Alias the Saint
Encyclopedia
Alias the Saint is a collection of three mystery novella
s by Leslie Charteris
, first published in the United Kingdom
in 1931 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the sixth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar
, also known as "The Saint". The three stories had previously been published in magazines.
The first American
publication of Alias the Saint occurred in 1931 through The Crime Club
as part of the compilation Wanted for Murder
, which also included the contents of the previous book, Featuring the Saint
.
A variation of Alias the Saint was published in the United States in the 1950s by Avon Books and later reprinted by Charter Books in 1970s. This version, subtitled "Selections from Wanted for Murder" contains only two stories: "The National Debt" (originally published in the UK Alias the Saint) and "The Man Who Could Not Die", which was originally published in the UK edition of Featuring the Saint. A complete edition of the original Alias the Saint was first published by Fiction Publishing Company in the early 1960s.
"The Story of a Dead Man" was actually the very first Saint novella to be published after the character's introduction in the 1928 novel Meet - The Tiger!, appearing in the UK magazine Thriller in March 1929, followed by "The National Debt" in April under the title "The Secret of Beacon Inn". Both stories were passed over by Charteris when he was compiling his first two novella collections Enter the Saint
and Featuring the Saint and were rewritten when he chose to include them in Alias the Saint.
.
"The Impossible Crime" was retitled "The Contract" and first aired on January 7, 1965. "The National Debt" was retitled "The Crime of the Century" and first aired on March 4, 1965.
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 1931 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the sixth book to feature the adventures of 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...
, also known as "The Saint". The three stories had previously been published in magazines.
The first American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
publication of Alias the Saint occurred in 1931 through 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...
as part of the compilation Wanted for Murder
Wanted for Murder
Wanted for Murder is the title of a collection of six mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris which was first published in the United States in 1931....
, which also included the contents of the previous book, Featuring the Saint
Featuring the Saint
Featuring the Saint is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1931 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the fifth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". It was the first novella collection to be published since...
.
A variation of Alias the Saint was published in the United States in the 1950s by Avon Books and later reprinted by Charter Books in 1970s. This version, subtitled "Selections from Wanted for Murder" contains only two stories: "The National Debt" (originally published in the UK Alias the Saint) and "The Man Who Could Not Die", which was originally published in the UK edition of Featuring the Saint. A complete edition of the original Alias the Saint was first published by Fiction Publishing Company in the early 1960s.
"The Story of a Dead Man" was actually the very first Saint novella to be published after the character's introduction in the 1928 novel Meet - The Tiger!, appearing in the UK magazine Thriller in March 1929, followed by "The National Debt" in April under the title "The Secret of Beacon Inn". Both stories were passed over by Charteris when he was compiling his first two novella collections Enter the Saint
Enter the Saint
Enter the Saint is a collection of three interconnected adventure novellas by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1930, followed by an American edition by The Crime Club in 1931....
and Featuring the Saint and were rewritten when he chose to include them in Alias the Saint.
Stories
The book consisted of the following stories:- The Story of a Dead Man - Inspector 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...
becomes suspicious when he discovers The Saint claiming to have reformed and working as an office manager. - The Impossible Crime - An unusually bored Templar agrees to help Teal solve a crime involving a man in a locked room who had apparently been shot to death. This story marks the first appearance of Templar's colleague Duncarry, a New York City detective who once pursued Templar on a case, but is now considered one of the Saint's inner circle. This warming of relations between Templar and Scotland Yard (if not necessarily Teal) would continue into the next book, She Was a LadyShe Was a LadyShe Was a Lady is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The novel was first published in magazine serial form in 1930, and was first published in complete form in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1931...
. - The National Debt - Templar assumes the identity of Professor Ramses Smith in order to investigate a group of modern-day pirates based in South WalesWalesWales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
who kidnapped a beautiful young chemist after doping her with a mind-altering drug that turned her (briefly) into a mindless killer.
Television adaptation
Two of the stories in this collection were adapted as episodes of the third season of 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 Impossible Crime" was retitled "The Contract" and first aired on January 7, 1965. "The National Debt" was retitled "The Crime of the Century" and first aired on March 4, 1965.