70 years ago: 'The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning'

Note the name of the author

NEXT Thursday April 13, 2023, marks the 70th anniversary of a momentous day in the life of a birder who lived in the West Indies.

It saw the publication of his first novel which opens with the sentence: "The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nauseating at three in the morning."

Its title was Casino Royale, and its author was Ian Fleming who famously named his hero, 007, after James Bond (1900-1989), writer of the text for one of his favourite books, Birds of The West Indies.

Fleming, an Old Etonian, did not enjoy a long life - he died, aged 56, in 1964.

                                            

He once claimed to have daily smoked 70 cigarettes and drunk a bottle of gin.

In his notebook, he wrote: "Live until you’re dead."

                                      

Ian Fleming - he enjoyed smoking and gin

* A fascinating book about the ornithologist, James Bond, has been written by American birder and author Jim Wright. It is available via online sources.