The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal
Encyclopedia
The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal is a collection of three mystery novella
s by Leslie Charteris
, first published in the United Kingdom
in 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and the United States
by The Crime Club
. The book was republished under two additional titles: The Saint in England and, as of 1952, The Saint in London (not to be confused with The Saint in London
, a film based upon a story in an earlier Saint volume, The Holy Terror
).
This was the 12th volume of stories featuring the Robin Hood
-inspired character, Simon Templar
, alias The Saint. The original title of the book, however, refers to the character of Claud Eustace Teal
, an inspector with Scotland Yard
and a recurring adversary of Templar's.
Some later editions include a Foreword by Charteris apologising for the "dated" nature of the stories.
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...
, first published 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...
in 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
. The book was republished under two additional titles: The Saint in England and, as of 1952, The Saint in London (not to be confused with The Saint in London
The Saint in London
The Saint in London is an American crime film, the third in a series of films featuring the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint".The film starred George Sanders as Templar and was produced by William Sistrom. John Paddy Carstairs directed...
, a film based upon a story in an earlier Saint volume, The Holy Terror
The Holy Terror (The Saint)
The Holy Terror is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1932 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the eighth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". When published in the United States for the first time, also...
).
This was the 12th volume of stories featuring the Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....
-inspired character, 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 original title of the book, however, refers to the character of Claud Eustace Teal
Claud Eustace Teal
Claud 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...
, an inspector with Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland 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...
and a recurring adversary of Templar's.
Stories
The book consisted of the following stories:- The Simon Templar Foundation: The Saint finds himself in possession of a black book (a legacy from his one-time enemy, Rayt Marius -- see Knight TemplarKnight Templar (The Saint)Knight Templar is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in 1930. This was the fourth book -- and third full novel -- featuring Charteris' Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The title of the book is a pun on the religious organization Knights...
). The book contains secrets related to war profiteering by several prominent Englishmen; Templar plans to create a one-million-pound foundation to aid the victims of war by blackmailing the men featured in Marius' book. This story introduces Hoppy Uniatz, a small time American hoodlum who becomes a long-serving ally of The Saint over the coming decades. This story takes place an unspecified time after the previous Saint books Once More the SaintOnce More the SaintOnce More the Saint is a collection of three interrelated mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1933. This was the tenth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The first American edition, published the...
and The Brighter BuccaneerThe Brighter BuccaneerThe Brighter Buccaneer is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1933. This was the eleventh book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint"...
; Templar is said to be 32 years old (thereby placing this story some three years after Knight Templar) and he has apparently been away from Britain for quite some time, during which he had a series of unchronicled adventures until his travels were cut short by his receipt of the black book. - The Higher Finance: Templar impersonates a forger in order to stop the richest man in Europe from generating a cache of fake bond certificates, but soon finds himself in the midst of a bizarre case of impersonation and accidental death. This story reintroduces Orace, Templar's former butler, after an absence of several years.
- The Art of Alibi: The Saint has to clear his name after his signature calling card (a drawing of a stick figure with a halo) is left at the scene of a murder and the theft of an airplane. At the heart of the case is a madman who really believes he is The Saint, and plans to liberate 10 tons worth of gold bullion from a government aircraft. Templar's plans to clear his name are complicated when Hoppy punches out a policeman and Teal finds himself with a case that might finally put Templar behind bars. It is stated that five years have passed since Templar's first dealings with Inspector Teal, which coincides with the first stories featuring Teal that appeared in 1929.
Some later editions include a Foreword by Charteris apologising for the "dated" nature of the stories.