With the recent arrest of Maria Butina as a Russian spy, I thought this might be the Right Time to share “Rod Gray” (aka, Gardner F. Fox) and the spicy LADY FROM L.U.S.T. series with you. This risqué series of James Bond spoof spy novels featuring a female agent started off being published by Tower Books (remember them?) and when Tower folded, the series moved to Belmont Books. For more details on the series, you can check out Lynn Monroe’s essay here.
THE LADY FROM L.U.S.T. Series:
First set (1967-1972) 60c, 75c, 95c
1. THE LADY FROM LUST – Tower 43-804, 1967. Rader cover. 60c
2. LAY ME ODDS – Tower 43-860, Rader cover
3. THE 69 PLEASURES – Tower 43-912, Rader cover
4. 5 BEDS TO MECCA – Tower 43-944, Rader cover
5. THE HOT MAHATMA – Tower 44-989, 1968. Rader cover, 75c
6. TO RUSSIA WITH LUST – Tower 44-126, Rader cover
7. KISS MY ASSASSIN – Tower 44-160, Rader cover
8. SOUTH OF THE BORDELLO – Tower 44-171, 1969. Rader cover
9. THE POISONED PUSSY – Tower 45-212, 95c, Rader cover
(Rader leaves Midwood-Tower, 1969)
10. THE BIG SNATCH – Tower 45-276, artist unknown
11. LADY IN HEAT – Tower 45-299, artist unknown
12. LAID IN THE FUTURE – Tower T-095-1, artist unknown.
13. BLOW MY MIND – Tower T-095-3, 1970. Artist unknown.
14. THE COPULATION EXPLOSION –Belmont B95-2008, photo coverr
(1. LUST, BE A LADY TONIGHT – Belmont B95-2020, photo cover. 2nd of THE LADY FROM LUST, with new title and 95c price.
(2. LAY ME ODDS – Belmont B95-2026 – Belmont B95-2026,
2nd printing, photo covers recreates Rader art.
(3. THE 69 PLEASURES – Belmont B95-2043, 2nd printing, photo cover recreates Rader art.
(4. 5 BEDS TO MECCA – Belmont B95-2052, 2nd printing, photo cover recreates Rader art.
15. EASY RIDE – Belmont B95-2076, photo cover
16. THE LADY TAKES IT ALL OFF – Belmont B95-2114, 1971, photo cover
17. TURNED ON TO LUST – Belmont B95-2170, photo cover
18. SKIN GAME DAME – Belmont-Tower BT 50214, 1972, photo cover
Second set, 1973-74, 95c (2nd printings unless noted)
1. LUST, BE A LADY TONIGHT – Belmont Tower BT 50516, 3rd printing of THE LADY FROM LUST, 1973, artist unknown
2. LAY ME ODDS – BT 50542, 3rd pr, artist unknown
3. THE 69 PLEASURES – BT 50559, 3rd pr, artist unknown
4. 5 BEDS TO MECCA – BT 50566, 3rd pr, artist unknown
5. SOUTH OF THE BORDELLO – BT 50582, artist unknown
(This was #8 in the first set. The first 5 books in the second set are not identified by a set number on the cover. Numbering begins with #6)
6. KISS MY ASSASSIN – BT 50594, artist unknown, #7 in the first set
7. SOCK IT TO ME – BT 50604, reprints #9, THE POISONED PUSSY, with new title. Reworks Rader art.
8. THE HOT MAHATMA – BT 50617, #5 in the first set, reworks Rader art.
9. TO RUSSIA WITH LUST – BT 50628, #6 in the first set, reworks Rader art.
10. THE LADY TAKES IT ALL OFF – BT 50636, 1974, #16 in the first set, artist unknown
11. LADY IN HEAT – BT 50649, photo cover
12. BLOW MY MIND – BT 50660, #13 in the first set, photo cover
13. LAID IN THE FUTURE – BT 50667, #12 in the first set, photo
14. THE COPULATION EXPLOSION – BT 50678, new photo cover
15. TURNED ON TO LUST – BT 50692, #17 in the first set, new photo cover
16. THE BIG SNATCH – BT 50710, #10 in the first set, photo cover
17. EASY RIDE – BT 50727, #15 in the first set, new photo cover
18. SKIN GAME DAME – BT 50742, new photo cover.
THE NEW LADY FROM LUST, 1975, $1.25, photo covers
1. GO FOR BROKE – BT 50777
2. HAVE A SNORT! – BT 50794
3. TARGET FOR TONIGHT – BT 50805
4. THE MARACAIBO AFFAIR – BT 50814
5. VOODOO KILL – BT 50829
6. THE LADY KILLER – BT 50838
7. KILL HER WITH LOVE – BT 50858
1. THE LADY FROM LUST – BT 51102, no date. 4th printing restores original title with new cover painting by unknown artist.
I remember Tower but don’t recall them publishing anything good. Gardner Fox did some fantasy/sf novels. I read a couple and found them pretty bad. I think he’s best remembered for his comic book work for DC.
Steve, you’re right about Gardner F. Fox working in the comic book industry. These LADY FROM L.U.S.T. paperbacks read like comic books with some sex thrown in.
Belmont and Tower (and Belmont-Tower) were pretty crappy publishers whose books always seemed cheesy to me – unattractive, cheap looking, browning pages, etc. They published some decent authors – Frank Gruber, Jonathan Craig – but mostly reprints from Gold Medal and other better publishers. I never read any of the Lady From L.U.S.T. books, though I do like the subtlety (ha!) of some of the titles. Had they come out ten years earlier, I’m sure my teenage self would have gobbled them up.
Jeff, Tower and then Belmont-Tower sold a lot of these cheap faux-James Bond spy paperbacks. Teenage boys would find these books irresistible.
Omg—does this bring back memories. Back in the early 1970s (when we were in our early teens), two friends and I found (God knows where—but in those pre-internet days, curious minds had to be recourceful) a copy of the first Lady from LUST book, which we read with the innocence of youth. It was incredibly smutty and featured all sorts of permutations which, at that time, seemed unbelievable (“Do people really do THAT???”). I’m happy to say I’m still friends with those two women and a few years back one of them sent me a pristine copy of TLFL book that had been so important a part of our non-school education. I must say, I may have been reading it with nostalgia, but it still holds up well. Thanks for the trip down memory lane!
Deb, glad to provide some nostalgia from your youth! I’m sure many teenage guys and girls learned some fun facts by reading the LADY FROM L.U.S.T.!
Deb, great story! Glad you enjoyed it. In my early teens (ten years earlier), I was reading RIchard S. Prather’s Shell Scott, the James Bond books, and Earl Norman’s pseudo-Shell Scott, Burns Bannion (KILL ME IN YOKOHAMA, etc.). I would have enjoyed The Lady From L.U.S.T.!
I checked Amazon and they have a lot of Fox titles (in various other series) for $2.99 or less on Kindle.
“They call me Double Oh Sex because sex is my favorite weapon” is a classic line.
Jeff, the LADY FROM L.U.S.T. books provided much needed Sex Education back in the late Sixties and early Seventies!
Check your email, George. I sent you some pics of my copy of the first TLFL.
Deb, thanks for the photos of that classic book! Great cover! Excellent blurb, too! Love the purple nail polish, too!
Jeff & Jackie made the same comment! That’s my go-to nail color: Vivid Violet!
Oh good grief.
Rick, just something a little different from usual. I’ll be back in the groove tomorrow.
I’d rather hear about this classic literature than a coffee maker! Wasn’t Belmont (or maybe Tower) run by a Mafia guy?
Bob, all I know about Belmont-Tower was that they were slow payers to the writers.
I tried one book in the series and it left me cold because “Ted Mark” (Theodore Gottlieb) did it so much better with his THE MAN FROM O.R.G.Y. series.
Jerry, you’re right about THE MAN FROM O.R.G.Y. being fun. I loved the covers on those Lancer paperbacks!