Octopussy and The Living Daylights

Meet James Bond, the world's most famous spy.The last collection of James Bond adventures from Ian Fleming, Octopussy and The Living Daylights features four tales of intrigue that push 007 to the limit and find the secret agent questioning where he can go from there...In 'Octopussy,' a former operative in the Second World War must face the consequences of past sins when James Bond knocks on the door of his Caribbean fortress, and in 'The Property of a Lady' Bond deciphers the elaborate codes of a Sotheby's bidding war in order to catch a KGB agent. '007 in New York' takes Bond to the titular city to warn an ex_x0002_agent of her boyfriend's secret KGB affiliation. And 'The Living Daylights' sends Bond to Berlin to protect a British agent before an assassin strikes.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London on 28 May 1908 and was educated at Eton College before spending a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters news agency, followed by a brief spell as a stockbroker. On the outbreak of the Second World War he was appointed assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, Admiral Godfrey, where he played a key part in British and Allied espionage operations.After the war he joined Kemsley Newspapers as Foreign Manager of the Sunday Times, running a network of correspondents who were intimately involved in the Cold War. His first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and introduced James Bond, Special Agent 007, to the world. The first print run sold out within a month. Following this initial success, he published a Bond title every year until his death. His own travels, interests and wartime experience gave authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler hailed him as 'the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.' The fifth title, From Russia With Love, was particularly well received and sales soared when President Kennedy named it as one of his favourite books. The Bond novels have sold more than 100 million copies and inspired a hugely successful film franchise which began in 1962 with the release of Dr No, starring Sean Connery as 007.The Bond books were written in Jamaica, a country Fleming fell in love with during the war and where he built a house, 'Goldeneye'. He married Ann Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only child, Caspar, went on to become the well-loved novel and film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Fleming died of heart failure on 12 August 1964.