Follow the Saint
Encyclopedia
Follow the Saint is a collection of three mystery novella
s by Leslie Charteris
, featuring the criminal and crimefighter Simon Templar
, alias The Saint. The collection was first published in 1938.
Follow the Saint marked a change in the publication order for the Saint books. Up to this point, the books were always published first in the United Kingdom
, followed by an American
publication later in the year or sometimes a year later. The order was switched beginning with this book, with the American edition (by The Crime Club
) preceding the UK edition by Hodder and Stoughton, which was not released until 1939.
. "The Invisible Millionaire" aired on February 13, 1964, during the programme's second season. "The Miracle Tea Party" opened the third season on October 8, 1964.
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s by Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris
Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 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."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...
, featuring the criminal and crimefighter Simon Templar
Simon Templar
Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...
, alias The Saint. The collection was first published in 1938.
Follow the Saint marked a change in the publication order for the Saint books. Up to this point, the books were always published first in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, followed by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publication later in the year or sometimes a year later. The order was switched beginning with this book, with the American edition (by The Crime Club
The Crime Club
The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series.Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris...
) preceding the UK edition by Hodder and Stoughton, which was not released until 1939.
Stories
The book consisted of the following stories:- "The Miracle Tea Party" — Simon Templar investigates an unprovoked attack on his "nemesis", Scotland YardScotland YardScotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...
Chief Inspector Claud Eustace TealClaud Eustace TealClaud Eustace Teal is a fictional character who made many appearances in a series of novels, novellas and short stories by Leslie Charteris entitled The Saint, starting in 1929...
, which appears to be connected to the smuggling of high-denomination pound sterlingPound sterlingThe pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
notes hidden inside tea bags. - "The Invisible Millionaire" — Templar is invited to meet a young woman at a secret rendezvous where she plans to provide information regarding a major swindle. The case becomes complicated when the Saint and his assistant Hoppy Uniatz find the woman stabbed to death, with Templar (as usual) blamed for her murder. Templar and Uniatz don't know what to think when their accusers subsequently invite them to come home for dinner.
- "The Affair of Hogsbotham" — Self-appointed guardian of public morality Ebenezer Hogsbotham annoys Templar with his attempt to turn Britain into a chaste society, so Templar decides to bring him down a peg or two by robbing his home. But Templar and Uniatz invade the wrong house and find themselves in the midst of a bank-robbing conspiracy.
Television adaptations
Two of the stories were later adapted as episodes of the TV series The SaintThe Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
. "The Invisible Millionaire" aired on February 13, 1964, during the programme's second season. "The Miracle Tea Party" opened the third season on October 8, 1964.