Customer Reviews (2)

Saint Saga #1.66, #03, #04, #08
Five complete Saint novels, unabridged?Not if the list of contents on the cover is accurate.

The Saint Closes the Case (original title The Last Hero) and The Avenging Saint (Knight Templar) are certainly complete novels, and what's more, two of the best.But "The Man Who Was Clever" and "The Lawless Lady" are merely two of the three stories in Enter the Saint, the other being "The Policeman with Wings".The Saint vs. Scotland Yard (original title The Holy Terror) is not a novel at all, but three more "novellas" of the same kind.

So this looks to me not like 5 complete Saint books, but 3.66.

I do like the picture on the cover, though.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Early swashbuckling Saint.
Contains Enter the Saint (which is in turn made up of "The Man Who Was Clever" and "The Lawless Lady"), The Last Hero/The Saint Closes the Case, The Avenging Saint/Knight Templar, and The Saint vsScotland Yard.

"Adventure came to him not so much because he soughtit as because he brazenly expected it. He believed that life was full ofadventure, and he went forward in the full blaze and surge of thatbelief." -- from The Last Hero

Starts with the 2nd of the Saint'sadventures, which was the first where the Saint really began to hit hisstride. (Charteris himself didn't like the first Saint book, Meet theTiger, very much.) In those days, the Saint was accompanied not only byPatricia Holm, but by other wearers of the halo: Roger Conway (see esp. TheAvenging Saint), Dicky Tremayne (see esp. Enter the Saint), Norman Kent(see esp. The Last Hero).

These books cover the first appearances of:Claude Eustace Teal of Scotland Yard, Rayt Marius the arms dealer, andPrince Rudolf. ... Read more

Product Description
Professor Smith-Smyth-Smythe of Timbuctoo was a firm believer in the cheerful hospitality of the English countrside, until he registered at the Beacon Inn, where he was drugged and otherwide treated with deliberate disdain. Of course, the fact that he was Simon Templar, The Saint, might have had some effect on the temperature of his welcome. **MASS MARKET PAPER** ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Saint Saga #06
Three more stories from the early days of the Saint.

"The Story of a Dead Man" finds him turning businessman for very unorthodox reasons.

"The Impossible Crime" is, among other things, the author's offering in that favourite genre of detective fiction, the Locked Room Murder Mystery.

In "The National Debt", in the identity of Professor Rameses Smith-Smyth-Smythe (!), he takes on some 20th century pirates operating from an inn in South Wales.For those interested in such trivia, this story features the first appearance of Basher Tope, later to materialise in The Holy Terror and finally in Once More the Saint.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Two stories: one is "Saintly", other is not
This book contains two stories; "The National Debt": The adventure of Professor Rameses Smith (alias the Saint) at Beacon Inn, South Wales. "The Man Who Could Not Die": Miles Hallin was reputed asan immortal man, but the Saint smelled a rat.

If it is your first Saintbook, I recommend you to read the latter story first.The former story isenjoyable, but you will not see what the Saint is; you might misunderstandhim as a private detective or so.The latter story is more"Saintly"; the Saint smells out the evil and tries to get rid ofit - illegally. Both stories are enjoyable, but their plots are crude.Asalways in the Saint novels? ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (12)

Saint Saga #16
This full-length Saint adventure finds Simon in search of sunken treasure -- or rather, in search of people in search of it.

The background to the story is impeccably set up.The breadth of Charteris's knowledge was astonishing: there is even a passing reference to verifying Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, which at that point (1936) had collected nothing but ridicule.

In terms of continuity there are several references to earlier Saintly adventures, Orace figures prominently, and Roger Conway and Peter Quentin join in.

Nevertheless, I like this book much less than other Saint stories of the same period.But I'm not sure why, unless it's the predictability of the plot and the ordinariness of the heroine.Perhaps there just isn't as much fun in it.

So only three stars, for me.Your mileage may differ.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #16
This full-length Saint adventure finds Simon in search of sunken treasure -- or rather, in search of people in search of it.

The background to the story is impeccably set up.The breadth of Charteris's knowledge was astonishing: there is even a passing reference to verifying Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, which at that point (1936) had collected nothing but ridicule.

In terms of continuity there are several references to earlier Saintly adventures, Orace figures prominently, and Roger Conway and Peter Quentin join in.

Nevertheless, I like this book much less than other Saint stories of the same period.But I'm not sure why, unless it's the predictability of the plot and the ordinariness of the heroine.Perhaps there just isn't as much fun in it.

So only three stars, for me.Your mileage may differ.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #16
This full-length Saint adventure finds Simon in search of sunken treasure -- or rather, in search of people in search of it.

The background to the story is impeccably set up.The breadth of Charteris's knowledge was astonishing: there is even a passing reference to verifying Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, which at that point (1936) had collected nothing but ridicule.

In terms of continuity there are several references to earlier Saintly adventures, Orace figures prominently, and Roger Conway and Peter Quentin join in.

Nevertheless, I like this book much less than other Saint stories of the same period.But I'm not sure why, unless it's the predictability of the plot and the ordinariness of the heroine.Perhaps there just isn't as much fun in it.

So only three stars, for me.Your mileage may differ.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #16
This full-length Saint adventure finds Simon in search of sunken treasure -- or rather, in search of people in search of it.

The background to the story is impeccably set up.The breadth of Charteris's knowledge was astonishing: there is even a passing reference to verifying Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, which at that point (1936) had collected nothing but ridicule.

In terms of continuity there are several references to earlier Saintly adventures, Orace figures prominently, and Roger Conway and Peter Quentin join in.

Nevertheless, I like this book much less than other Saint stories of the same period.But I'm not sure why, unless it's the predictability of the plot and the ordinariness of the heroine.Perhaps there just isn't as much fun in it.

So only three stars, for me.Your mileage may differ.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #16
This full-length Saint adventure finds Simon in search of sunken treasure -- or rather, in search of people in search of it.

The background to the story is impeccably set up.The breadth of Charteris's knowledge was astonishing: there is even a passing reference to verifying Wegener's Theory of Continental Drift, which at that point (1936) had collected nothing but ridicule.

In terms of continuity there are several references to earlier Saintly adventures, Orace figures prominently, and Roger Conway and Peter Quentin join in.

Nevertheless, I like this book much less than other Saint stories of the same period.But I'm not sure why, unless it's the predictability of the plot and the ordinariness of the heroine.Perhaps there just isn't as much fun in it.

So only three stars, for me.Your mileage may differ.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Super Reader
Insouciant adventurer seeks new pleasant accomodation, fortifications a plus. Must have exciting local diversions, such as hunting genius assassins, readily available.

All real estate with personable young women as neighbours, along with esteemed after dinner drinks companions will be viewed highly favorable. Seaside air an added bonus.

Saint Saga #01
"Meet The Tiger" (later retitled "The Saint meets the Tiger") published in 1928, was Leslie Charteris's first book in the Saint Saga (even though Hodder & Stoughton later pretended that Enter the Saint was, presumably because they weren't the publishers of the former).

It's a useful (though not infallible) rule of thumb that if a book doesn't hook you by the end of the first page, it's not going to.Here are the first two paragraphs of "Meet the Tiger":

`Baycombe is a village on the North of Devon coast that is so isolated from civilisation that even at the height of the summer holiday season it is neglected by the rush of lean and plump, tall and short, papas, mammas, and infants.Consequently, there was some sort of excuse for a man who had taken up his dwelling there falling into the monotony of regular habits -- even for a man who had only lived there for three days -- even (let the worst be known) for a man so unconventional as Simon Templar.

It was not so very long after Simon Templar had settled down in Baycombe that the peacefully sedate village became most unsettled, and things began to happen there that shocked and flabbergasted its peacefully sedate inhabitants, as will be related; but at first Simon Templar found Baycombe as dull as it had been for the last six hundred years.'

Not the greatest opening Leslie Charteris ever wrote -- he was to become pretty skillful later -- but quite respectable for a young man of 21 in only his third book.The character so introduced, of course, was to become the longest-running fictional hero of the 20th century.

Even at this early stage, the Saint (plausibly from his initials -- but you knew that) is a more well-developed, more travelled and certainly more eccentric character than his near-contemporary, Bulldog Drummond.There are few of the wilder parts of the world which he has not visited, and few of those in which he has not had adventures.He has won a gold rush in South Africa, and lost his holding in a poker game twenty-four hours later.He has run guns into China, whisky into the United States and perfume into England.He deserted after a year in the Spanish Foreign Legion (Drummond would have been horrified at the idea of joining, let alone deserting).

Likewise Patricia Holm, the Saint's companion in so many later adventures, is a much more interesting heroine than boring little Phyllis Drummond, who exists only to be kidnapped and rescued -- someone whom the swine have got, or might get, and nothing more.

The elements of the plot are pretty much the standard stuff of the day: a debonair hero for the reader to identify with; a million dollars in gold stolen from a Chicago bank by a mysterious mastermind known as The Tiger; a gang of ruthless criminals; and of course a damsel in distress.What separates this from the majority of such efforts is the way Charteris plays with these elements -- tongue clearly in cheek, in places -- and weaves a story that carries you along from first to last.Some of the characters (Algy, for instance, or Aunt Agatha) are so skillfully drawn that you feel you'd recognise them if they walked into your local pub.

Other characters that recur later include Simon's faithful manservant Orace, and -- briefly, in Knight Templar -- Detective Inspector Carn.

From what I can make out, "Meet The Tiger" is very difficult to get hold of; but if you want to read the Saint books it's worth making the effort.They're definitely best if read in the right order.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

A great start, a flawed book
"Meet the Tiger", as my old copy calls this, introduces us to Simon Templar and a selection of his cohorts. The Saint (as he becomes known) is drawn with very broad brush-strokes in this first outing, but he is clearly the character that became one of the top fiction characters of a generation or two. Darker than he would later be in the 30s books (although no the cypher he eventually became once the war started), the Templar of "Meet the Tiger" has all the charm of the later Saint, while lacking the moral ambiguity that later made him such a favourited. In short, he's a crook, who transcends his criminal tendencies through (let's be honest) lust rather than a higher moral code - a personality error that was quickly fixed by Charteris.

A real plus for this book is that Charteris had yet to fall into the trap of clumsy, polysyllabic hunmour that marred some of his other works. He tells the story and tells it straight - and it's (in the best sense) a ripping yarn.

They don't write them like this anymore - it's like a bridge between Bulldog Drummond and James Bond.

Where it all began...
THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER (originally entitled simply MEET THE TIGER) was Leslie Charteris' very first novel about his now long-running series hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". First published in 1928, certainly it is somewhat dated. Still, the setting is interesting, the mystery at least clever, and the characters range from impressive (Templar himself and Patricia Holm), to stereotyped but delightful ('Orace), to a little ctoo much P.G. Wodehouse/Bertie Wooster in many of the supporting players. That being said, THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER is a rousing debut, and this early Simon Templar is much harder and more resourceful than his later television incarnation, while at the same time his optimistic determination and rakish smile continue to amuse and delight. Charteris followed MEET THE TIGER with some "prequel" Saint short stories, and then perfected his hero in a series of novels about the encroaching war. A couple of other strong Saint novels (and several perfect short stories) followed, before the character lapsed into formula. Still, there were a few gems in those later decades-- and The Saint has been around a very long time. Still, THE SAINT MEETS THE TIGER was first, and should be experienced. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Saint Saga #05
Three stories from the early days of the Saint.In "The Logical Adventure" he deals in a pretty unequivocal way with a ring of (what used to be called) white slavers."The Wonderful War" sees Simon planning and executing a bloodless revolution to overthrow a corrupt Latin American government, and in "The Man Who Could Not Die" he avenges the murder of a friend.

But although this is the fifth book in the Saint Saga, the exact chronology seems to be more involved.

The second story refers to events in the first, and is therefore later.But in that second story, the Saint still has his little throwing-knife Anna, which he loses in The Last Hero, the third book in the series.

On the other hand, in the last story Teal refers to Simon's Royal Pardon, which he gets at the end of the fourth book, Knight Templar.This is a strange, intense story, featuring a moody and irresponsible Saint; and I don't like it much, which is the reason for four stars instead of five.

Otherwise, vintage stuff from Charteris, whose excellent grasp of idiomatic Spanish stands him in good stead.

(Incidentally, those who view the Author's portrayal of Latin Americans with disfavour may be interested to know that he had previously written a book [The Bandit] with a Latin American hero.Probably not coincidentally, the Saint himself later [in "The Inland Revenue"] writes such a book.Could the outraged letter Simon receives in response be based on - perhaps even be taken taken verbatim from - one Charteris received?)

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #05
Three stories from the early days of the Saint.In "The Logical Adventure" he deals in a pretty unequivocal way with a ring of (what used to be called) white slavers."The Wonderful War" sees Simon planning and executing a bloodless revolution to overthrow a corrupt Latin American government, and in "The Man Who Could Not Die" he avenges the murder of a friend.

But although this is the fifth book in the Saint Saga, the exact chronology seems to be more involved.

The second story refers to events in the first, and is therefore later.But in that second story, the Saint still has his little throwing-knife Anna, which he loses in The Last Hero, the third book in the series.

On the other hand, in the last story Teal refers to Simon's Royal Pardon, which he gets at the end of the fourth book, Knight Templar.This is a strange, intense story, featuring a moody and irresponsible Saint; and I don't like it much, which is the reason for four stars instead of five.

Otherwise, vintage stuff from Charteris, whose excellent grasp of idiomatic Spanish stands him in good stead.

(Incidentally, those who view the Author's portrayal of Latin Americans with disfavour may be interested to know that he had previously written a book [The Bandit] with a Latin American hero.Probably not coincidentally, the Saint himself later [in "The Inland Revenue"] writes such a book.Could the outraged letter Simon receives in response be based on - perhaps even be taken taken verbatim from - one Charteris received?)

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #05
Three stories from the early days of the Saint.In "The Logical Adventure" he deals in a pretty unequivocal way with a ring of (what used to be called) white slavers."The Wonderful War" sees Simon planning and executing a bloodless revolution to overthrow a corrupt Latin American government, and in "The Man Who Could Not Die" he avenges the murder of a friend.

But although this is the fifth book in the Saint Saga, the exact chronology seems to be more involved.

The second story refers to events in the first, and is therefore later.But in that second story, the Saint still has his little throwing-knife Anna, which he loses in The Last Hero, the third book in the series.

On the other hand, in the last story Teal refers to Simon's Royal Pardon, which he gets at the end of the fourth book, Knight Templar.This is a strange, intense story, featuring a moody and irresponsible Saint; and I don't like it much, which is the reason for four stars instead of five.

Otherwise, vintage stuff from Charteris, whose excellent grasp of idiomatic Spanish stands him in good stead.

(Incidentally, those who view the Author's portrayal of Latin Americans with disfavour may be interested to know that he had previously written a book [The Bandit] with a Latin American hero.Probably not coincidentally, the Saint himself later [in "The Inland Revenue"] writes such a book.Could the outraged letter Simon receives in response be based on - perhaps even be taken taken verbatim from - one Charteris received?)

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Saint Saga #18
Charteris's own stay in the Canary Isles and his command of Spanish allow him to portray this romp around pre-war Tenerife with a wealth of entertaining detail and local colour.

Following, from Madrid via Cádiz, the lead of some stolen jewels, the Saint and Hoppy Uniatz find themselves unexpectedly involved in addition with the theft of the prize-winning ticket for the Spanish National Lottery.

Another one of my favourite Saint novels.

Variously published as "Thieves' Picnic", "The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic" and "The Saint Bids Diamonds".

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #18
Charteris's own stay in the Canary Isles and his command of Spanish allow him to portray this romp around pre-war Tenerife with a wealth of entertaining detail and local colour.

Following, from Madrid via Cádiz, the lead of some stolen jewels, the Saint and Hoppy Uniatz find themselves unexpectedly involved in addition with the theft of the prize-winning ticket for the Spanish National Lottery.

Another one of my favourite Saint novels.

Variously published as "Thieves' Picnic", "The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic" and "The Saint Bids Diamonds".

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #18
Charteris's own stay in the Canary Isles and his command of Spanish allow him to portray this romp around pre-war Tenerife with a wealth of entertaining detail and local colour.

Following, from Madrid via Cádiz, the lead of some stolen jewels, the Saint and Hoppy Uniatz find themselves unexpectedly involved in addition with the theft of the prize-winning ticket for the Spanish National Lottery.

Another one of my favourite Saint novels.

Variously published as "Thieves' Picnic", "The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic" and "The Saint Bids Diamonds".

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #18
Charteris's own stay in the Canary Isles and his command of Spanish allow him to portray this romp around pre-war Tenerife with a wealth of entertaining detail and local colour.

Following, from Madrid via Cádiz, the lead of some stolen jewels, the Saint and Hoppy Uniatz find themselves unexpectedly involved in addition with the theft of the prize-winning ticket for the Spanish National Lottery.

Another one of my favourite Saint novels.

Variously published as "Thieves' Picnic", "The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic" and "The Saint Bids Diamonds".

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #18
Charteris's own stay in the Canary Isles and his command of Spanish allow him to portray this romp around pre-war Tenerife with a wealth of entertaining detail and local colour.

Following, from Madrid via Cádiz, the lead of some stolen jewels, the Saint and Hoppy Uniatz find themselves unexpectedly involved in addition with the theft of the prize-winning ticket for the Spanish National Lottery.

Another one of my favourite Saint novels.

Variously published as "Thieves' Picnic", "The Saint at the Thieves' Picnic" and "The Saint Bids Diamonds".

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Saint Saga #23
Published in 1942, this is the first of the wartime Saint books, and (to judge by a couple of tongue-in-check references) the first one on which American censorship clamped its clammy fingers, eliminating all the immoral activities that made the previous Saint books such fun.It's also the first one in which Charteris appears to have been paid for product placement of various alcoholic drinks.

There are three novellas:

In ARIZONA, the Saint foils an attempt by the Nazi-American Bund to take over a mineral-rich ranch.There are intriguing hints that Charteris knew of the Manhattan project, since the Saint says:

"[O]ne day thousands of men will be killed will be killed and cities will be blasted with what there is on this ranch."

The mineral concerned is later (sensibly) stated to be cinnabar; but cinnabar is not found in quantity in Arizona, and pitchblende is.

In PALM SPRINGS, the Saint bodyguards a spoiled playboy who has received a threat on his life.

In HOLLYWOOD the Saint solves the murder of an obnoxious film producer, commenting:

"I feel rather satisified about Ufferlitz getting killed... Once upon a time, before the Hays Office got hold of me, I might easily have killed him myself."

These last two stories do not sit well in wartime scenario, and, after the first one, lead one to wonder what on Earth the Saint can have been thinking of.

All three stories are rather dull by earlier standards.

Our hero tours the west
Debonair adventurer Simon Templar aka The Saint, is on a tour of the American West.His first stop is a ranch in Arizona where he rescues a lovely damsel from being swindled (or worse) from a gang of Nazis - yes Nazis the story was originally published more than fifty years ago.His next stop is Palm Springs where he joins a most unusual household as a bodyguard and finally takes a trip to Tinseltown and takes a whirl at the movie business.

Like many babyboomers I would sit in front of the tv, eagerly awaiting for the lilting tune that would signal the arrival of The Saint.Each week he would whisk me away to yet another exotic location where he would dispense his own particular brand of justice to another villain.Before my time others had eagerly awaited the latest Saint story to appear in their favorite magazine, or perhaps a new movie adventure at the local theater.This collection of vintage Saint stories will appeal to those of us who have these fond memories, who will recognize some of the outdated "current" references and will not be puzzled by a culture that has long ago passed away.Anyone who is unfamiliar with The Saint and his exploits will probably be unimpressed by this collection - their loss.

TSGW is a typical Saint story.
The book contains three stories , all dealing with the Saint's adventures in the West.The best is the first one where the Saint stops a gang of Nazis from mining Uranium in a ranch.The other two stories will also appeal toany reader. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Saint Saga #04
Although the Saint books are definitely best if read in the right order, most of them - especially the later ones - can be read in isolation without great loss.The present book, the direct sequel to The Last Hero, is the exception.

Once again arms-dealer Rayt Marius is plotting to start a war to increase demand for his products, and once again Simon and his friends frustrate his major plan.But of course, Marius has a second string to his bow, and the climax of "Knight Templar" is the most electrifying in any Saint book (and, incidentally, provides the mechanism whereby Simon is able to continue on through thirty-three more rather than spending the next forty years in gaol).

Crown Prince Rudolf, my very favourite villain, who only comes on stage towards the end of the earlier opus, appears early here in the tale of the Desecrated Royal Toothpaste.

BTW, the titles of ten of the Saint books were later - confusingly - changed, as follows:

01: Meet the Tiger -> The Saint Meets the Tiger
03: The Last Hero -> The Saint Closes the Case
04: Knight Templar -> The Avenging Saint
07: She Was A Lady -> The Saint Meets His Match
08: The Holy Terror -> The Saint vs. Scotland Yard
10: Once More the Saint -> The Saint and Mr. Teal
12: The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal -> The Saint in London
13: Boodle -> The Saint Intervenes
18: Thieves Picnic -> The Saint Bids Diamonds
19: Prelude for War -> The Saint Plays With Fire

The fatuity of the revised titles is nowhere more evident than with the present book and its antecedent: in "The Last Hero" the Saint does not close the case, and in "Knight Templar" the one thing he does not do is avenge the death of Norman Kent.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

A Strangely Charming Novel
This is a strange novel.I can point out a lot of defects of this novel; the style is old-fashioned and too figurative; the story is also old-fashioned; the plot is easy and crude. Nevertheless, I LIKE THIS NOVEL. It has some inexplainable charm that fascinates me.It may be partlybecause of a charm of the hero, Simon Templar, alias the Saint.

I didn'tknow this "Knight Templar (alias The Avenging Saint)" was acontinuation to "The Last Hero".I will read the previous story,too.

It has a tone of seriousness in its subject.
I liked the book for being different from the normal Saint stories. Theplot is wide and it makes you think. The Saint plays a more thoughtful rolein this story as he can't make a false move. He knows that he is the onlyone who knows anything about a coming war and he is the only one who canstop it.Actually, that's what I liked about this book. The Saint didn'tdo anything remotely rash in this book.

Knight Templar (alias The Avenging Saint)
If you already have The Avenging Saint, don't get this book.The publisher just changed the book's name and cover.

You may want to read "The Last Hero" before reading this book in order to really understand the background of this story.

The story starts with Simon Templar returning to England to revenge the death of a friend.Revenge isn't easy if every member of Scotland Yard is trying to arrest you for murder and other crimes.Simon soon learns he is the only person who can stop a major European war.Can Simon bash the villians, stop their war, and avoid arrest?Not quite; he only manages to achieve two of these objectives. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The Best Saint anthology?
It's always seemed to me that if you like the Saint stories enough to read more than a couple of them, it's worth starting at the beginning and reading them in the right order (as described in my So You'd Like To... Guide).Otherwise, you miss so much: to take just one example, the references in "The Simon Templar Foundation" to Rayt Marius (villain of The Last Hero and Knight Templar) will be meaningless to you.

However, if anthologies such as this are more to your taste, then this is where to start: all the stories are drawn from the pre-war books, which is to say the best ones.

Here's what you get:

From #02 Enter the Saint (1930)
* The Man Who Was Clever
From #05 Featuring the Saint (1931)
* The Wonderful War
From #06 Alias the Saint (1931)
* The Story of a Dead Man
From #08 The Holy Terror (aka The Saint vs. Scotland Yard) (1932)
* The Million Pound Day
From #10 Once More the Saint (aka The Saint and Mr Teal) (1933)
* The Death Penalty
From #11 The Brighter Buccaneer (1934)
* The Unblemished Bootlegger
* The Appalling Politician
From #12 The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (aka The Saint in London) (1934)
* The Simon Templar Foundation
From #13 Boodle (aka The Saint Intervenes) (1934)
* The Unfortunate Financier
* The Sleepless Knight
From #14 The Saint Goes On (1934)
* The High Fence
From #17 The Ace of Knaves (1937)
* The Unlicensed Victuallers
From #20 Follow the Saint (1939)
* The Affair of Hogsbotham

There are also, especially for this volume, informative and amusing comments on each story by the author himself.

The variety and quality of the stories make this, I believe, the best single-volume Saint anthology -- better by a small margin than the The Best of the Saint, Vol. 1, with which it has a 3-story overlap. ... Read more

Product Description
Readers are sure to enjoy rediscovering how ably Simon Templar, a.k.a. the Saint, manages to add a little more tarnish to his notorious halo. In this caper, the murderous, seamy life of Paris's Left Bank follows the Saint back to London and silently stalks its prey. This is the second installment of this classic series. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Saint Saga #10
The Saint, returning to England via France after his round against Prince Rudolf and the entire German police force, has counteracted Claud Eustace Teal's ambition to arrest him immediately by a method that (let it be admitted) is not really cricket, and which draws upon him the disapproval of his lady; but which is effective nonetheless.

In Paris he has heard the last words of the victim of a murder that he was too late to witness.But this is enough draw the killer's attention to him, involving him in the first of the three adventures related here.The mainspring of the story is a scientific invention that was implausible even by the standards of 1933; but if those with a knowledge of atomic physics can put it temporarily aside, they will still find an enjoyable yarn.

The next story finds Simon helping Chief Inspector Teal for once, combatting an outbreak of gangsterism in London, and in the final one he deals in a fairly drastic way with two purveyors of something possibly even more unpleasant.

All of these novelettes, especially the last two, are rather grimmer and more serious than the general run of Saint stories, despite several comic interludes.But then, who wants a non-stop diet of froth?

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Not up to other Saint books
Compared with other books starring the Saint, this one seems a bit lame.Part of the problem is that there are three stories, very loosely connected and not connected with any purpose other than to be able to put the three tales in the same book.

The separate stories are set in England almost entirely, with the third set in the Isles of Scilly, a location virtually unknown in literatures.The islands are off the west cost of Cornwall, Landsend, in the Atlantic Ocean.Warmed by the Gulf Stream, the Isles of Scilly (not the Scilly Islands, as Charteris calls them)have sub-tropical plants, including palm trees, hundreds of miles north of our state of Maine.

The Saint is an interesting character, a rogue, a detective, suspected thief, an Arthur Raffles with a soupcon of James Bond and a sophisticated Mike Hammer.It is his world views that make Saint books work.He usually operates in some exotic locale, but less so here.I kept expecting him to go off on a grand adventure, as he does in other books, but he remains rather domesticated.And the outcomes of the stories were less exciting as well.

Saint Saga #10
The Saint, returning to England via France after his round against Prince Rudolf and the entire German police force, has counteracted Claud Eustace Teal's ambition to arrest him immediately by a method that (let it be admitted) is not really cricket, and which draws upon him the disapproval of his lady; but which is effective nonetheless.

In Paris he has heard the last words of the victim of a murder that he was too late to witness.But this is enough draw the killer's attention to him, involving him in the first of the three adventures related here.The mainspring of the story is a scientific invention that was implausible even by the standards of 1933; but if those with a knowledge of atomic physics can put it temporarily aside, they will still find an enjoyable yarn.

The next story finds Simon helping Chief Inspector Teal for once, combatting an outbreak of gangsterism in London, and in the final one he deals in a fairly drastic way with two purveyors of something possibly even more unpleasant.

All of these novelettes, especially the last two, are rather grimmer and more serious than the general run of Saint stories, despite several comic interludes.But then, who wants a non-stop diet of froth?

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

great book, one little problem
I loved this book, however there is one little thing that I'd like to point out. The editors, when reviewing this book, did a very poor job in overlooking a very obvious mistake. The title is The Saint and Mr. Teal. However, if you look on the spine, the title reads, The Saint and Mrs. Teal.

The Saint and "Poor" Mr. Teal
This book contains three stories; "The Gold Standard", "The Man from St. Louis" and "The Death Penalty".

The firststory seems to be a continuation to "The Saint vs Scotland Yard"in which the Saint stole illicit diamonds and ran away to Europe.In"The Gold Standard", the Saint is involved in a murder at Parisand goes back to England to be a headache for poor Inspector Teal.Thesecond story is a continuation to the first story, but the third story haslittle connection with the previous two stories and Mr. Teal doesn't appearon the stage.

All the three stories are much better plotted than earlierSaint novels (such as "Knight Templar" and "Alias theSaint" I read before).The stories are fast-paced and action-packed.And the endings are sophisticated; the Saint gets rid of the evil illegallyas always, but he exhibits various solutions, not only simply kill theevil. ... Read more

Product Description
Send For The Saint, Leslie Charteris' double detective story. ... Read more

Product Description
The now legendary character created by Leslie Charteris has survived nearly three-quarters of a century of perilous action and narrow escapes with nary a hair out of place nor the slightest jolt to his jauntily tipped halo. From his earliest days battling "crooks, blood suckers, traders in vice and damnation" (and cracking the occasional safe on the side), the Saint has captured the imaginations of millions.

Using the voluminous correspondence and writings of author Leslie Charteris and examining the many incarnations of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint," in other media, a detailed history emerges. Includes plot synopses of the radio and television programs, with air dates and production credits; descriptions of the movies and their credits; a bibliography, reviews of the books, and quotes from the principals. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Good but lopsided
The book is a thorough review of Simon Templar's complicated history on film and television. I do wish more attention had been paid to his origins and development in print, though. He is, and always will be, Leslie Charteris' idealized alter ego.

The Brighter Bibliographer, or Archive the Saint
As other reviewers have said, this is a remarkable work.Burl Barer has covered a tremendous amount of ground organizing and sifting all the various appearances of the Robin Hood of Modern Crime "in print, radio, film, and television" between the publication of The Saint Meets the Tiger in 1928 and this book's own publication in 1993. Merely sorting out all the different titles under which creator Leslie Charteris' Saint novels were published would be achievement enough, but Barer also gives us a chronology of all printed Saint stories, cast and story synopses of Saintly radio and television dramas, and even -- thorough to the point of ridiculousness -- verbatim production company press releases for six made-for-TV Saint movies in the late 1980s.

But this book is far more than bibliography, impressive thought the bibliography is. What I found far more interesting was Barer's portrait of Charteris himself, and what struck me as his somewhat ambiguous relationship with his creation Simon Templar. On the one hand, he was a spirited defender of Templar's biography, personality, and distinguishing characteristics, keeping a close eye on the way the Saint was portrayed in all his various media incarnations over many decades. As a writer myself, I particularly enjoyed reading his comments to various scriptwriters about the poor job they were doing on plot or characterization.

At the same time, however, Charteris was more than willing to let those other writers do the heavy-lifting of producing new Saint stories for his approval and to be published under his name. If a story, movie, or radio drama ended up being, frankly, not very good then, as Charteris said in reference to those 1989 TV movies, "The old joke about crying all the way to the bank is my only consolation" (p. 230).

There are some things this book is not, and one of them is a character study of the Saint. Although Templar's biography comes through in these pages, Barer does not devote to the novels the same attention he does to the radio plays or movies, which I regret. But that may be a reflection of my own tendency to think of the Saint primarily as a literary character who was then translated, often not very well, to other media. Barer takes a more holistic view, I think, in which the Saint as portrayed by Roger Moore, the extravagantly betrousered Ian Ogilvy, or the "Thomas Magnum by way of Matt Houston" Andrew Clarke (p. 222) is as definitive a part of the Saintly canon as are the novels.

I don't know if I would call this book "essential reading for the Saint fan," simply because it is possible to enjoy the stories without needing to know the information contained here. But for readers interested not only in the stories but in all the Saint's many manifestations and interpretations -- and most valuable, I would think -- a fascinating look at the author behind it all, then Burl Barer's book has stood the test of 15 years and is worth keeping handy today.

Recommended, but.....
This book is indeed a good buy if you want to learn more about the character of The Saint and his creator Leslie Charteris. Most of the other reviewers already touched on the positive aspects of the book, but beware: It is not perfect!

The author had extensive access to Charteris' archives and at times comes across too much like the voice of The Saint's creator and takes his side too much. On the one hand, the Roger Moore TV series e.g. is not that bad; on the other hand - and quite frankly - the original Saint novels aren't always that good! A little bit of critical distance would have served the author much better.

Also, the book has an amazing 419 pages, though only 243 are proper text about the character in all its incarnations. The remaining 176 are appendices that primarily deal with extensive plot summaries of TV and radio shows. I am not a great fan of books that rely too heavily on synopsis to fill their pages.

Mind you, overall this *is* a book that can be recommended to anyone interested in this pulp hero, but please beware of the caveats.

Absolutely Complete
Burl Barer really captures everything about the Saint in this book. It isa huge source of information, and everytime I read it I find out somethingnew!

Phenomenal!
Even if you aren't a fan of the Saint, you should still buy this book. It's a remarkable, inside account of how a character is translated into books, comics, radio, tv and film. A must-have for anyone thinking of breaking into publishing, tv or film ... Read more

Product Description
This book talks about how the Templar makes the acquaintance of his arch-villain, destroys a dangerous death ray, and thereby saves the world from catastrophe and a second Great War. It was written in 1930. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Saint Saga #03
For my money, this is the best of all the Saint books.On one level merely a good thriller, on another level it's a very serious book indeed, because it deals with the horrors of war and what it's worth sacrificing to avoid them; and its great merit is that it makes its points without ever become preachy or leaden.

Kingsley Amis, in his insightful and entertaining opus The James Bond Dossier, expends considerable space on considering what goes into the making of a good villain.Charteris's best villains are easily the equal of Fleming's, and "The Last Hero" has two them!

One may safely invent a sinister arms merchant from any country (although Rayt Marius is much more sinister than most).To present a sinister head of state, however, presents a problem: obviously one can't use a real head of state, for reasons of both plausibility and libel.There are two traditional solutions, both moderately unsatisfactory: to invent a fictional country, which will irritate any reader with the basics of geography; or to be mysterious about which state it actually is.Charteris here opts for the second alternative, and great villain though Marius undoubtedly is, for me Crown Prince Rudolf of ----- is the best in the whole Saint Saga.

(It is of course logically pointless to try and work out what the country really is, but it's quite fun trying anyway, as Charteris obviously realises as he plants clues in various places.It's somewhere around the Balkans.The Saint doesn't yet speak the language, which therefore can't be French, German or Spanish.The Prince is Marius's own prince, and Marius was once a guttersnipe in the slums of Prague; on the other hand, we later learn that the Prince's appendix is in Budapest.The most telling clue [not divulged 'til Getaway] is that the Prince's family owned the Montenegrin crown jewels.[King Nikola of Montenegro might in fact be the prototype of Rudolf's father, were not the time-frame all wrong.This is cool juggling.How many readers are familiar enough with Montenegrin history to know that he didn't in fact have son called Rudolf?] )

Professor K.B. Vargan has invented a weapon called the Electron Cloud, capable of incinerating large numbers of people in minimum time.The British Government wants it, and so does Prince Rudolf, who has military ambitions.The story revolves around the efforts of the Saint and his friends to keep the weapon from ever being used at all, for the sake of the men and boys "who'd just be herded into it like dumb cattle to the slaughter, drunk with a miserable and futile heroism, to struggle blindly through a few days of squalid agony and die in the dirt".

The familiar friends - Orace, Pat, Roger, Norman - are all here.Charteris was later dismissive of his early work, as older authors often are.But whatever its deficiencies, this book and its sequel Knight Templar have a drive and fire, and an idealism (eccentric though it be), that lifts them above the mundane.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #03
For my money, this is the best of all the Saint books.On one level merely a good thriller, on another level it's a very serious book indeed, because it deals with the horrors of war and what it's worth sacrificing to avoid them; and its great merit is that it makes its points without ever become preachy or leaden.

Kingsley Amis, in his insightful and entertaining opus The James Bond Dossier, expends considerable space on considering what goes into the making of a good villain.Charteris's best villains are easily the equal of Fleming's, and "The Last Hero" has two them!

One may safely invent a sinister arms merchant from any country (although Rayt Marius is much more sinister than most).To present a sinister head of state, however, presents a problem: obviously one can't use a real head of state, for reasons of both plausibility and libel.There are two traditional solutions, both moderately unsatisfactory: to invent a fictional country, which will irritate any reader with the basics of geography; or to be mysterious about which state it actually is.Charteris here opts for the second alternative, and great villain though Marius undoubtedly is, for me Crown Prince Rudolf of ----- is the best in the whole Saint Saga.

(It is of course logically pointless to try and work out what the country really is, but it's quite fun trying anyway, as Charteris obviously realises as he plants clues in various places.It's somewhere around the Balkans.The Saint doesn't yet speak the language, which therefore can't be French, German or Spanish.The Prince is Marius's own prince, and Marius was once a guttersnipe in the slums of Prague; on the other hand, we later learn that the Prince's appendix is in Budapest.The most telling clue [not divulged 'til Getaway] is that the Prince's family owned the Montenegrin crown jewels.[King Nikola of Montenegro might in fact be the prototype of Rudolf's father, were not the time-frame all wrong.This is cool juggling.How many readers are familiar enough with Montenegrin history to know that he didn't in fact have son called Rudolf?] )

Professor K.B. Vargan has invented a weapon called the Electron Cloud, capable of incinerating large numbers of people in minimum time.The British Government wants it, and so does Prince Rudolf, who has military ambitions.The story revolves around the efforts of the Saint and his friends to keep the weapon from ever being used at all, for the sake of the men and boys "who'd just be herded into it like dumb cattle to the slaughter, drunk with a miserable and futile heroism, to struggle blindly through a few days of squalid agony and die in the dirt".

The familiar friends - Orace, Pat, Roger, Norman - are all here.Charteris was later dismissive of his early work, as older authors often are.But whatever its deficiencies, this book and its sequel Knight Templar have a drive and fire, and an idealism (eccentric though it be), that lifts them above the mundane.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #03
For my money, this is the best of all the Saint books.On one level merely a good thriller, on another level it's a very serious book indeed, because it deals with the horrors of war and what it's worth sacrificing to avoid them; and its great merit is that it makes its points without ever become preachy or leaden.

Kingsley Amis, in his insightful and entertaining opus The James Bond Dossier, expends considerable space on considering what goes into the making of a good villain.Charteris's best villains are easily the equal of Fleming's, and "The Last Hero" has two them!

One may safely invent a sinister arms merchant from any country (although Rayt Marius is much more sinister than most).To present a sinister head of state, however, presents a problem: obviously one can't use a real head of state, for reasons of both plausibility and libel.There are two traditional solutions, both moderately unsatisfactory: to invent a fictional country, which will irritate any reader with the basics of geography; or to be mysterious about which state it actually is.Charteris here opts for the second alternative, and great villain though Marius undoubtedly is, for me Crown Prince Rudolf of ----- is the best in the whole Saint Saga.

(It is of course logically pointless to try and work out what the country really is, but it's quite fun trying anyway, as Charteris obviously realises as he plants clues in various places.It's somewhere around the Balkans.The Saint doesn't yet speak the language, which therefore can't be French, German or Spanish.The Prince is Marius's own prince, and Marius was once a guttersnipe in the slums of Prague; on the other hand, we later learn that the Prince's appendix is in Budapest.The most telling clue [not divulged 'til Getaway] is that the Prince's family owned the Montenegrin crown jewels.[King Nikola of Montenegro might in fact be the prototype of Rudolf's father, were not the time-frame all wrong.This is cool juggling.How many readers are familiar enough with Montenegrin history to know that he didn't in fact have son called Rudolf?] )

Professor K.B. Vargan has invented a weapon called the Electron Cloud, capable of incinerating large numbers of people in minimum time.The British Government wants it, and so does Prince Rudolf, who has military ambitions.The story revolves around the efforts of the Saint and his friends to keep the weapon from ever being used at all, for the sake of the men and boys "who'd just be herded into it like dumb cattle to the slaughter, drunk with a miserable and futile heroism, to struggle blindly through a few days of squalid agony and die in the dirt".

The familiar friends - Orace, Pat, Roger, Norman - are all here.Charteris was later dismissive of his early work, as older authors often are.But whatever its deficiencies, this book and its sequel Knight Templar have a drive and fire, and an idealism (eccentric though it be), that lifts them above the mundane.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

Saint Saga #03
For my money, this is the best of all the Saint books.On one level merely a good thriller, on another level it's a very serious book indeed, because it deals with the horrors of war and what it's worth sacrificing to avoid them; and its great merit is that it makes its points without ever become preachy or leaden.

Kingsley Amis, in his insightful and entertaining opus The James Bond Dossier, expends considerable space on considering what goes into the making of a good villain.Charteris's best villains are easily the equal of Fleming's, and "The Last Hero" has two them!

One may safely invent a sinister arms merchant from any country (although Rayt Marius is much more sinister than most).To present a sinister head of state, however, presents a problem: obviously one can't use a real head of state, for reasons of both plausibility and libel.There are two traditional solutions, both moderately unsatisfactory: to invent a fictional country, which will irritate any reader with the basics of geography; or to be mysterious about which state it actually is.Charteris here opts for the second alternative, and great villain though Marius undoubtedly is, for me Crown Prince Rudolf of ----- is the best in the whole Saint Saga.

(It is of course logically pointless to try and work out what the country really is, but it's quite fun trying anyway, as Charteris obviously realises as he plants clues in various places.It's somewhere around the Balkans.The Saint doesn't yet speak the language, which therefore can't be French, German or Spanish.The Prince is Marius's own prince, and Marius was once a guttersnipe in the slums of Prague; on the other hand, we later learn that the Prince's appendix is in Budapest.The most telling clue [not divulged 'til Getaway] is that the Prince's family owned the Montenegrin crown jewels.[King Nikola of Montenegro might in fact be the prototype of Rudolf's father, were not the time-frame all wrong.This is cool juggling.How many readers are familiar enough with Montenegrin history to know that he didn't in fact have son called Rudolf?] )

Professor K.B. Vargan has invented a weapon called the Electron Cloud, capable of incinerating large numbers of people in minimum time.The British Government wants it, and so does Prince Rudolf, who has military ambitions.The story revolves around the efforts of the Saint and his friends to keep the weapon from ever being used at all, for the sake of the men and boys "who'd just be herded into it like dumb cattle to the slaughter, drunk with a miserable and futile heroism, to struggle blindly through a few days of squalid agony and die in the dirt".

The familiar friends - Orace, Pat, Roger, Norman - are all here.Charteris was later dismissive of his early work, as older authors often are.But whatever its deficiencies, this book and its sequel Knight Templar have a drive and fire, and an idealism (eccentric though it be), that lifts them above the mundane.

The cover of this particular (International Polygonics) edition has no relation to the content, but that is a minor quibble.

P.S. For a list of -- and discussion of -- all Charteris's Saint books, see my So You'd Like To... Guide.

The Most Thrilling Adventures of the Young Saint
This is the first round of the Saint vs his arch-enemies Rayt Marius & Prince Rudolf, continued on "Knight Templar" (a.k.a. "The Avenging Saint").

Although this "The Last Hero" still has the shortcoming that the style is rather long-winded, I bet it is the best of the Saint stories.I really enjoyed adventure after adventure of young Simon Templar and his jolly friends. Anyway it is much better than its continuation. In "Knight Templar", the enemy's plan was rather vague that made the whole story less thrilling.But in "The Last Hero", the subject is plain and simple; a fight for a devilish invention of a mad scientist. The story is much more thrilling and full of actions and wits. And the characters are much more vivid; Simon is so youthful and dynamic, his friends are so amiable, Marius is so ferocious and formidable, and Prince Rudolf's inhuman calmness heightened the tension of the climax. ... Read more