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 Leslie Charteris's most famous creation, SIMON TEMPLAR, aka SEBASTIAN TOMBS, aka "THE SAINT" made his first apperance in MEET THE TIGER in 1928. MEET THE TIGER was in fact Charteris's third novel, and in later years he insisted that it served only as an introduction to the Saint's adventures, and was not really to be considered seriously as the first Saint novel. So who, or what, was the Saint? A latter-day Robin Hood? A master criminal? A detective? He was all of these and more. Written at a time when aviation was in its infancy and automobiles were the preserve of the wealthy, Simon Templar represented the person many men wanted to be - elegant, tall, handsome, fearless, laconic, sardonic, never at a loss for words, free to do as he pleased (so not married) and above all, an adventurer. It's difficult to find other heroes of this ilk and caliber in 20th century fiction, apart from Indiana Jones and The Toff. Templar drove fast cars, flew aeroplanes, managed to look good all the time, was adored by women, knew his way round most of the world's capital cities, and was the bane of police forces everywhere. In this respect, he is, as a hero, unique. Yet, from the outset, he's on the side of the law - he just doesn't always stick to the rules. His ambition is to rid the world of nasty people, and he does kill, but he's no murderer, and there is never any doubt as to his righteousness. It is simply not possible to compare Professor Jones with Templar, and I always considered The Toff to be a second-class copy, without the engaging charisma of our charming adventurer. Added to this is the ability of Templar to grow with the times, while the Toff remained very much a 1920s/1930s character, and so did Jones. You find Simon Templar still chasing criminals and flouting the law in the 1960s, when the superb TV series starring Roger Moore first appeared. In fact Simon Templar is one of three "Saints", the others being Roger Conway and Dickie Tremayne. Several other "Saints" are introduced during the course of the other books, and it is clear that Templar is the leader of a "team" in exactly the same way that Doc Savage came to be in later years. ENTER THE SAINT, the first real Saint book according to the author, puts Simon Templar's age at 28, and re-introduces the character of Patricia Holm, Templar's lifelong love, from MEET THE TIGER, along with the Saint's butler, Orace. The other main character in ENTER THE SAINT is Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, whom Charteris first wrote about in his 1929 novel, DAREDEVIL.
 Third in the series, commonly known as THE LAST HERO, Charteris's hero has been offered a full pardon for past misdemeanours and has been asked by the authorities to assist in tracking down and apprehending criminals, an opportunity he declines, preferring to operate in secret and as a free agent. In THE LAST HERO, occasionally published as THE SAINT AND THE LAST HERO, Templar goes so far underground the public believe he is no longer in action and may have retired. In fact he is following a lead from a reporter that a second world war may be in the offing, and uncovers a top secret British scientific installation where government agents are testing a deadly electroncloud machine, capable of turning everything in its path to ashes. Enter RAYT MARIUS, an evil giant of a man who wants the machine for his own nefarious purposes (shades of JAMES BOND, who was to come much later, of course. Marius kidnaps Patricia, and the hapless Inspector Teal is drawn in, while the Saint is suitably enraged (shades of Vincent, the acclaimed new private detective series starring Ray Winstone here). The Saint reluctantly decides that the weapon must not be developed and that the inventor must, if necessary die. However, it falls to one of his "saints", Norman Kent, to kill the scientist, knowing that this murder would inevitably result in the perpetrator being hung. Kent himself is shot dead by Marius after he fails to secure the plans to the electron cloud machine from Kent.
 Kent himself decided to execute the scientist, in an effort to save Templar from the noose, and knowing that his love for Patricia Holm can never be fulfilled. It is an act of extreme self-sacrifice, and spares Templar for other adventures. The earlylife of the Saint remains a mystery; though he most commonly went by the name Simon Templar, it was by no means certain that this was his birth name, and throughout his many adventures, he let slip very little about his origins, though it is known they were humble. The adult Simon Templar became an adventurer and a thief, but also a gentleman, just like RAFFLES. He financed his extravangent lifestyle of fast cars, smart clothes and the finest clubs through theft, but he was always careful to target villains, and gave away much of what he stole to people in need, just like ROBIN HOOD. He was a crusader, and when a good cause was brought to his attention, he rarely hesitated in coming to its aid, helping those who had been wronged by real villains; he was wanted by the authorities (usually in the persona of Inspector Teal of Scotland Yard) and he was by nature a lone operator; Templar would readily collaborate with the authorities if the case warranted it. He enjoyed a string of affaires with beautiful women, but his constant companion was Patricia Holm. She seemed happy enough to allow him to stray, possibly feeling secure in the knowledge that he would always return to her; she eventually left him to raise the son they had together.
As well as a very successful series of movies starring George Sanders, the Saint features in two separate TV series, one starring Roger Moore - the character launched his career into bigger and better things, including taking over from Sean Connery as James Bond. Although many people deride Moore's acting abilities, the series was watched by millions in the 1970s and remains popular to this day as a cult series. It is now available on DVD. The second series, made in the 1970s, features Ian Ogilvy, now a successful children's story writer. I always preferred Ogilvy, believing him to be a better actor than Moore. This series was also issued on DVD in 2004, though it does not appear to be available at present. THE SAINT books are widely available from secondhand book dealers on the web, including Amazon Marketplace and EBay, and although many of them are collectors' editions, they do not seem to realise vast amounts of money and remain within most people's budgetary constraints. There have, of course, been numerous publ;ished editions, but by far the most attractive are the PAN BOOKS series, of which there is a gallery in the Gateway GALLERIES section, courtesy of TIKIT.NET. The SAINT remains one of the 20th century's most endearing and popular heroes, and the stories are readable, containing elements of comedy that are missing from all other mystery and thriller titles in this genre. Charteris's unique writing style is timeless, though he did write about unmarried couples living together and making love at a time when such a thing was unheard of and in some cases illegal. In fact Templar and Holm's open relationship, though commonplace today, must have raised a few eyebrows at the time of publication in the 1920s. A complete set of SAINT titles, along with DENNIS WHEATLEY and EDGAR RICE BURROUGHS formed the backbone of my childhood library - all now sadly gone, though I have managed to trace a few reasonable copies. If you like good, clean adventure, laced with beautiful women, archetypal rogues and villains, and laced with timeless humour, look no further. Watch for the Sign of the Saint - he will be back! Countless thousands, maybe millions of fans will make sure of that!
The references that follow will take you to the comprehensive collection of articles on the Saint and Leslie Charteris in WIKIPEDIA, the online encyclopedia, which also has several in-depth articles on Charteris, Templar, Patricia Holm, and Inspector Teal.
Saint books by Leslie Charteris
Meet - The Tiger! (1928) | Enter the Saint (1930) | The Last Hero (1930) | Knight Templar (1930) | Featuring the Saint (UK only-1931) | Alias the Saint (UK only-1931) | Wanted for Murder (US only-1931) | She Was a Lady (1931) | The Holy Terror (1932) | Getaway (1932) | Once More the Saint (1933) | The Brighter Buccaneer (1933) | The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal (1934) | Boodle (1934) | The Saint Goes On (1934) | The Saint in New York (1935) | Saint Overboard (1936) | The Ace of Knaves (1937) | Thieves' Picnic (1937) | Prelude for War (1938) | Follow the Saint (1939) | The Happy Highwayman (1939) | The Saint in Miami (1940) | The Saint Goes West (1942) | The Saint Steps In (1942) | The Saint on Guard (1944) | The Saint Sees it Through (1946) | Call for the Saint (1948) | Saint Errant (1948) | The Saint in Europe (1953) | The Saint on the Spanish Main (1955) | The Saint Around the World (1956) | Thanks to the Saint (1957) | Señor Saint (1958) | The Saint to the Rescue (1959) | Trust the Saint (1962) | The Saint in the Sun (1963)
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