Quarto typing paper, 277 leaves, numbered to 265, with 11 supernumerary leaves, plus two preliminaries, the penultimate leaf (264) lacking. Bound in an early, possibly publisher's or author's, 'Interscrew' binder with brown paper covered boards with rexine covering at the spine-side edges and brass screws. Marked on the first leaf "To be returned to author for final revision". Extensive autograph revisions throughout, affecting almost every page, by Fleming mostly in blue biro. Further marked up by a copy-editor to the preliminary pages with type-sizes and similar technical annotations. Occasionally marginal proof reader's marks in light pencil mainly corrected and one passage noted "?Libel", later struck through to confirm that it has been read for libel. Light signs of use with the first five leaves pulling loose of the binder and slightly creased and the final leaf loose and frayed, the remainder in excellent condition with a little gentle wear to extremities of binder. Housed in a custom made black quarter morocco clamshell case.

Ian Fleming's revised typescript of Diamonds are Forever, heavily revised by the author with numerous autograph additions, revealing Fleming's working practices as he honed the fourth Bond novel into its final shape.
Almost every page of the manuscript shows authorial tweaks in Fleming's characteristic blue ballpoint. Many tauten the plot, while some are apparently minor: a telephone number, for example, gets altered from Wisconsin 9.00456 to Wisconsin 7.3697. Others add vigour to the prose: when Bond checks himself into the Hotel Astor it was originally "in front of an elderly woman"; now it is "before a hatchet-faced woman with a bosom like a sandbag". Or, at page 88, "too many expense-account customers" becomes "too much expense-account aristocracy". While most pages contain one or two alterations, on eight occasions Fleming makes substantial prose additions: to pages 23 (Bill Tanner's disquisition on American gambling), 79 (Felix Leiter on "night eye" calluses), 111 (the auctioneer's patter), 119 (a racing announcement), 120 (ditto), 194 (Spang gives Bond a grilling), 221 (Bond receives Tiffany's message), and 263 (the Captain's remarks to Bond). Chapter 17 was originally called "Bond Forces the Race" but becomes "Thanks for the Ride". Every now and then the nagging voice of the publisher's reader can be heard, protesting at one point "but surely the world's diamond centre is Amsterdam?"
The first draft of Diamonds are Forever was typed by Fleming at Goldeneye early in 1955, both the top copy and carbon being now at the Lilly Library at the University of Indiana. This final draft was then typed by Fleming's secretary Ulrica Knowles from the Goldeneye typescript, as a fair copy with this top copy going first to the publisher's reader and then to Fleming for his final revisions. The carbon copy was sold by auction in December 2002. The carbon was marked up by the copy-editor, but had only "two annotations... apparently in the author's own hand".
Original manuscripts and typescripts of Fleming's major works are extremely rare on the market, this being one of only three full typescripts known in private hands, the other two The Man With The Golden Gun and You Only Live Twice, both containing significantly fewer authorial annotations.

Stock ID: 40887