Charteris, Leslie

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Early swashbuckling Saint.

The Saint : five complete novels
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: Random House Value Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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The Saint and Mr. Teal (The Saint)
Saint and the Templar Treasure (Saint Series)
The Saint, Set 2
The Children of Húrin

ASIN: 0517403048
Release Date: 1983-02-01

Customer Reviews:

Early swashbuckling Saint........2000-05-22

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 vs Scotland Yard.

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

Starts with the 2nd of the Saint's adventures, which was the first where the Saint really began to hit his stride. (Charteris himself didn't like the first Saint book, Meet the Tiger, very much.) In those days, the Saint was accompanied not only by Patricia Holm, but by other wearers of the halo: Roger Conway (see esp. The Avenging 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, and Prince Rudolf.

Meet--the Tiger!: The Saint in danger
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Saint Saga #01

Meet--the Tiger!: The Saint in danger
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: The Sun Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Charteris, Leslie | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B0006AP7SE

Customer Reviews:

Saint Saga #01.......2006-01-28

"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 threatened 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.

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Simon Templar takes a vacation south of the border

Senor Saint
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 9997508300

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Simon Templar takes a vacation south of the border.......2001-07-28

For some reason Leslie Charteris preferred writing short story adventures for the Saint. They're good stories but tend to be over just as you get into it. The four in "Senor Saint" meet his high standard. In each adventure, while seriously trying to mind his own business, Simon Templar gets embroiled in other peoples' misadventures and saves the day.

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Saint Saga #10
great book, one little problem
The Saint and "Poor" Mr. Teal
Excellent entertainment !!!
The Saint at his best

The Saint and Mr. Teal (The Saint)
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: Carroll & Graf Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Mass Market Paperback

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ASIN: 0786702281

Customer Reviews:

Saint Saga #10.......2006-02-18

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?

great book, one little problem.......2003-09-20

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.......2000-08-18

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

The first story 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 Paris and goes back to England to be a headache for poor Inspector Teal. The second story is a continuation to the first story, but the third story has little connection with the previous two stories and Mr. Teal doesn't appear on the stage.

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

Excellent entertainment !!!.......1999-07-19

This book is that kind of "beloved jewels" that if you have ever liked thrillers, it deserves a place in your bookshelf. The Saint personality is the "ideal" way of behavior that every man had had at least once in his life. I have been involved in such dangerous adventures with my friend Simon Templar, that I encourage you to join us... Deliciuos reading, suspense, and the illusion of accomplishing impossible tasks utilizing methods that only true gentelmen are capable to perform. Do not miss this book!!!

The Saint at his best.......1997-03-21

The Saint, one of mystery's more unique characters, was the subject of over 40 books, many movies, and a television series. Simon Templar, the Robin Hood of Modern Crime was more than a dectective, more than a criminal -- a law to himself. In the name of Justice The Saint preyed on criminals and con artists that the Law could not or would not touch. At the same time he tweeked the noses of Scotland Yard, specifically Chief Inspector Teal. If you are looking for a hero with the morals of a pirate and the sense of humor of PG Wodehouse, the Saint is one

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Saint Saga #03
The Most Thrilling Adventures of the Young Saint
1st-quality Saint.

The Last Hero (The Saint)
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: International Polygonics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 093033096X

Customer Reviews:

Saint Saga #03.......2006-02-01

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.

The Most Thrilling Adventures of the Young Saint.......2000-09-29

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.

1st-quality Saint........2000-05-21

(Also known as The Saint Closes the Case.) This book takes place in the early days of the Saint's career, when Scotland Yard still had no proof of his identity, and he still had the last of his original crew of adventurers (the other "wearers of the halo") with him: Roger Conway, Patricia Holm, and Norman Kent. The Saint in those days still pursued his career mainly for love of "battle, murder, and sudden death" - that is, adventure for adventure's sake. "He also...had heard the sound of the trumpet, and had moved ever afterwards in the echoes of the sound of the trumpet, in such a mighty clamour of romance that one of his friends had been moved to call him the last hero, in desperately earnest jest." This book introduces Prince Rudolf (later seen in Getaway), and is also the first appearance of Rayt Marius (international arms dealer, although the term doesn't do him justice). Briefly, Marius is trying to acquire a new, horrible weapon from an English scientist to sell to the prince. Templar and the other Saints are trying to prevent *anyone* from getting the weapon...

If possible, this should be read before The Avenging Saint (a.k.a. Knight Templar), which is a continuation of the story begun by The Last Hero. Both books are part of The Saint: Five Complete Novels (Avenel, 1983), if you can find a copy.

The Saint in Miami
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The Saint in Miami
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: Ulverscroft Large Print
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Library Binding

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ASIN: 0854562230

A TREASURY OF GREAT MYSTERIES - Volume (1) One; and (2) Two: Man Who Explained Miracles; Incautious Burglar; Arrow of God; Instead of Evidence; Big Sleep; Maigret's Christmas; Puzzle for Poppy; Rear Window; Lamp of God; Journey into Fear
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A TREASURY OF GREAT MYSTERIES - Volume (1) One; and (2) Two: Man Who Explained Miracles; Incautious Burglar; Arrow of God; Instead of Evidence; Big Sleep; Maigret's Christmas; Puzzle for Poppy; Rear Window; Lamp of God; Journey into Fear
Howard; Beecroft, John (editors) (Carter Dickson; John Dickson Carr; Leslie Charteris; Rex Stout; Raymond Chandler; Georges Simenon; Patrick Quentin; Ellery Queen; William Irish; Eric Ambler; Dorothy L. Sayers; Craig Rice; Stuart Palmer) Haycroft
Manufacturer: Nelson Doubleday
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Charteris, Leslie | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
Simenon, Georges | ( S ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000GVVYAS

The first Saint omnibus;: An anthology of Saintly adventures
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The first Saint omnibus;: An anthology of Saintly adventures
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: The Sun Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

Charteris, Leslie | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B0007FWJF2

The First Saint Omnibus: An Anthology of Saintly Adventures
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The First Saint Omnibus: An Anthology of Saintly Adventures
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: Sun Dial Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Charteris, Leslie | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: B000H48VO6

The Saint Around the World
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The Saint Around the World
Leslie Charteris
Manufacturer: DoubleDay
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Charteris, Leslie | ( C ) | Authors, A-Z | Mystery & Thrillers | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 9997508262

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