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The Saint #6
Alias the Saint
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 three more classic tales, the Saint continues to push his luck in his own inimitable style. The Story of a Dead Man sees the Saint in a more mundane line of work - running an office and writing letters to the editor - until Inspector Teal comes to investigate the mysterious Mr Vanney and the Saint's real intentions come to light. In The Impossible Crime, a bored Saint tackles a most unlikely mystery: a man who has somehow been shot in a locked room. And in The National Debt Simon Templar stumbles across a remote Welsh inn where a series of strange things is happening... another job for the Saint!
In three more classic tales, the Saint continues to push his luck in his own inimitable style. The Story of a Dead Man sees the Saint in a more mundane line of work - running an office and writing letters to the editor - until Inspector Teal comes to investigate the mysterious Mr Vanney and the Saint's real intentions come to light. In The Impossible Crime, a bored Saint tackles a most unlikely mystery: a man who has somehow been shot in a locked room. And in The National Debt Simon Templar stumbles across a remote Welsh inn where a series of strange things is happening... another job for the Saint!
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1931
62 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Leslie Charteris
586 books161 followersBorn Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, Leslie Charteris was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
September 7, 2025
These three early adventures (from 1931) for the Saint are still plenty of fun. While the plots may not be as good as some of Simon Templar's other adventures the dialogue is still well written enough to bring a smile to my face.
My favourite novella here was The National Debt, which was renamed The Crime of the Century for the 1965 Roger Moore TV episode. Although the TV version deviated a lot from the original story it was still very enjoyable thanks to Terry Nation's script & the casting of Andre Morell as the main villain.
My favourite novella here was The National Debt, which was renamed The Crime of the Century for the 1965 Roger Moore TV episode. Although the TV version deviated a lot from the original story it was still very enjoyable thanks to Terry Nation's script & the casting of Andre Morell as the main villain.
January 4, 2020
The story of a dead man first published in Thriller in 2nd of March 1929 - In which we meet a certain Sebastian Tombe who actual nome du guerre is no surpise for a certain Scotland Yard detective Teal. The story of how A Saint does take punishment for the deeds of the mere mortals done towards a certain young Lady. The Saint does not enjoy the wicked and makes them pay.
The Impossible crime first published as Bumped off in Thriller on the 7th of March 1931, adapted for the TV Saint series starring Roger Moore as the episode The contract a third season episode - This is the story where Simon Templar robs some American Gangster in New York and then takes a swim. Re-acquaints himself with an American detective and makes sure that American gangsters are taken care of while saving the obligatory damsel in distress.
The National DebtFirst published as The secret of Beacon Inn in Thriller on the 6th of April 1929, adapted for the TV Saint series starring Roger Moore as the episode The crime of he century a third season episode -The story where Simon Templar demands a room in an Inn. He is hunting certain criminals who are planning something the Saint is not sure about only that he will find out and then make them pay for their evil deeds.
An early collection in which Claude Eustace Teal his British Policeman opponent does seem to lose quite a few IQ points between stories, a smart Teal is always preferable to the dumbed down version. The Saint in this earlier age is verbally eloquent and manages to drive his opponents to madness with his unending verbal barrages about the most mundane topics as the Bishop says to the actress.
This is by far my favorite era of Saint when he is in his British pre-war period and does what he is best at being an immortal hero.
The Impossible crime first published as Bumped off in Thriller on the 7th of March 1931, adapted for the TV Saint series starring Roger Moore as the episode The contract a third season episode - This is the story where Simon Templar robs some American Gangster in New York and then takes a swim. Re-acquaints himself with an American detective and makes sure that American gangsters are taken care of while saving the obligatory damsel in distress.
The National DebtFirst published as The secret of Beacon Inn in Thriller on the 6th of April 1929, adapted for the TV Saint series starring Roger Moore as the episode The crime of he century a third season episode -The story where Simon Templar demands a room in an Inn. He is hunting certain criminals who are planning something the Saint is not sure about only that he will find out and then make them pay for their evil deeds.
An early collection in which Claude Eustace Teal his British Policeman opponent does seem to lose quite a few IQ points between stories, a smart Teal is always preferable to the dumbed down version. The Saint in this earlier age is verbally eloquent and manages to drive his opponents to madness with his unending verbal barrages about the most mundane topics as the Bishop says to the actress.
This is by far my favorite era of Saint when he is in his British pre-war period and does what he is best at being an immortal hero.
September 10, 2015
As usual, I'll review each tale as I come to it:
The Story of a Dead Man
So here we have a different way to attack a Saint story. Rather than starting with Simon Templar and his musings and watch them develop into the caper itself; in ‘The Story of a Dead Man’ it’s Claud Eustace Teal who kicks us off, picking up a disgruntled con from outside prison. His investigations lead him to a dodgy looking company in which a ‘Sebastian Tombs’ is a prominent employee.
Sebastian Tombs is of course Simon Templar.
Switching perspectives between Teal and Pamela Marlow, a secretary at this company, we have a very different short story: one where the mystery is ‘what on earth is The Saint?’ up to. It’s an interesting idea, and one clearly designed to build a variety of styles into an ongoing series.
It falls to a number of problems though. Firstly, Teal here shows more agency and smarts than he ever did in the two stories in which he appeared in ‘Featuring the Saint’ (he even manages to match Templar in verbal jousting, which is a bit of a surprise). Secondly, the character of Pamela Marlowe is nowhere near developed enough to make her sections of the tale work. Thirdly, we may have more gritty and tense story than is normally the case, but we also lose some of the man about town charm of Templar’s best stories and that’s a shame.
In his introduction Charteris freely admits that this isn’t the best Saint tale.
He’s well and truly right.
The Impossible Crime
This mixture of a locked room mystery with American gangsters on the rampage just ends up being far too messy as a short story. The intricacies of one half of the mystery are too delicate to stand side by side with the machine gun fire of Chicago émigrés. Actually I’m not a massive fan of the whole ‘American Gangsters in London’ scenario in general. The mews of Berkley Square do not lend themselves to strong arm tactics by bootleggers, and in such a violent story Templar seems to lose some of his debonair man about town style, and I like his debonair man about town style.
Clearly working as a sequel to an earlier American set story, Templar joins a New York cop and Inspector Teal (back to his slow-witted self) to solve a particularly impenetrable locked-room murder and to stop some visiting gangsters plying their murderous trade.
I liked that early in the story that The Saint acknowledges himself as a literary character, saying that he wouldn’t reveal his plans until tied to a chair in Chapter 14 (which doesn’t happen, by the way); and I liked the twist ending – which took me by surprise even though in hindsight it was clearly signposted. But all in all this is a lumpy tale which tries to do too much, and I much prefer them when they have sleeker and straighter lines.
The National Debt
And here’s another way to attack a Saint story, and one to really make us question quite what the word ‘adventurer’ means. As here Simon Templar is posing as detective in a B&B in Wales; seems a bit of a leap from his normal skullduggerous activities and even a bit mundane, but why shouldn’t an adventurer be a detective? Just as why shouldn’t he be a jewel thief? Or an assassin? Or a guerrilla revolutionary? The word ‘adventurer’ is such an open job description and could mean absolutely anything. At its most basic it’s someone who has adventures, no more prescriptive that that – but that’s what makes The Saint stories so open and wonderful a prospect.
Here The Saint, pursuing leads, checks into small bed & breakfast in Llancoed (the kind of made up Welsh place name to rival Ponty-Pandy in ‘Fireman Sam’). Unlike most Welsh bed & breakfasts however, this one has a couple of international villains in residence, as well as a woman around whom hangs an air of great mystery.
‘The National Debt’ is a detective yarn which is more of a whataretheyupto? than a whodunnt? It’s diverting fun though, even if it does feel small scale; though that small scale is why the TV version leapt all over it.
In the notes to this edition it becomes clear how embryonic the character of The Saint was at this point. The reason in ‘The National Debt’ that Simon Templar pretends for so long to be a detective called Rameses Smith is that this originally was a story about a detective called Ramases Smith and was later adapted to fit Templar.
It would be great to lie the Saint tales out in the order they were written, have a look at what was happening in the world as they were created (to see how much inspiration Charteris drew from real life events) and really look at how this character and the stories about him evolved.
Maybe I’ll do that one day.
The Story of a Dead Man
So here we have a different way to attack a Saint story. Rather than starting with Simon Templar and his musings and watch them develop into the caper itself; in ‘The Story of a Dead Man’ it’s Claud Eustace Teal who kicks us off, picking up a disgruntled con from outside prison. His investigations lead him to a dodgy looking company in which a ‘Sebastian Tombs’ is a prominent employee.
Sebastian Tombs is of course Simon Templar.
Switching perspectives between Teal and Pamela Marlow, a secretary at this company, we have a very different short story: one where the mystery is ‘what on earth is The Saint?’ up to. It’s an interesting idea, and one clearly designed to build a variety of styles into an ongoing series.
It falls to a number of problems though. Firstly, Teal here shows more agency and smarts than he ever did in the two stories in which he appeared in ‘Featuring the Saint’ (he even manages to match Templar in verbal jousting, which is a bit of a surprise). Secondly, the character of Pamela Marlowe is nowhere near developed enough to make her sections of the tale work. Thirdly, we may have more gritty and tense story than is normally the case, but we also lose some of the man about town charm of Templar’s best stories and that’s a shame.
In his introduction Charteris freely admits that this isn’t the best Saint tale.
He’s well and truly right.
The Impossible Crime
This mixture of a locked room mystery with American gangsters on the rampage just ends up being far too messy as a short story. The intricacies of one half of the mystery are too delicate to stand side by side with the machine gun fire of Chicago émigrés. Actually I’m not a massive fan of the whole ‘American Gangsters in London’ scenario in general. The mews of Berkley Square do not lend themselves to strong arm tactics by bootleggers, and in such a violent story Templar seems to lose some of his debonair man about town style, and I like his debonair man about town style.
Clearly working as a sequel to an earlier American set story, Templar joins a New York cop and Inspector Teal (back to his slow-witted self) to solve a particularly impenetrable locked-room murder and to stop some visiting gangsters plying their murderous trade.
I liked that early in the story that The Saint acknowledges himself as a literary character, saying that he wouldn’t reveal his plans until tied to a chair in Chapter 14 (which doesn’t happen, by the way); and I liked the twist ending – which took me by surprise even though in hindsight it was clearly signposted. But all in all this is a lumpy tale which tries to do too much, and I much prefer them when they have sleeker and straighter lines.
The National Debt
And here’s another way to attack a Saint story, and one to really make us question quite what the word ‘adventurer’ means. As here Simon Templar is posing as detective in a B&B in Wales; seems a bit of a leap from his normal skullduggerous activities and even a bit mundane, but why shouldn’t an adventurer be a detective? Just as why shouldn’t he be a jewel thief? Or an assassin? Or a guerrilla revolutionary? The word ‘adventurer’ is such an open job description and could mean absolutely anything. At its most basic it’s someone who has adventures, no more prescriptive that that – but that’s what makes The Saint stories so open and wonderful a prospect.
Here The Saint, pursuing leads, checks into small bed & breakfast in Llancoed (the kind of made up Welsh place name to rival Ponty-Pandy in ‘Fireman Sam’). Unlike most Welsh bed & breakfasts however, this one has a couple of international villains in residence, as well as a woman around whom hangs an air of great mystery.
‘The National Debt’ is a detective yarn which is more of a whataretheyupto? than a whodunnt? It’s diverting fun though, even if it does feel small scale; though that small scale is why the TV version leapt all over it.
In the notes to this edition it becomes clear how embryonic the character of The Saint was at this point. The reason in ‘The National Debt’ that Simon Templar pretends for so long to be a detective called Rameses Smith is that this originally was a story about a detective called Ramases Smith and was later adapted to fit Templar.
It would be great to lie the Saint tales out in the order they were written, have a look at what was happening in the world as they were created (to see how much inspiration Charteris drew from real life events) and really look at how this character and the stories about him evolved.
Maybe I’ll do that one day.
April 13, 2017
I remember reading this series as a child. I use to sneak them out two or three at a time from my Aunt Francie's book shelf, with her permission, unbeknownst to my Mom. What I loved about it was that unlike comic book characters you could actually see Simon Templer maturing as he was getting older.
So glad I rediscovered the series. I want to start from the beginning all over again.
So glad I rediscovered the series. I want to start from the beginning all over again.
March 12, 2020
A lot of what happens to the Saint is utterly ridiculous, but he knows it, and it's hard to resist the way he takes us by the hand and invites us to suspend disbelief. Genre-savvy before it was a thing, and a genuinely charming hero from an age whose charming heroes mostly look, these days, like smug, misogynist racists.
January 25, 2025
As with all (I think) Saint books, this comprises three short stories. The first is ‘Story of a Dead Man.’ with Simon Templar working undercover in an office to expose a crook. I thought it was generally good. I especially liked the descriptions of London, a city Leslie Charteris obviously knew well. We also get a fair amount of Inspector Teal, who is always an enjoyable character. The Second story was ‘The Impossible Crime’, which, in part, featured a locked room mystery and saw the Saint up against some American gangsters he tries to bring down with the help of a New York detective. The third was ‘The National Debt’, where the Saint tries to thwart a major crime while staying at a Welsh guesthouse where a woman is being held against her will.
I should say my book was a 1963 edition paperback and, as such, was falling apart (my favourite kind of book), so the titles and short story order may vary from other editions. If I were being objective, I would say a lot of the action is preposterous. The Saint, with his constant flippant asides, I find more annoying than charming, and the plots often don’t make sense. In addition, the language is hard to follow sometimes; I got the impression Leslie Charteris was trying to appeal to an American audience with the amount of dated American slang used. However, I’m not objective when it comes to the Saint books. I love the character and plan to read most, if not all, in the series, so there. As Charteris admits himself, he was still learning his craft in these very early stories, and the Saint and stories ain’t subtle. They’re still great fun in the Bulldog Drummond style of daftness. That said, this is more for diehard Saint fans than those looking for a great thriller, and I found them an absolute treat.
I should say my book was a 1963 edition paperback and, as such, was falling apart (my favourite kind of book), so the titles and short story order may vary from other editions. If I were being objective, I would say a lot of the action is preposterous. The Saint, with his constant flippant asides, I find more annoying than charming, and the plots often don’t make sense. In addition, the language is hard to follow sometimes; I got the impression Leslie Charteris was trying to appeal to an American audience with the amount of dated American slang used. However, I’m not objective when it comes to the Saint books. I love the character and plan to read most, if not all, in the series, so there. As Charteris admits himself, he was still learning his craft in these very early stories, and the Saint and stories ain’t subtle. They’re still great fun in the Bulldog Drummond style of daftness. That said, this is more for diehard Saint fans than those looking for a great thriller, and I found them an absolute treat.
January 12, 2018
Only for hardcore fans—these are very early Saint stories. The first two of the three stories are dreadfully written, as Charteris himself admits in the preface. The third is also a very early story, but one can see the character of the Saint actually taking shape.
September 1, 2018
These are stories from the early days of the Saint.
But unfortunately, there are several different editions, containing different stories; and even more unfortunately, Amazon munges reviews for many of the editions together. So I must make some tedious distinctions, and ask your indulgence.
The standard edition
has three stories:
The Story of a Dead Man finds Simon 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 (!), Simon 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/The Saint and Mr. Teal.
4 stars.
The 1945 Jacobs edition
appears to comprise two stories only, both normally being found in Featuring the Saint, but missing the latter’s The Man Who Could Not Die.
The edition, then, is neither fish nor fowl, and bad value besides.
3 stars for the stories.
The 1950 Avon edition
is a hybrid, with two stories only:
The National Debt
The Man Who Could Not Die,
the latter normally (as I’ve said) being found in Featuring the Saint.
So likewise bad value.
3 stars for the stories.
But unfortunately, there are several different editions, containing different stories; and even more unfortunately, Amazon munges reviews for many of the editions together. So I must make some tedious distinctions, and ask your indulgence.
The standard edition
has three stories:
The Story of a Dead Man finds Simon 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 (!), Simon 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/The Saint and Mr. Teal.
4 stars.
The 1945 Jacobs edition
appears to comprise two stories only, both normally being found in Featuring the Saint, but missing the latter’s The Man Who Could Not Die.
The edition, then, is neither fish nor fowl, and bad value besides.
3 stars for the stories.
The 1950 Avon edition
is a hybrid, with two stories only:
The National Debt
The Man Who Could Not Die,
the latter normally (as I’ve said) being found in Featuring the Saint.
So likewise bad value.
3 stars for the stories.
January 27, 2025
Another volume that collects three stories about the Saint which earlier appeared The Thriller magazine. The last one, "The National Debt" is the only half-way good one of the bunch. Nicely structured, good pace, although the rushed ending makes for a bit of a mess. The other two stories, however, fail to entertain--to say the least. "The Story of a Dead Man" returns in style and structure to the earliest of Saint stories, all of which, to my taste, are terrible. They're filled with verbose, fey dialog, an ever yammering Saint who just won't shut up and thus becomes more and more irritating as things go along. There is a story in it, but I can barely make it out. Not good. The second one, "The Impossible Crime" is a bit better, and at least the dialog is a bit more tamed. It takes as its form a locked room mystery--although not quite--with too many holes in the room's access to make it fit solidly within that particular mystery subgenre.
I continue to read this series, because of coming across articles that insist Charteris made a dramatic turn with The Saint in New York, supposedly becoming more "hard-boiled" in his writing. And I want to see how that develops. I guess I'll keep reading the series until then, unless there are many more dips in the road like this volume. For Alias the Saint was a regression in form and narrative style, not a progression.
I continue to read this series, because of coming across articles that insist Charteris made a dramatic turn with The Saint in New York, supposedly becoming more "hard-boiled" in his writing. And I want to see how that develops. I guess I'll keep reading the series until then, unless there are many more dips in the road like this volume. For Alias the Saint was a regression in form and narrative style, not a progression.
April 15, 2019
I first read the Saint at my grandparents' house - my grandfather also enjoyed reading mysteries (though a different type than I usually read) and I am sure that I first read The Saint in books that belonged to him. I enjoyed them as a teenager, and these stories are about what I remember: though I do not remember reading these particular stories before. These are from very early on in the Sant's career - and it shows some, the character is not as formed as it would be later. I also learned that Leslie Charteris was of Chinese-English descent, his father being a Chinese doctor and his mother an Englishwoman, and he was brought up in Singapore and later England. As such, he was affected by the Chinese Exclusion Act, and not allowed to apply for citizenship in the US until (according to Wikipedia) an Act of Congress granted him and his daughter citizenship. The character of the Saint, interestingly, is of a man who has little to no background - as is pointed out, he doesn't get out of his exploits by appealing to mysterious elite relatives or connections: such connections as he has are decidedly middle-class and plebeian.
June 4, 2018
The edition I have has only two stories mentioned.
'The National Debt': A bit over done and confusing at times as The Saint character, using an alias is suspected and accepted at the same time by a gang of bad guys. That makes little sense. Also the coercion of a scientist seems also far fetched. it all ends as such stories do, but I felt very unsatisfactory in the end.
'The Man Who could Not Die': This is a nifty short tale that is also confusing as the story has various flashbacks and the editing makes where those start and stop not clear. It all seemed obvious to me. As did the conclusion.
Bottom line: i don't recommend the book. 4 out of ten points.
'The National Debt': A bit over done and confusing at times as The Saint character, using an alias is suspected and accepted at the same time by a gang of bad guys. That makes little sense. Also the coercion of a scientist seems also far fetched. it all ends as such stories do, but I felt very unsatisfactory in the end.
'The Man Who could Not Die': This is a nifty short tale that is also confusing as the story has various flashbacks and the editing makes where those start and stop not clear. It all seemed obvious to me. As did the conclusion.
Bottom line: i don't recommend the book. 4 out of ten points.
November 11, 2023
In the 70s the Saint was brought to the screen by Roger Moore. Subsequently other attempts were made to revive his fame but he is certainly a very dated character (this particular book was written in 1931). Reading this book was fun (as is watching the series) if you place the events in their time and therefore ignore heavy stereotypes. The Saint is a somewhat ambiguous character. He fights injustice but sometimes has a very personal idea of justice and often acts for money. Despite all this he is a very cunning character and it is fun to see how he manages to get out of trouble and solve even the most intricate situations.
December 14, 2023
Rating 4
Very long since I last read this 3 novella/long-short story collection, forgot how much I really enjoyed them all.
For anyone who has only read the later Saint books these would probably be a surprise.
It was nice to meet Teal again and for him not to be portrayed as a joke policeman, as he frequently was later on, here he is seen to construct a case against the crooks with great care. The only problem could be the Saint.
These 3 stories show how the Saint will change from this point onwards and especially once the war has started.
Overall a definite recommendation
Very long since I last read this 3 novella/long-short story collection, forgot how much I really enjoyed them all.
For anyone who has only read the later Saint books these would probably be a surprise.
It was nice to meet Teal again and for him not to be portrayed as a joke policeman, as he frequently was later on, here he is seen to construct a case against the crooks with great care. The only problem could be the Saint.
These 3 stories show how the Saint will change from this point onwards and especially once the war has started.
Overall a definite recommendation
April 28, 2019
Interesting early trio of swashbuckling, crime-fighting Saint stories, including two "The Impossible Crime" and "The National Dept" adapted for the Roger Moore TV series (as "The Contract" and "The Crime of the Century" by Terry Nation, who created The Daleks for the Dr. Who TV series. The other story, "The Story of a Deadman," features sterling supporting character Inspector Teale. Since the stories first appeared in 1929-1931, one has to mentally go back in time to appreciate the mores.
February 13, 2022
First published in 1931, 'Alias the Saint' is a short selection of early stories featuring Simon Templar. Most irritating, the stories vary depending on the edition - mine contained two novellas 'The National Debt' and 'The Man Who Could not Die', the second of which I had already read from another book in the series. In spite of that, the stories are great fun with uncompromising two-dimensional villains gnashing their teeth at the drop of a hat. A pleasant diversion.
July 20, 2019
Another solid offering in the Saint series. I'm not a big fan of short stories as they don't tend to leave as much of an impression as novels. However, the combination of Charteris' prose with what would now be considered a "period piece" and a nostalgic hero all combine to make these short stories memorable.
November 6, 2017
Another great Saint book. I'm really enjoying getting reacquainted with this old antihero.
May 22, 2019
I've read much better entries in the series.
December 31, 2022
Three fun adventures of the Saint: The Story of a Dead Man, with Inspector Teal; The Impossible Crime, also with Inspector Teal; and The National Debt.
December 18, 2023
Published in 1931, this book (which I think was the second Saint collection) brings three stories originally published in The Thriller magazine. In fact, two of the three stories were changed a bit to make their main characters actually be Simon Templar, aka the Saint.
I remember watching The Saint on TV back in the 60s - Roger Moore played the role, and that's what I identify him as, rather than James Bond. But for some reason, I'd never actually read any Saint fiction before this.
Let's quote a couple sentences. There's a police inspector known for chewing gum. "Teal unwrapped a wafer of Mr. Wrigley's unrivaled jaw exerciser, and engulfed it ponderously." That's sheer genius, I tell ya.
Templar has made friends with an American detective who had been a nemesis. "That hatchet-faced New York sleuth and I have entombed the tomahawk." I would love to have met somebody who actually talks like that.
Of course, there's a love interest: "Patricia put up her mouth, and the Saint dealt with it suitably."
These three sentences are from "The Impossible Crime," the second story in the book but the most recent, from March 1931, to have been written. It's also the only one intended from the git-go to be about Templar. It's a masterpiece of pot-boiling detective fiction.
Templar is a fascinating hero, one who isn't exactly aligned with the law but who always winds up tackling the real bad guys. He's witty and urbane, and his dialogue crackles every time. The plots here are somewhat overblown, especially in the first piece, "The Story of a Dead Man." But I'm definitely ready to look for more of this sort of thing out there.
I remember watching The Saint on TV back in the 60s - Roger Moore played the role, and that's what I identify him as, rather than James Bond. But for some reason, I'd never actually read any Saint fiction before this.
Let's quote a couple sentences. There's a police inspector known for chewing gum. "Teal unwrapped a wafer of Mr. Wrigley's unrivaled jaw exerciser, and engulfed it ponderously." That's sheer genius, I tell ya.
Templar has made friends with an American detective who had been a nemesis. "That hatchet-faced New York sleuth and I have entombed the tomahawk." I would love to have met somebody who actually talks like that.
Of course, there's a love interest: "Patricia put up her mouth, and the Saint dealt with it suitably."
These three sentences are from "The Impossible Crime," the second story in the book but the most recent, from March 1931, to have been written. It's also the only one intended from the git-go to be about Templar. It's a masterpiece of pot-boiling detective fiction.
Templar is a fascinating hero, one who isn't exactly aligned with the law but who always winds up tackling the real bad guys. He's witty and urbane, and his dialogue crackles every time. The plots here are somewhat overblown, especially in the first piece, "The Story of a Dead Man." But I'm definitely ready to look for more of this sort of thing out there.
April 3, 2008
Leslie Charteris is now all but forgotten, but for much of the 20th century he was an immensely popular author, and the adventures of his fictional hero Simon Templar, known as The Saint, could be followed in radio serials, a succession of B-movies in the 1940s (initially starring the delightful George Sanders, and later Sanders’ brother Tom Conway), a 1960s TV series, another TV series in the 1970s, and several 1960s movies. Charteris, who was born in Singapore, was in fact half-Chinese and half-English. He later an American citizen (although this involved a considerable struggle on his part because of the racist immigration laws of the time). Alias the Saint is one of the earlier books featuring Simon Templar, and came out in 1931. It actually comprises three novellas. It differs from most English crime fiction of that time in that the hero is (despite his name) morally somewhat dubious. He was at one time an out-and-out criminal, and although he’s now on the side of the angels (mostly) his methods are often only marginally legal, and at times clearly illegal. In some ways the stories are a cross between detective fiction and adventure stories. They’re fun in their own way, and Templar is a charming and rather likeable rogue.
May 22, 2012
Originally published on my blog here in October 1999.
Like so many of the Saint series, Alias the Saint contains three disconnected stories of the length Charteris found most pleasant to write. The book is from the early period when he was churning out the stories at an incredible speed, particularly given their quality. In this collection, we have the story in which Simon Templar first uses his favourite alias of Sebastian Tombs (chosen to annoy Chief Inspector Teal), a locked room mystery, and a complex plot revolving around a kidnapped (beautiful, female) chemist rescued by Templar.
The first story is the best, having a lot of humour and a twist. The middle one gets a bit bogged down, and I found the last one a little far-fetched. But there's still more in the Saint of the thirties than in most other thrillers of any decade, even when the stories are not Charteris' best.
Like so many of the Saint series, Alias the Saint contains three disconnected stories of the length Charteris found most pleasant to write. The book is from the early period when he was churning out the stories at an incredible speed, particularly given their quality. In this collection, we have the story in which Simon Templar first uses his favourite alias of Sebastian Tombs (chosen to annoy Chief Inspector Teal), a locked room mystery, and a complex plot revolving around a kidnapped (beautiful, female) chemist rescued by Templar.
The first story is the best, having a lot of humour and a twist. The middle one gets a bit bogged down, and I found the last one a little far-fetched. But there's still more in the Saint of the thirties than in most other thrillers of any decade, even when the stories are not Charteris' best.
March 1, 2014
An early collection of three novellas, this is fun but perhaps one for the Saint completist and certainly not the one to start with if you've never tried the books before.
The problem is that the stories are re-workings of ones Charteris had previously written with different lead characters, police detectives, and it shows as they are atypical examples. Here, Simon Templar is essentially acting as an unofficial operative of Scotland Yard, and it is not a comfortable fit.
Having said that, if you are a Saint fan then this is a worthy addition to your reading and they do have a certain historic interest.
The problem is that the stories are re-workings of ones Charteris had previously written with different lead characters, police detectives, and it shows as they are atypical examples. Here, Simon Templar is essentially acting as an unofficial operative of Scotland Yard, and it is not a comfortable fit.
Having said that, if you are a Saint fan then this is a worthy addition to your reading and they do have a certain historic interest.
December 29, 2014
This one was quite a struggle to get through. Very little of the traditional Saint-ly charm is in evidence here, doubtless because, as I wish I'd known in advance, these aren't really Saint stories at all, but thinly repurposed early Charteris tales with the character names substituted later — or, in the case of “The National Debt” (aka “The Secret of Beacon Inn”), not even so much substituted as having the lead character, Rameses Smith, simply turned into an alias for Templar. The first, “The Story of a Dead Man” at least has a few positive glimpses of what was to come later, but in general these are all rather poor. ★☆
February 23, 2016
I love these old fashioned adventure type books and have been reading and collecting Saint books for about eight years. This wasn’t one of my favourites to be honest. It was made up of three stories and I was slogging through thinking it was OK but not great although the last and shortest of the stories made it worthwhile. It had everything, a well-spoken criminal mastermind, poisoned gas, a damsel in distress and with the hero being left to die alone in a room that he will obviously escape from. Why do they never just shoot them?
April 18, 2017
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. As a fan of traditional mystery/crime fiction I had a felling I would like the Saint and I was right. The saint character reminded me of Campion however a much more polished and morally ambiguous version. Not generally being a fan of short stories I wondered how these three would fit together, Charteris has that rare talent of making a small cast of familiar characters exciting and almost predictable at the same time. I will be reading more of the Saint series if only to learn more about Teals chewing gum habit.
August 31, 2016
Alias the Saint has three stories in it, and two of them don't lend themselves well to an audiobook. Several times I had to go back because there was an info-dump and I couldn't get the characters straight! The 3rd story worked the best, maybe because of the way the tale unfolded. Maybe I'll come back to this one after I've listened to more audiobooks and see if it improves on a 2nd listen.
November 24, 2015
Over-wrought and over-written, these vintage adventure stories show their age. Simon Templar is smooth and charming and he has it both ways as he takes on pirates and a locked door murder. The language is clang-y and stuffed with antique slang.
Problematic.
Problematic.
August 21, 2022
Simon's behavior in The National Debt story is frankly ridiculous. I guess it is how he rolls, but to advertise himself to the criminals so openly before he found out what was going on was completely bonkers. The story would have been much more compelling if he had been working behind the scenes.
December 2, 2011
A collection of 3 stories, two of them featuring Claude Eustace Teal who was Simon's weary nemesis. CI Teal was one of my favorite characters in the series.
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