Saint
8 primary works • 50 total works
Leslie Charteris was born in Singapore and moved to England in 1919. He left Cambridge University early when his first novel was accepted for publication. He wrote novels about the Saint throughout his life, becoming one of the 20th century's most prolific and popular authors.
Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.
Simon Templar finds himself on the side of the righteous for once when he agrees to work with the police. They're after the gang known as the Angels of Doom, who specialise in abetting convicted criminals escape. But Templar finds a kindred spirit in Jill Trelawney, the mastermind behind the gang, and Scotland Yard soon learn that you can't hire a Saint and hope to have things all your own way...
Simon Templar never goes anywhere with the intention of getting into trouble, but trouble seems to like following him. In seven adventures round Europe, he discovers dead bodies, missing jewels, kidnappers and swindlers galore. He was meant to be on holiday - but when push comes to shove, he'll make sure that justice is done.
'The character of Simon Templar forms the perfect literary bridge between John Buchan's Richard Hannay and Ian Fleming's James Bond.' Mike Ripley
Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.
In these three stories, the Saint finds himself embroiled in further plots and facing new enemies. The Inland Revenue sees him up against the most unyielding opponent ever - the taxman. In The Million Pound Scandal, a good deed leads Simon to uncover a plot to undermine the Italian economy, and in The Melancholy Journey of Mr Teal the Saint's retirement plans are scuppered when a couple of murderous diamond smugglers object to his scheme of taking their loot for his pension.
In Prohibition-era New York, criminals rule the city: the gangsters do what they like, and pay the judges for the privilege; the few honest cops are helpless; and above them all the Big Fellow pulls the strings. With that many sinners, cleaning up the town will take a Saint...
Simon Templar is a long way from home, and facing great danger from directions both expected and entirely unforeseen. But he promised to do the job; and a saint never goes back on his word.
Simon Templar is the Saint - daring, dazzling, and just a little disreputable. On the side of the law, but standing outside it, he dispenses his own brand of justice one criminal at a time.
The Saint is on holiday in Austria with Patricia and his friend Monty, fully intending to give up crime and lead a respectable life. All his good intentions come to nothing, though, when he sees a man being attacked by thugs and feels obliged to intervene. The stranger seems remarkably ungrateful, and soon they learn why: he is a thief, with a prize that men will kill for. Before the day is out, the Saint and his friends find themselves in a race against time, Prince Rudolf and the police to retain ownership of the priceless jewels.
Curious events almost seem to cry out for the Saint's intervention, and in these stories he is faced with enough peculiar crimes to keep him well occupied. The various adventures he gets himself into lead him to kiss a policewoman, buy a racehorse, invest in bootlegging, dabble in antiques, rent a flat, recover a treaty, get arrested, demonstrate an invention - and always come out on top.
Three more stories of Saintly adventure show Simon Templar interpreting the law to his own advantage. In The Simon Templar Foundation, a poisonous legacy from his enemy Rayt Marius gives him the opportunity to make a great deal of money - if he can survive equally great danger. The Higher Finance puts him up against the police, a reclusive millionaire, and the wild beast that roams his mansion at night. And in The Art of Alibi, he faces the most impudent opponent of all: someone who is stealing his symbol, and committing crimes in his name.