James Bond First Editions

The Saint on Guard.

CHARTERIS, Leslie (1907-1993).

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1945. [Crime collection] FIRST UK EDITION, first impression. Octavo (18.5 x 12.5cm), pp.239; [1], advertisement. Elegantly hand-bound in half navy blue calf over cloth sides, spine gilt-lettered in six compartments with traditional raised bands. With the publisher's original blue cloth spine bound in at rear. Contents clean, exterior as new. A fine copy in an attractive recent leather binding. Two Simon Templar novellas in one volume; The Black Market and The Sizzling Saboteur. According to Paul Simpson (The Rough Guide to James Bond, p.47), 'The Saint' is a literary ancestor of 007, the debonair Simon Templar being a gentleman adventurer whose parallels with Bond are obvious. Both these novellas sit firmly in the espionage genre, based in America during the war with Templar supported by US Intelligence. Item #73459

Steinbrunner & Penzler, pp.349-351. See also Gilbert, p.616.

Price: £195.00