April 13, 1953: Casino Royale Was Published

"It was not the first spy novel, but Casino Royale would elevate the espionage genre into the elite levels of popular culture. Arthur Conan Doyle, William Le Queux and Joseph Conrad were only some of the accomplished authors who took a shot at spy fiction in previous decades. But, Fleming was the first to combine style and sexiness with the dangerous world of espionage."