Catch the Saint
Encyclopedia
Catch the Saint is a collection of two mystery novella
s by Fleming Lee, based upon stories by Norman Worker
continuing the adventures of the sleuth Simon Templar
aka "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris
. As per usual practice at this point in the series, the front cover credits Charteris, although Lee and Worker receive interior title page credit; Charteris served in an editorial capacity. Some editions misspell the author's name "Flemming Lee."
This book was first published in the United Kingdom
in 1975 by Hodder and Stoughton, followed by an American
edition by The Crime Club
.
Charteris, in his forward to this volume, defines Catch the Saint as an experiment in trying to return Simon Templar to his roots in 1930s mystery fiction. While recent Saint novellas and novels published since 1968 had taken place in contemporary times and had been either adaptations of teleplays from the 1962–69 TV series, The Saint
, or based upon storylines from the Saint comic strip
, the two stories in Catch the Saint were original works said to take place prior to the Second World War. This makes Catch the Saint the first original (non-adapted) Saint stories to be published since 1964's Vendetta for the Saint
.
These were the last Simon Templar novellas to be written by Fleming Lee.
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 Fleming Lee, based upon stories by Norman Worker
Norman Worker
Norman Worker was a British comic book writer, best known for his work on comic books featuring Lee Falk's The Phantom.Norman was born in Kent, England, in 1927. When he was 17 years old, he fought in World War II in India...
continuing the adventures of the sleuth 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...
aka "The Saint", created 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...
. As per usual practice at this point in the series, the front cover credits Charteris, although Lee and Worker receive interior title page credit; Charteris served in an editorial capacity. Some editions misspell the author's name "Flemming Lee."
This book was 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 1975 by Hodder and Stoughton, followed by an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
.
Charteris, in his forward to this volume, defines Catch the Saint as an experiment in trying to return Simon Templar to his roots in 1930s mystery fiction. While recent Saint novellas and novels published since 1968 had taken place in contemporary times and had been either adaptations of teleplays 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...
, or based upon storylines from the Saint comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
, the two stories in Catch the Saint were original works said to take place prior to the Second World War. This makes Catch the Saint the first original (non-adapted) Saint stories to be published since 1964's Vendetta for the Saint
Vendetta for the Saint
Vendetta for the Saint is the title of a 1964 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 authored by Harry Harrison, a noted science fiction author who also wrote the...
.
These were the last Simon Templar novellas to be written by Fleming Lee.
Stories
The book consisted of the following stories:- The Masterpiece Merchant
- The Adoring Socialite