Goldfinger the seventh James Bond novel to be written by Fleming was published on March 23rd 1959 by Jonathan Cape with a print run of 24,000 copies – Cape also printed a further 7,500 copies for Macmillan The American first edition was printed in England (as stated on the copyright page) and was also bound there. The covers being virtually identical.
Goldfinger First Edition, March 23rd 1959 © Jonathon Cape 1959
“Keep away from Mr. Auric Goldfinger. He is a most powerful man. If he wished to crush you, he would only have to roll over in his sleep to do so.” OPERATION GRAND SLAM – Secret agent James Bond had been warned not to tangle with Goldfinger. But the super criminal’s latest obsession was too strong, too dangerous. He had to be stopped. Goldfinger was determined to take possession of half the supply of mined gold in the world – to rob Fort Knox! For this incredible venture he had enlisted the aid of the top criminals in the U.S., including a bevy of beautiful thieves from the Bronx. And he had conceived so foolproof a plan that it would take all of Bond’s unique talents to make it fail – as fail it must.
Golf at St George’s
The Clubhouse at Royal St George’s Golf Course, where Ian Fleming played golf and used as inspiration for the intrigueing golf scene in Goldfinger
Ian Fleming was a keen golfer, and in this novel he included an important confrontation between 007 and Goldfinger at the fictional golf club called Royal St Mark’s which was clearely based on the golf club he used to frequent in Sandwich, the Royal St George’s club. In fact the simmilarities between the two clubs are quite obvious to those who are in the know. Andrew Lycett points out, Ian could only just clear the vast bunker at the par four 466 -yard fourth hole at Royal St George … Ian described the hole faithfully in Goldfinger “The fourth is four hundred and sixty yards. You drive over one of the tallest and deepest bunkers in the United Kingdom and then have a second shot accross an undulating hilly fairway to a plateau green guarded by a final steep slope.”
The bunker at the 4th hole at Royal St George’s that is faithfully recreated in Goldfinger by Fleming
Gold
Gold Bars
Once Ian Fleming had decided that the subject of this novel was going to be about gold he set about researching the subject thoroughly. Through a friend that used to work with him at Reuters, but was now working for The Bank of England, Fleming was able to meet the banks leading light on the world of Gold smuggling. Guy Wellby showed him how gold could be oxidized, and then through another introduction Fleming was able to spend an afternoon in the smelting room of a gold merchant. John Pearson states “Fleming found Goldfinger one of the easiest of all his books to write.”
The Novel
The Villain – Auric Goldfinger, in this novel is five feet tall and has a huge round head sitting on a thick blunt body. Practically every part of his body is ‘out of proportion’. He has a fetish for sunburn because ‘without the red brown camouflage the pale body would be grotesque’. A multi-millionaire, he smuggles gold from one country to another by melting it down into parts of his Rolls Royce. He cheats at every game that is played for high stakes. He also likes to make love to women covered in gold paint.
Pussy Galore, probably one of the most memorable femme fatale’s in Fleming’s books is in her early thirties and has ‘Rupert Brooke’ good looks, high cheekbones and a beautiful jaw line. She is aggressive and tough and exudes a ’sexual challenge all beautiful Lesbians have for men.’ She is also the head of her own ‘all female’ lesbian syndicate known as The Cement Mixers.
Other Characters include – Oddjob (Goldfinger’s personal bodyguard/manservant/henchman), Jill Masterson, Tilly Masterson, M, and Felix Leiter
The Plot is one that most people in the world are fully aware of these days as Goldfinger in it’s cinematic form is one of the biggest classics of all time – Stealing all the gold in Fort Knox and causing economic chaos in the West.
Highlights in the novel – Golf game with Goldfinger, Bond’s private credentials being threatened by a circular saw, and the climatic confrontation at Fort Knox and plane crash.
Fort Knox
Original 1959 Reviews
Here is a list of some of the original reviews of Goldfinger that were printed in 1959.
.Manchester Guardian
Book review of Goldfinger by Roy Perrott. Manchester Guardian, 26 March 1959, p. 8.
New York Herald Tribune
Book review of Goldfinger by James Sandoe. New York Herald Tribune Book Review, 30 August 1959, p. 11.
New York Times
“Recent Report on Criminals at Large” [book review of Goldfinger] by Anthony Boucher. New York Times Book Review, 23 August 1959, p. 16. [BK]
New Yorker
Book review of Goldfinger. New Yorker, 12 September 1959, p. 204.
Punch
Book review of Goldfinger by B. A. Young. Punch, 1959 (Volume 236), p. 432.
San Francisco Chronicle
Book review of Goldfinger. San Francisco Chronicle, 27 September 1959, p. 20.
Spectator
“It’s a Crime” [book review of Goldfinger] by Christopher Pym. Spectator, 27 March 1959, p. 448. [BK]
Springfield Republican
Book review of Goldfinger by P. C. Springfield Republican, 6 September 1959, p. 4D.
Tablet
Book review of Goldfinger by Anthony Lejeune. Tablet, 25 April 1959, p. 402.
Times
“New Fiction” [book review of Goldfinger]. Times, 26 March 1959, p. 15. [BK]
Times Literary Supplement
“On the Seamy Side” [book review of Goldfinger]. Times Literary Supplement, 3 April 1959, p. 198. [BK]
Twentieth Century
Book review of Goldfinger by Marjorie Bremner. Twentieth Century, May 1959, p. 536.
Book Cover Gallery
Pan books 1st -3rd Edition bookcover © Pan books
Pan 4th edition © Panbooks
Pan 9th -13th edition © Panbooks
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British Bookclub edition © Glidrose
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American Penguin Edition © Penguin
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American Jove edition
Signet 1st Edition © Signet
Signet 19th-24th © Signet
Brazillian Edition
Czech Edition
Danish edition
Dutch Edition, Fleming
French Plon First Edition © Plon
Russian politizad edition
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