On Her Majesty's Secret Service

London: Jonathan Cape, 1963 First edition, first impression with "two kings" on p. 34, line 7; in Gilbert's Binding A. Publisher's dark brown cloth, stamped in white to front board with a ski track motif, lettered in metallic silver to spine; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping with an illustration of a pair of artist's hands drawing the Bond family coat of arms. Near fine book, with a tiny spot of staining to top edge of text block, and a hint of creasing to top corners of pages; good unclipped dust jacket, with some toning to spine, a touch of wear to spine ends, some staining to rear panel and a hint of staining to spine, and light soiling to panels. Overall, a sturdy copy, with no tears to the dust jacket or pages. Gilbert A11a (1.1.). On Her Majesty's Secret Service is Fleming's second novel featuring the malicious spy organization SPECTRE and its villainous leader Ernst Stavro Blofeld, first introduced in the ninth novel, Thunderball (1961). At the start of this novel, Bond is depressed in the wake of Operation Thunderball and struggling to follow up on Blofeld, whose trail has gone cold. Popularly known as a permanent bachelor, Bond surprises the reader by marrying the young daughter of a powerful crime boss. Just when things are beginning to look up for 007, Blofeld returns to murder the new bride in a drive-by shooting that devastates Bond. On Her Majesty's Secret Service is a truly unique portrayal of the emotional side of James Bond; this is accentuated in the film version starring George Lazenby, the only actor to play Bond just once.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included. (Inventory #: IF230)