John Yorke looks at Casino Royale, the novel by Ian Fleming that introduced James Bond to the world. First published in 1953, Fleming’s thrilling novel plunges us immediately into the murky underworld of high stakes gambling. Today we may be more familiar with Bond as portrayed in the movies, but here we discover a more nuanced character. James Bond is vulnerable and at times filled with self-doubt, a far cry from the confident hero on the screen. Bond is on a mission to confront a private banker called Le Chiffre in a baccarat game at the Casino Royale and it doesn’t all go to plan. John Yorke first read Casino Royale at the age of twelve and credits it with a lifetime of enthusiasm for reading novels. In this Opening Lines he explains why.

John has worked in television and radio for 30 years and shares his experience as he unpacks the themes and impact of the books, plays and stories that are being dramatised in BBC Radio 4’s Sunday Drama series. As former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production he has worked on some of the most popular shows in Britain - from EastEnders to The Archers, Life on Mars to Shameless.  As creator of the BBC Writers Academy, he's trained a generation of screenwriters - now with over 70 green lights and thousands of hours of television to their names.  He is the author of Into the Woods, the bestselling book on narrative, and he writes, teaches and consults on all forms of narrative - including many podcasts for R4.

Contributor: Kim Sherwood, author and creative writing lecturer, University of Edinburgh

Reader: Matthew Gravelle Sound: Sean Kerwin Researcher: Henry Tydeman Production Hub Coordinator: Nina Semple Producer: Mark Rickards Executive Producer: Sara Davies

A Pier production for BBC Radio 4