The Golden Typewriter
Fleming’s books

Ian Fleming's books

Ian Fleming wrote seventeen books between 1953 and 1966. Fourteen are James Bond books; the others are a children's classic and two books of reporting.

By Does Your Duck QuackUpdated 21 October 2026

Fleming’s books by first publication, including the later anthology
BookYearFirst UK publisher
Casino Royale1953Jonathan Cape
Live and Let Die1954Jonathan Cape
Moonraker1955Jonathan Cape
Diamonds Are Forever1956Jonathan Cape
From Russia with Love1957Jonathan Cape
The Diamond Smugglers1957Jonathan Cape
Dr. No1958Jonathan Cape
Goldfinger1959Jonathan Cape
For Your Eyes Only1960Jonathan Cape
Thunderball1961Jonathan Cape
The Spy Who Loved Me1962Jonathan Cape
On Her Majesty's Secret Service1963Jonathan Cape
Thrilling Cities1963Jonathan Cape
You Only Live Twice1964Jonathan Cape
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang1964Jonathan Cape
The Man with the Golden Gun1965Jonathan Cape
Octopussy and The Living Daylights1966Jonathan Cape
Talk of the Devil2008Queen Anne Press

The official bibliography from Ian Fleming Publications is the basis for this list.

The fourteen James Bond books

Illustrations are AI-generated and inspired by each book; they are not book covers.

  1. 1

    Casino Royale

    1953 · audiobook read by Richard Armitage

    Bond plays a dangerous baccarat game against a Soviet-linked paymaster in Fleming's first novel. Its casino setting and vulnerable hero make it the natural starting point.

    Paperback · Audiobook 5h 44m

  2. 2

    Live and Let Die

    1954 · audiobook read by Adjoa Andoh

    Bond follows smuggled gold from New York to Jamaica in his second novel. Felix Leiter returns, while the book's period portrayals call for care.

    Paperback · Audiobook 7h 48m

  3. 3

    Moonraker

    1955 · audiobook read by Alex Kingston

    A London card game leads Bond to a guarded rocket project on the Kent coast. Fleming's earthbound thriller differs sharply from the later space film.

    Paperback · Audiobook 8h 14m

  4. 4

    Diamonds Are Forever

    1956 · audiobook read by Pippa Bennett-Warner

    Bond goes undercover in a diamond-smuggling network that reaches New York and Las Vegas. The novel leans into organised crime and its American settings.

    Paperback · Audiobook 7h 4m

  5. 5

    From Russia with Love

    1957 · audiobook read by Mark Gatiss

    A Soviet operation lures Bond to Istanbul with the promise of a cipher machine. The trap unfolds across an extended train journey and leads into Dr. No.

    Paperback · Audiobook 8h 32m

  6. 6

    Dr. No

    1958 · audiobook read by Jon Culshaw

    Bond investigates a missing station chief in Jamaica and follows the clues to a guarded island. It also inspired the first Eon Bond film.

    Paperback · Audiobook 8h 27m

  7. 7

    Goldfinger

    1959 · audiobook read by Adam Godley

    Bond encounters the gold-obsessed Auric Goldfinger and follows his plans across Britain and America. The film keeps key characters but changes the scheme.

    Paperback · Audiobook 9h 21m

  8. 8

    For Your Eyes Only

    1960 · audiobook read by Johnny Flynn

    Five Bond stories take the series through distinct missions and settings. The collection offers shorter entries and supplied titles or scenes for several films.

    Paperback · Audiobook 6h 29m

  9. 9

    Thunderball

    1961 · audiobook read by Robert Glenister

    Stolen nuclear weapons send Bond to the Bahamas in a race against SPECTRE. The novel begins the sequence involving Blofeld that continues in two later books.

    Paperback · Audiobook 8h 34m

  10. 10

    The Spy Who Loved Me

    1962 · audiobook read by Genevieve Gaunt

    Vivienne Michel narrates an unusual Bond story set largely at an isolated American motel. Its voice and plot differ from the film of the same name.

    Paperback · Audiobook 5h 32m

  11. 11

    On Her Majesty's Secret Service

    1963 · audiobook read by Daniel Weyman

    Bond follows Blofeld to a clinic in the Swiss Alps. This middle volume of the Blofeld sequence rewards reading Thunderball first.

    Paperback · Audiobook 8h 41m

  12. 12

    You Only Live Twice

    1964 · audiobook read by Eleanor Matsuura

    Bond travels to Japan in the last Bond novel published during Fleming's life. It concludes threads from the earlier Blofeld books and works best in sequence.

    Paperback · Audiobook 7h 10m

  13. 13

    The Man with the Golden Gun

    1965 · audiobook read by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith

    Bond returns to Jamaica on a mission involving the gunman Scaramanga. Published after Fleming's death, the novel follows the Blofeld sequence.

    Paperback · Audiobook 5h 22m

  14. 14

    Octopussy and The Living Daylights

    1966 · audiobook read by Ben Willbond

    This final Bond collection appeared with two stories and later grew to four. Check an edition's contents if you want the complete set.

    Paperback · Audiobook 2h 44m

Fleming's other books

Talk of the Devil is a later anthology of his shorter writing, not an eighteenth original book.

  1. –

    Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

    1964 · audiobook read by David Tennant

    Fleming's children's story follows the Pott family and their remarkable car. It stands apart from Bond and also has a David Tennant audiobook.

    Paperback · Audiobook 2h 22m

  2. –

    The Diamond Smugglers

    1957 · audiobook read by Barnaby Edwards

    Fleming investigates the international diamond trade in this work of reporting. Its subject also informs the fictional smuggling route in Diamonds Are Forever.

    Paperback · Audiobook 3h 38m

  3. –

    Thrilling Cities

    1963 · audiobook read by Barnaby Edwards

    Fleming visits fourteen cities in this collection of travel journalism. Read it for his observations and period perspective, with its dated attitudes in mind.

    Paperback · Audiobook 9h 7m

  4. –

    Talk of the Devil

    2008

    This later anthology gathers Fleming's journalism, letters and early fiction. It is a collection to browse by subject after the original books.

    Hardback

Bond books by other writers

Many authors have written Bond novels since Fleming died, with the estate's permission. They are listed separately on continuation novels, so they are never confused with Fleming's own books.

Related reading guides

For original jackets, impressions and buying advice, see our James Bond first-editions guide.

Frequently asked questions

Who has owned the rights to Fleming’s books since the 1960s?

Glidrose held the Bond literary copyrights after Fleming’s death. Before his death in 1964, Fleming sold a 51% stake in the company to Booker; the Fleming family later bought that stake back. The company is now Ian Fleming Publications. Its current rights statement says it owns and administers the literary copyright in the Bond novels and short stories, while the Ian Fleming Estate controls other Fleming works and aspects of the author’s brand. Literary rights should not be confused with the separate film business.

Sources (7)
  1. Ian Fleming Publications: bibliographyOfficial Fleming site
  2. Wikipedia: The Diamond Smugglers publication historySource
  3. Ian Fleming Publications: AboutSource
  4. Ian Fleming Publications: company historySource
  5. Ian Fleming Publications: rights and licensingSource
  6. Peter Janson-Smith: literary agent and Glidrose historySource
  7. Booker Group: Authors’ DivisionSource

Where next