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Once-upon-a-time, the name Leslie Charteris was recognised by practically every reader in the English-speaking world. Today, while his most enduring character is remembered, those of us doing the remembering are, alas, approaching retirement. The suave action hero is, of course, The Saint, and he pre-dates the early 1960s TV series famously featuring Roger Moore by 30 years. Charteris passed away in 1993, having written dozens of The Saint novels, and enjoyed seeing his character become a 20th century icon of movies, radio and TV. The Saint, aka Simon Templar, turns 83 this year.
Sadly, none of the novels are currently in print. Not even one. (That's not to say they can't be found in second hand shops, on ebay and in epub and other formats on the Darknet.) Featuring The Saint, from 1931, was the fifth book in the series to be published, and the second made up of novellas that originally appeared in pulp magazines. There's no real connection tying the stories together. The Logical Adventure involves drug and human smuggling in Europe; The Wonderful War is an unlikely adventure in which Simon Templar upsets a dictator in an unnamed Central American country; The Man Who Could Not Die is a more conventional tale of corporate fraud, ego and attempted murder.
Charteris's clipped style and "Boys Own Annual" comic book sense of reality make these pretty light reading but taken on their own values, they are enjoyable diversions. I'm looking forward to sampling one of the longer pieces on my next holiday.
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