to corner, pencil ownership signature. Near fine. An informative biography of Admiral John Godfrey, Director of British Naval Intelligence and later the model for the character 'M', in Fleming's James Bond novels. Commander Ian Fleming was his assistant during the war. Biographer Lt-Cdr Beesly worked alongside both in 'Room 39' and was a specialist on German merchant raiders and submarine tracking. In December 1945 he was awarded the Legion of Merit. An expert in espionage, he authored a series of books on wartime intelligence. Item #70324

Gilbert pp.648.

Price: £45.00