The Saint and the People Importers
Encyclopedia
The Saint and the People Importers is the title of a 1971 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar
, alias "The Saint". The novel is credited to Leslie Charteris
, who created the Saint in 1928, but the book was actually co-authored by Fleming Lee. It is a novelization of the episode "The People Importers" from the 1962-69 TV series, The Saint
, originally written by Donald James
. The episode sprang from an original outline by Lee, though this was discarded by the time the story hit TV screens. For the novelisation Lee went back to the original premise.
Some sources such as the Saintly Bible website, list Charteris as co-author of this book, although he did serve in an editorial capacity on all releases issued during this period. For the first time in more than 30 years, the British edition (by Hodder and Stoughton) predated the American release. It was also the first Saint book to be released in paperback
first, although hardcover editions followed. The book was first published in the United States
by The Crime Club
in 1972.
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 novel is credited to 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...
, who created the Saint in 1928, but the book was actually co-authored by Fleming Lee. It is a novelization of the episode "The People Importers" from the 1962-69 TV series, The Saint
The 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...
, originally written by Donald James
Donald James
Donald James was the author of the bestselling novels Vadim, Monstrum, The Fortune Teller and The Fall of the Russian Empire as well as non-fiction books such as The Penguin Dictionary of the Third Reich...
. The episode sprang from an original outline by Lee, though this was discarded by the time the story hit TV screens. For the novelisation Lee went back to the original premise.
Some sources such as the Saintly Bible website, list Charteris as co-author of this book, although he did serve in an editorial capacity on all releases issued during this period. For the first time in more than 30 years, the British edition (by Hodder and Stoughton) predated the American release. It was also the first Saint book to be released in paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
first, although hardcover editions followed. The book was first published in 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...
in 1972.