Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories. Set in London, the United States and Jamaica, it was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954. Fleming wrote the novel at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica before his first book, Casino Royale, was published; much of the background came from Fleming's travel in the US and knowledge of Jamaica.
First edition cover, published by Jonathan Cape
Sir Henry Morgan, whose treasure formed the key to the plot
The rufous-throated solitaire bird provided the name for the book's main female character.
Patrick Leigh Fermor (centre); Fleming used his book on voodoo as background.
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British writer, best known for his postwar James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing.
Ian Fleming
The Glenelg War Memorial, listing Valentine Fleming, Ian's father
Eton College, Fleming's alma mater from 1921 to 1927
The Admiralty, where Fleming worked in the Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War
