Customer Reviews (3)

Saint Saga #28
This, the last Saint book to feature Patricia Holm, consists of nine short stories, each bearing a lady's name.Various old adversaries also appear, such as Newt Haskins (from The Saint in Miami) and Alvin Kearney (from Call for the Saint).

The stories are varied and interesting, except for the last one which is just plain silly.

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

The Best of The Saint
This collection of short stories represents the best of Charteris' work.Much closer to the TV series, this is worlds better than his earlier Shadow-esque work. Interesting plots, memorable characters, clean prose, and a smooth style make this the one Saint book you must have. If you've never read any Saint stories before, this collection will make you a fan!

Classic Short Stories
? ?rant is a great collection of some of the finest short stories that Charteris ever wrote. Each story is titled after a woman's name, and the plots are clever and very tightly written. My favorite Saint stories arethe short stories from this era, and Saint Errant is the first suchcollection.This new Black Dagger edition is very nice, and features anicely designed green dustjacket. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Saint Saga #12
"The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal" (aka "The Saint in London" aka "The Saint in England"*) is one my favourites of the books of (usually three) Saint "novelettes", the other being The Holy Terror.

Chief among its pleasures is the finale to the battle of wits between Simon and Rayt Marius, the unscrupulous arms-merchant of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.Marius, learning that he has only a few months to live, has devised a scheme, worthy of his evil genius, for revenging himself on the Saint: he has written his memoirs, detailing all the criminal (indeed, treasonous) transactions he has had with members of British government and industry, and sent the resulting opus to Simon.

"At the same time as this book is sent to you, there will be sent, to the gentlemen most conspicuously mentioned in these notes, letters which will inform them into whose hands the book has fallen.After reading it yourself, you will see that this cannot fail to cause them great perturbation.

"Nevertheless, while it would be simple for you to allay their alarm and assure your own safety from molestation, I cannot foresee that a man such as I recall you to be would so tamely surrender such a unique opportunity to apply moral pressure towards the righting of what you consider to be wrongs.

"I therefore hope to leave behind me the makings of a most diverting contest [...] And you will understand, I am sure, my dear Mr. Templar, that I can hardly be blamed for sincerely trusting that these gentlemen, or their agents, will succeed where I have failed."

This story is also notable for introducing the Runyonesque American gangster Hoppy Uniatz, veteran of Prohibition who drinks whisky like lemonade, the Saint's companion in so many later adventures.

That Charteris manages to make Hoppy simultaneously menacing, comical and believable (and even at times sympathetic!) is an amazing feat, but he pulls it off - in part because of a firm grasp of Transatlantic mores and idiom, much better than (for example) Ian Fleming's.

The other stories are just as skilled; there is little point in detailing the plots, and again the familiar friends - Pat, Orace, Claud Eustace - are here.

One of the best books in the series.

*Singularly uninformatively, since all but 4 of the first 21 Saint books are set in England, and most of those are set in London.

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

Saint Saga #12
"The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal" (aka "The Saint in London" aka "The Saint in England"*) is one my favourites of the books of (usually three) Saint "novelettes", the other being The Holy Terror.

Chief among its pleasures is the finale to the battle of wits between Simon and Rayt Marius, the unscrupulous arms-merchant of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.Marius, learning that he has only a few months to live, has devised a scheme, worthy of his evil genius, for revenging himself on the Saint: he has written his memoirs, detailing all the criminal (indeed, treasonous) transactions he has had with members of British government and industry, and sent the resulting opus to Simon.

"At the same time as this book is sent to you, there will be sent, to the gentlemen most conspicuously mentioned in these notes, letters which will inform them into whose hands the book has fallen.After reading it yourself, you will see that this cannot fail to cause them great perturbation.

"Nevertheless, while it would be simple for you to allay their alarm and assure your own safety from molestation, I cannot foresee that a man such as I recall you to be would so tamely surrender such a unique opportunity to apply moral pressure towards the righting of what you consider to be wrongs.

"I therefore hope to leave behind me the makings of a most diverting contest [...] And you will understand, I am sure, my dear Mr. Templar, that I can hardly be blamed for sincerely trusting that these gentlemen, or their agents, will succeed where I have failed."

This story is also notable for introducing the Runyonesque American gangster Hoppy Uniatz, veteran of Prohibition who drinks whisky like lemonade, the Saint's companion in so many later adventures.

That Charteris manages to make Hoppy simultaneously menacing, comical and believable (and even at times sympathetic!) is an amazing feat, but he pulls it off - in part because of a firm grasp of Transatlantic mores and idiom, much better than (for example) Ian Fleming's.

The other stories are just as skilled; there is little point in detailing the plots, and again the familiar friends - Pat, Orace, Claud Eustace - are here.

One of the best books in the series.

*Singularly uninformatively, since all but 4 of the first 21 Saint books are set in England, and most of those are set in London.

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

Saint Saga #12
"The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal" (aka "The Saint in London" aka "The Saint in England"*) is one my favourites of the books of (usually three) Saint "novelettes", the other being The Holy Terror.

Chief among its pleasures is the finale to the battle of wits between Simon and Rayt Marius, the unscrupulous arms-merchant of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.Marius, learning that he has only a few months to live, has devised a scheme, worthy of his evil genius, for revenging himself on the Saint: he has written his memoirs, detailing all the criminal (indeed, treasonous) transactions he has had with members of British government and industry, and sent the resulting opus to Simon.

"At the same time as this book is sent to you, there will be sent, to the gentlemen most conspicuously mentioned in these notes, letters which will inform them into whose hands the book has fallen.After reading it yourself, you will see that this cannot fail to cause them great perturbation.

"Nevertheless, while it would be simple for you to allay their alarm and assure your own safety from molestation, I cannot foresee that a man such as I recall you to be would so tamely surrender such a unique opportunity to apply moral pressure towards the righting of what you consider to be wrongs.

"I therefore hope to leave behind me the makings of a most diverting contest [...] And you will understand, I am sure, my dear Mr. Templar, that I can hardly be blamed for sincerely trusting that these gentlemen, or their agents, will succeed where I have failed."

This story is also notable for introducing the Runyonesque American gangster Hoppy Uniatz, veteran of Prohibition who drinks whisky like lemonade, the Saint's companion in so many later adventures.

That Charteris manages to make Hoppy simultaneously menacing, comical and believable (and even at times sympathetic!) is an amazing feat, but he pulls it off - in part because of a firm grasp of Transatlantic mores and idiom, much better than (for example) Ian Fleming's.

The other stories are just as skilled; there is little point in detailing the plots, and again the familiar friends - Pat, Orace, Claud Eustace - are here.

One of the best books in the series.

*Singularly uninformatively, since all but 4 of the first 21 Saint books are set in England, and most of those are set in London.

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

Saint Saga #12
"The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal" (aka "The Saint in London") is one my favourites of the books of (usually three) Saint "novelettes", the other being The Holy Terror.

Chief among its pleasures is the finale to the battle of wits between Simon and Rayt Marius, the unscrupulous arms-merchant of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.Marius, learning that he has only a few months to live, has devised a scheme, worthy of his evil genius, for revenging himself on the Saint: he has written his memoirs, detailing all the criminal (indeed, treasonous) transactions he has had with members of British government and industry, and sent the resulting opus to Simon.

"At the same time as this book is sent to you, there will be sent, to the gentlemen most conspicuously mentioned in these notes, letters which will inform them into whose hands the book has fallen.After reading it yourself, you will see that this cannot fail to cause them great perturbation.

"Nevertheless, while it would be simple for you to allay their alarm and assure your own safety from molestation, I cannot foresee that a man such as I recall you to be would so tamely surrender such a unique opportunity to apply moral pressure towards the righting of what you consider to be wrongs.

"I therefore hope to leave behind me the makings of a most diverting contest [...] And you will understand, I am sure, my dear Mr. Templar, that I can hardly be blamed for sincerely trusting that these gentlemen, or their agents, will succeed where I have failed."

This story is also notable for introducing the Runyonesque American gangster Hoppy Uniatz, veteran of Prohibition who drinks whisky like lemonade, the Saint's companion in so many later adventures.

That Charteris manages to make Hoppy simultaneously menacing, comical and believable (and even at times sympathetic!) is an amazing feat, but he pulls it off - in part because of a firm grasp of Transatlantic mores and idiom, much better than (for example) Ian Fleming's.

The other stories are just as skilled; there is little point in detailing the plots, and again the familiar friends - Pat, Orace, Claud Eustace - are here.

One of the best books in the series.

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

Unusual and Unpredictable Stories
This book contains three stories; "The Simon Templar Foundation", "The Higher Finance" and "The Art of Alibi".They are typical Saint stories; the Saint fights a life-and-death fight with ungodly evildoers on one hand, and tweaks the nose of poor Inspector Teal on the other hand.

I liked "The Saint and Mr. Teal" that was written shortly before this book, but I like this book much better.All three stories are so unusual and unpredictable.Fewer dull parts, more twists and turns, and the stakes are much higher.The evildoers are so-called respectable men and they are more vicious than ordinary criminals.

If you want to know what happened to Rayt Marius, the Saint's arch-enemy in "The Last Hero" and "Knight Templar", you should read "The Simon Templar Foundation".It's about the strange and deadly legacy of Rayt Marius."The Higher Finance" is a rather astonishing story; funny opening, uncanny development, and the climax is so sudden and shocking!"The Art of Alibi"; someone takes the Saint's trade-mark in vain.That's not so surprising, but the imposter's plan and how the Saint frustrates it are totally unpredictable. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

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.

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.

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.

Saint Saga #05.5 -- Sort of
This, very confusingly, is (I think I'm correct in saying) not the standard version of "Alias the Saint", which contains the following three stories:

The Story of a Dead Man
The Impossible Crime
The National Debt.

The Avon edition is a hybrid, with two stories only:

The National Debt
The Man Who Could Not Die,

the latter normally being found in Featuring the Saint.

In "The National Debt", in the identity of Professor Rameses Smith-Smyth-Smythe (!), the Saint 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.

In "The Man Who Could Not Die" he avenges the murder of a friend.This is a strange, intense story, featuring a moody and irresponsible Saint; and I don't like it much.This, with the confusing (and reduced!) contents, leads me to allot three stars instead of five.

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

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. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Saint Saga #26
This book, from 1947, is the last full-length Saint novel written entirely by Charteris (i.e. not ghost-written with his approval); and it features its hero still in his reformed wartime rôle of rather eccentric G-man, on the trail of drug smugglers in New York.

Charteris's story-telling and character-drawing abilities, with the characteristic flashes of humour, never entirely desert him.But compared with the prewar books, this is dull stuff.

There is one point of especial interest, nonetheless.The Saint says to the heroine:

"[T]his thing goes too far over the world, into too many countries and too many jurisdictions.Only an organisation that's just as international can cope with it.There is such a thing, and I'm part of it.That's all I'm allowed to say."

But on the last page it's clearly identified as UNCLE, over a decade before this supposedly fictional organisation was supposedly created for the TV series.

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

Super Reader
"Simon Templar lighted another cigarette, took a sip of his latest and most anemic-looking highball, and reflected with considerable gloom that if the vanquishing of villains required any man like himself to endure certain unpleasantnesses and discomforts there must be a lot of more attractive and entertaining places to endure them in than a joint with a name like Cookie's Cellar, situated in a rejuvenated basement in the East Fifties of New York City, USA.

Such, for instance, as any reasonably busy boiler factory in any moderately insalubrious zone of reconversion."

"For those rather pleasantly piratical features had probably drifted in and out of more major forms of trouble than those of any other adventurer of this century. Newspaper reproductions of them had looked out from under headlines that would have been dismissed as a pulp writer's fantasy before the man whom they accoladed as the Robin Hood of modern crime arrived to make them real."

The Saint is in New York, and is not at all impressed with the booze in the night club scene. He is on the trail of a drug operation, and the likely suspects are a steatopygous piano player, a psychiatrist, a poet and a nancy boy artist.

He also has to decide if the gorgeous singer Avalon Dexter, who has been quite, quite nice to him, is on the level. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Saint Saga #14
Three more engaging stories from the days when the Saint was still firmly based in England, and Holm was where the heart was.

"The High Fence" is a fast-paced thriller.

In "The Elusive Ellshaw" (which is more of a mystery story), Mrs Ellshaw reminds once again of the author's ability to draw characters at once familiar and hilarious, also providing one of Charteris's few likeable aristocrats.

And "The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper" brings dear old Hoppy Uniatz to the fore again.

Other old friends include Sam Outrell and (of course) Claud Eustace.

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

Saint Saga #14
Three more engaging stories from the days when the Saint was still firmly based in England, and Holm was where the heart was.

"The High Fence" is a fast-paced thriller.

In "The Elusive Ellshaw" (which is more of a mystery story), Mrs Ellshaw reminds once again of the author's ability to draw characters at once familiar and hilarious, also providing one of Charteris's few likeable aristocrats.

And "The Case of the Frightened Innkeeper" brings dear old Hoppy Uniatz to the fore again.

Other old friends include Sam Outrell and (of course) Claud Eustace.

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)

Saint Saga #19
Helping the victims of a devastating country house fire, Simon finds there is one he is unable to rescue.Soon he becomes convinced that the fire was not an accident, but murder.The mystery is: why?

"Prelude for War" (later plonkingly re-titled "The Saint Plays with Fire"), one of the best Saint novels, is very much of its time -- i.e. just before World war II -- and has echoes of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.It makes particularly clear the author's loathing of Fascism and everything associated with it.

The idea that wars are encouraged, or even engineered, by arms-manufacturers and others who stand to make a profit from them has gone in and out of fashion over the years.The Saint is a proponent of it, and even mentions (in a conversation with Patricia Holm) a book wherein this thesis is documented.I was interested to find that the book really exists, and finally ran it down*.It seems very well researched, and well-written, too: I wish there were an up-to-date version!

Anyway, I found this Saint episode unputdownable from start to finish.In addition to the usual friends like Orace, Peter and Hoppy, we have the pleasure of meeting what must surely be Charteris's loveliest non-recurring character: Lady Valerie Woodchester.To make her acquaintance would alone be enough reason to read the book!

*Merchants of Death by H.C. Engelbrecht & F.C. Hanighen, published in 1934 by Dodd, Mead & Co. (New York) and now rereleased.

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

Saint Saga #19
Helping the victims of a devastating country house fire, Simon finds there is one he is unable to rescue.Soon he becomes convinced that the fire was not an accident, but murder.The mystery is: why?

"Prelude for War" (later plonkingly re-titled "The Saint Plays with Fire"), one of the best Saint novels, is very much of its time -- i.e. just before World war II -- and has echoes of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.It makes particularly clear the author's loathing of Fascism and everything associated with it.

The idea that wars are encouraged, or even engineered, by arms-manufacturers and others who stand to make a profit from them has gone in and out of fashion over the years.The Saint is a proponent of it, and even mentions (in a conversation with Patricia Holm) a book wherein this thesis is documented.I was interested to find that the book really exists, and finally ran it down*.It seems very well researched, and well-written, too: I wish there were an up-to-date version!

Anyway, I found this Saint episode unputdownable from start to finish.In addition to the usual friends like Orace, Peter and Hoppy, we have the pleasure of meeting what must surely be Charteris's loveliest non-recurring character: Lady Valerie Woodchester.To make her acquaintance would alone be enough reason to read the book!

*Merchants of Death by H.C. Engelbrecht & F.C. Hanighen, published in 1934 by Dodd, Mead & Co. (New York) and now rereleased.

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

Super Reader
The Saint does a sport of fireman work in this book as a leadup, and the novel is also known as The Saint Plays With Fire.

'"Oh," she said. "How silly of me! Of course I remember you now. You're the hero, aren't you?"
"Am I?"
She frowned a little.
"Not that I really hoot a lot about this hero business," she went on. "I daresay it's all very fine for great he-men to go rushing about dripping with sweat and doing noble things, but I think there ought to be special places set apart for them to perform in."
"You were rescued yourself the other night, weren't you?" said the Saint pleasantly.'

The main thrust of the story is involved with the Sons of France planning a fascist coup d'etat, and a woman mixed up in the middle of this, before the Saint inserts himself.

Interesting conversation they have when imprisoned :

'"Once upon a time," said the Saint, "there was a wall-eyed wombat named Wilhelmina, who lived in a burrow in Tasmania and grieved resentfully over the fact that Nature had endowed her, like all females of the marsupial family, with an abdominal pouch or sac intended for the reception and protection of newborn marsupials. Since," however, the strabismic asymmetry of Wilhelmina's features had always deterred discriminating males of her species from making such advances to her as might have resulted in the produc-tion of young wombats, she was easily persuaded to regard this useful and ingenious organ as an indecent excrescence invented by the Creator in a lewd and absent-minded mo-ment, and she soon became the leader of a strong movement among other unattractive wombats to suppress all references to it and to decry its use as sinful and reprehensible, and invariably wore a species of apron or sporran to conceal this obscene conformation of tissue from the world. Now it so happened that one night a purblind male wombat named Widgery, of dissolute habits . . ."
He was in the scullery of Bledford Manor with Lady Valerie Woodchester. They sat on the hard cold tile floor with their wrists and ankles bound with strong cord. A smear of blood had dried across Simon's face and in spite of his quiet satiric voice his head was aching savagely. Lady Val-erie's face was very dirty and her hair was in wild disarray; she also had a headache, and she was in a poisonous temper.
"Oh, stop it!" she burst out jitteringly. "You've got me into a hell of a nice mess, haven't you ? I suppose you enjoy this sort of thing, but I don't. Aren't you going to do something about it?"
"What would you like me to do?" he asked accommodatingly.'

But, of course, all good heroes have a little something left in the tank for dire situations:

'He had half turned to watch her; and as he stood still no one was paying much attention to him. But in that volcanic immobility his arms hardened like iron columns, strained across the fulcrum of his back like twisted bars of tempered steel. The muscles writhed and swelled over his back and shoulders, leapt up in knotted strands like leathery hawsers from his shoulders down to his raw and bleeding wrists; a convulsion of superhuman power swept over his torso like the shock of an earthquake. And the ropes that held his hands together, weakened by the loss of the strands that he had been able to rub away in the few minutes that had been given him, were not strong enough to stand against it. There was a faint snap as the fibres parted; and his arms sprang apart with the jerk of unleashed tension. He was free.'

A rather entertaining Saint adventure.

3.5 out of 5

Saint Saga #19
Helping the victims of a devastating country house fire, Simon finds there is one he is unable to rescue.Soon he becomes convinced that the fire was not an accident, but murder.The mystery is: why?

"Prelude for War" (later plonkingly re-titled "The Saint Plays with Fire"), one of the best Saint novels, is very much of its time -- i.e. just before World war II -- and has echoes of The Last Hero and Knight Templar.It makes particularly clear the author's loathing of Fascism and everything associated with it.

The idea that wars are encouraged, or even engineered, by arms-manufacturers and others who stand to make a profit from them has gone in and out of fashion over the years.The Saint is a proponent of it, and even mentions (in a conversation with Patricia Holm) a book wherein this thesis is documented.I was interested to find that the book really exists, and finally ran it down*.It seems very well researched, and well-written, too: I wish there were an up-to-date version!

Anyway, I found this Saint episode unputdownable from start to finish.In addition to the usual friends like Orace, Peter and Hoppy, we have the pleasure of meeting what must surely be Charteris's loveliest non-recurring character: Lady Valerie Woodchester.To make her acquaintance would alone be enough reason to read the book!

*Merchants of Death by H.C. Engelbrecht & F.C. Hanighen, published in 1934 by Dodd, Mead & Co. (New York) and now rereleased.

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 (1)

Super Reader
The US military fraternity asks the Saint for a favour in tracking the daughter of a spy that has vanished when she receives a communication from her father.

Needless to say, multiple nogoodniks are also interested in this young woman, and the possibilities of what she might find, particularly as it probably involves oodles of cash.


2.5 out of 5
... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

wow
This was the very first Saint book I read, thanks to a library book sale, and thanks to a lack of reading material at my hometown library, it may be the last for a while.But still- read it.If you've never heard of theSaint, except for the terrible plotless movie that bears no resemblance tothe books, read it anyway.It may not be the best in the series, and whoam I to say so, but after reading this I have come to one conclusion: Ithink I am in love with Simon Templar. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

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 tad dated, but a grand beginning for The Saint...
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, MEET 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, MEET THE TIGER was first, and should be experienced. ... Read more

Product Description
Simon Templar takes a Latin-American holiday and runs into four luscious cases of larceny, swindle, murder and revolution! ... Read more

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Saint Saga #33
Four tales set in Latin America, specifically: Baja California, Mexico City, Cuba and Panama.

The first is a love story, and demonstrates well Charteris's narrative ability.I particularly like the way the readers are left to fill in the conclusion of the story for themselves.

Charteris always seems to be personally acquainted with all the places he sets stories in; if this isn't actually the case, it's a remarkable imitation.The geographical and circumstantial detail help to disguise that the remaining stories are all variations on the "swindling swindlers" plot, which has by now become formulaic.The details are still inventive, though.

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

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Saint Saga #20
Three novellas, from the time just before WWII when the Saint was still living in London at Cornwall House.

"The Miracle Tea Party" details what happens when Simon opens a packet of tea he has chanced upon, and finds it stuffed full of fifty pound notes.

"The Invisible Millionaire" has him investigating a murder mystery.

And finally, we have "The Affair of Hogsbotham".I've never met anyone named Hogsbotham (although my grandmother apparently went out with someone -- fortunately not my grandfather -- named Shufflebotham).Nonetheless, the pronouncements of a character of this name ("and with a face to match", according to Simon) are what lead the Saint unexpectedly into the third adventure, involving a bank robbery.

Patricia Holm and Simon's faithful manservant Orace figure prominently, having of course both been with him since the very first Saint adventure, Meet the Tiger.And for those who have (perhaps) wondered what happened to some of the other characters in that opus: a close reading reveals that the "moribund aunt" that Pat has to meet in the last story can only be Aunt Agatha.

I find myself re-reading the middle story less often than the others (although I'm not quite sure why), but the other two are well up to the usual Charteris standard of this period.

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

3 Rollicking Stories typical of the Saint
The Miracle Tea Party -- classic Saint and Teal
The Invisible Millionaire -- classic Hoppy Uniatz
The Affair of Hogsbotham -- Simon and Patricia

Copyright 1938, this is a fun set of stories about the irreverent hero that is so much more fun than any TV or Movies made of Saint stories.Somehow Charteris is at his best with the short or medium-length Saint stories, and these are typical. ... Read more

Product Description
From award-winning editor Bill Pronzini comes The Mammoth Book of Short Spy Novels—a classic book updated for spymasters. Thirteen outstanding spy and espionage novellas, complete and unabridged, are gathered here in one terrific volume. They represent a specially chosen collection from the most accomplished writers in the field, including W. Somerset Maugham on Ashenden, his operative in World War I and Ian Fleming on 007 in the Caribbean, as well as Leslie Charteris, Erle Stanley Gardner, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and John Jakes, among others. These works span more than seventy-five years of espionage writing in the United States and England, and feature secret agents, counterspies, and double agents in settings from Japan to the former Eastern Bloc, and from World War I onward. ... Read more

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Saint Saga #15
This is the book that put Leslie Charteris on the map and made best-sellers of all the previous Saint books in retrospect.

Set shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, this tale of revenge is one of the grimmest, and the certainly the most violent, of all the Saint stories, so that when it was filmed, it was considerably toned down (and all hint of corruption in the New York judiciary removed, of course).

Nevertheless, most Saint fans, including myself, seem to regard it as one of the best (as witness the other reviews).To take just one example: as a synopsis of all the previous Saint books -- vital, if new readers are to understand the story -- the prologue (which takes the form of a letter to the NYPD from Simon's old adversary Chief Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard) is one of the most original ideas I've seen.

Charteris knew New York well, along with its denizens and their culture and language.The characters are drawn with great verve, especially Inspector John Fernack, the various members of the gangland hierarchy, and the mysterious Fay Edwards, who falls in love with Simon at the same time as she is helping him to kill just about everyone she knows.

Above all, Charteris shows himself once again a first-rate story-teller.Gripping from start to finish.

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

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A Natural Storytelller.
This book was 1st published in 1937, so I was expecting to read something old-fashioned. It isn't, it's as fresh as any contemporary book and Belmonte is a natural storyteller. He comes to life on every page,(he died in 1962).Whether he's relating childhood pranks in the slums of Seville,(when his ambition was to hunt lions in Africa),or telling about his adolescent attempts to be a torero - which would be at home in a Carry On film - he has an honest approach with a dry sense of humour.
Belmonte talks openly about his feelings towards the audience, his own lack of social graces,(you can take the boy out of the slums, but you can't take the slums out of the boy),the corrida.And most importantly, the way he feels about the bull - the feeling of exhilaration as 1/2 a ton of riled beast brushes past so closely that it covers his suit with hairs.
Oddly, he hardly mentions his family. He doesn't even give us his wife's name.I suspect that Belmonte was a hard, egocentric man, for whom the bull always came first. However, I couldn't put the book down; it was fascinating.
NB. There are no photos. ... Read more

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5 stories assembled from earlier collections
If you have THE BRIGHTER BUCCANEER (1933), THE HAPPY HIGHWAYMAN (1939), and THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN (1955), then you already have all five of the stories in this book. Each story features the Saint outwitting a con artist (sometimes a socially acceptable phony); in the first four stories, the duel of wits involved is the main story.

"The Green Goods Man" (written for _Empire News_, 1932) is the only story in this collection featuring either Patricia Holm or Inspector Teal. Patricia only serves as someone to be impressed by Templar's acting ability; Teal appears only in passing. As the story opens, Templar himself remarks that this is just a bread-and-butter adventure rather than anything spectacular; he's just passing himself off as a mark in order to turn the tables on a con man he located through a newspaper advertisement. The con artist is the first of three insincere philanthropists in this book who makes money off his supposed acts of charity.

"The Charitable Countess" (from THE HAPPY HIGHWAYMAN), the second insincere philanthropist herein, is approached in an entirely different way. A former showgirl who married an elderly nobleman only to learn upon his death that she had a social position without any cash to back it up, she turned her position into her stock in trade and makes 25% off each charity benefit she organizes. Since she knows Templar by sight, their confrontation is open, to the point of his announcing in the papers that they've made a wager that he can rob her of some of her jewelry. Don't be fooled, though; this isn't a simple jewel robbery.

"The Mugs Game" (from THE HAPPY HIGHWAYMAN) is a con centering around a crooked poker game involving marked cards. Most of the story details the events of the game, so if you're not a player the story may be a bit slow for you.

The identity of "The Unkind Philanthropist" (from THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN, set in Puerto Rico) is left pleasantly ambiguous early on in the story, as the Saint first makes the acquaintance of Tristan Brown, a woman claiming to be the representative of a large foundation, then meets a well-off retiree who likes to patronize (in several senses) local people in need of help.

"The Arrow of God" (from THE SAINT ON THE SPANISH MAIN, set in Nassau) is more a murder mystery than Saint-versus-con artist, and opens with a bit of exposition about the ideal construction of such a plot. The author puts his money where his mouth is, as the character of the victim - a gadfly reporter whose constant jibes sting all the more for the element of truth in them - is indeed the key to his death. ... Read more

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Saint Saga #21
Nine short stories, the final collection in which the Saint is still clearly based in London.

Unlike some readers, I've always preferred the full-length Saint adventures and the "novellas".This set is up to the standard of previous pre-war short stories, though, my favourite being "The Wicked Cousin".

And in the creepy final tale, we meet again Ivor Nordsten, who figured so prominently in The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal.

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