Meet the Tiger
Encyclopedia
Meet the Tiger is the title of an action-adventure novel written by Leslie Charteris
. In England it was first published by Ward Lock in 1928; in the United States it was first published by Doubleday's The Crime Club
imprint in 1929. It was the first novel in a long-running series of books (lasting into the 1980s) featuring the adventures of Simon Templar
, alias "The Saint". It was later reissued under a number of different titles, including the unofficial Crooked Gold by Amalgamated Press in 1929 which failed to credit the authorship of Charteris, and the best-known reissue title, The Saint Meets the Tiger. In 1940 the Sun Dial Press changed the title to Meet - the Tiger! The Saint is in Danger.
Templar is introduced as a young adventurer 27 years of age, who is independently wealthy and accompanied by a manservant named Orace. Templar and Orace stay in a pillbox that Simon has purchased from the Ministry of Defence in the small North Devon
seaside town of Baycombe, their intent to foil a plan by a mysterious individual known only as "The Tiger" to smuggle stolen gold. Templar's motivation is to settle an old score with The Tiger, with whom he has had prior dealings though he's never actually met the villain, and to return the gold to its proper owner and collect the reward.
Meet the Tiger is not a "whodunit
" but rather a "whoisit", as the identity of The Tiger is not revealed immediately and Templar (and the reader) is left guessing as to which inhabitant of Baycombe is the villain.
During this adventure, Templar meets a young socialite named Patricia Holm
and falls in love with her, even more so once she starts displaying distinctly "Saintly" qualities, including sharing Templar's taste for adventure and danger. Holm becomes the protagonist for the middle third of the novel during a period when she believes Templar to be dead and decides to continue following his plan to foil the Tiger. Holm went on to become a recurring character in most of the Saint stories published over the next two decades, although she never again took the spotlight as she did in Meet the Tiger.
Another character in the book is Detective Carn, a police officer posing in Baycombe as a professor and who also is in pursuit of the Tiger and his minions (dubbed Tiger Cubs). Carn and Templar form an uneasy alliance, and the character appears to be a template for the later character of Inspector Claud Eustace Teal
, who would become a recurring ally/adversary of Templar's in later Saint adventures after making his debut in the 1929 non-Saint novel, Daredevil
.
Meet the Tiger was a commercial success when it was published, and in 1930 Charteris decided to turn the adventures of Simon Templar into a series, writing three novella-length adventures featuring the character that were initially published in magazines and then in 1930 as Enter the Saint
; this was followed later the same year by The Last Hero
, a novel-length adventure. Charteris would go on to write more than 100 Saint adventures over the next three decades, in a mixture of formats including novels, short stories, and novella
s. His character would be featured in several radio series in the 1940s and 1950s, a series of Hollywood films in the 1930s-50s, and most notably a television series of the 1960s
starring Roger Moore
.
In his introduction to the 1980 reprinting of Meet the Tiger by Charter Books, Charteris all but disowned the work, stating "I can see so much wrong with it that I am humbly astonished that it got published at all" and dismissing it as an early work by a writer who was less than 21 years of age at the time. In a 1960s edition of Enter the Saint, Charteris goes so far as to define Enter the Saint as the first Templar book, ignoring Meet the Tiger. Nonetheless Charteris acknowledged that Meet the Tiger was an important work, if for no reason other than it launched the long-running series of books that became, effectively, his life's work. Charteris would also refer back to the events of this novel on several later occasions, most notably in the prologue to The Saint in New York
.
In 1943, Meet the Tiger was adapted as the motion picture The Saint Meets the Tiger. Although the film takes some liberties with the novel (the character of Carn, for example, becomes Templar's regular rival in the film series (and later books), Inspector Teal, and the plot is sparked by a murder on Templar's doorstep, which does not occur in the book), the basic plot remains the same.
The film starred Hugh Sinclair
as Templar, with Jean Gillie
as Patricia Holm, Wylie Watson
as Horace (renamed from the original book's Orace), and Clifford Evans
as the Tiger. To date it is the only adaptation of The Saint in which the character of Holm appears (in the books she shares most of Templar's adventures before Charteris phased her out in the 1940s; film adaptations of stories originally featuring Holm would substitute different female characters).
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...
. In England it was first published by Ward Lock in 1928; in the United States it was first published by Doubleday's 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...
imprint in 1929. It was the first novel in a long-running series of books (lasting into the 1980s) featuring 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...
, alias "The Saint". It was later reissued under a number of different titles, including the unofficial Crooked Gold by Amalgamated Press in 1929 which failed to credit the authorship of Charteris, and the best-known reissue title, The Saint Meets the Tiger. In 1940 the Sun Dial Press changed the title to Meet - the Tiger! The Saint is in Danger.
Templar is introduced as a young adventurer 27 years of age, who is independently wealthy and accompanied by a manservant named Orace. Templar and Orace stay in a pillbox that Simon has purchased from the Ministry of Defence in the small North Devon
North Devon
North Devon is the northern part of the English county of Devon. It is also the name of a local government district in Devon. Its council is based in Barnstaple. Other towns and villages in the North Devon District include Braunton, Fremington, Ilfracombe, Instow, South Molton, Lynton and Lynmouth...
seaside town of Baycombe, their intent to foil a plan by a mysterious individual known only as "The Tiger" to smuggle stolen gold. Templar's motivation is to settle an old score with The Tiger, with whom he has had prior dealings though he's never actually met the villain, and to return the gold to its proper owner and collect the reward.
Meet the Tiger is not a "whodunit
Whodunit
A whodunit or whodunnit is a complex, plot-driven variety of the detective story in which the puzzle is the main feature of interest. The reader or viewer is provided with clues from which the identity of the perpetrator of the crime may be deduced before the solution is revealed in the final...
" but rather a "whoisit", as the identity of The Tiger is not revealed immediately and Templar (and the reader) is left guessing as to which inhabitant of Baycombe is the villain.
During this adventure, Templar meets a young socialite named Patricia Holm
Patricia Holm
Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels of Leslie Charteris from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" and shared a number of his adventures....
and falls in love with her, even more so once she starts displaying distinctly "Saintly" qualities, including sharing Templar's taste for adventure and danger. Holm becomes the protagonist for the middle third of the novel during a period when she believes Templar to be dead and decides to continue following his plan to foil the Tiger. Holm went on to become a recurring character in most of the Saint stories published over the next two decades, although she never again took the spotlight as she did in Meet the Tiger.
Another character in the book is Detective Carn, a police officer posing in Baycombe as a professor and who also is in pursuit of the Tiger and his minions (dubbed Tiger Cubs). Carn and Templar form an uneasy alliance, and the character appears to be a template for the later character of Inspector 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...
, who would become a recurring ally/adversary of Templar's in later Saint adventures after making his debut in the 1929 non-Saint novel, Daredevil
Daredevil (novel)
Daredevil is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris which was first published by Ward Lock in 1929 . This was Charteris' fourth full-length novel, and is one of the few full-length books in his canon that does not feature the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint"...
.
Meet the Tiger was a commercial success when it was published, and in 1930 Charteris decided to turn the adventures of Simon Templar into a series, writing three novella-length adventures featuring the character that were initially published in magazines and then in 1930 as 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....
; this was followed later the same year by The Last Hero
The Last Hero (The Saint)
The Last Hero is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris that was first published in the United Kingdom in 1930 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States in 1931 by The Crime Club. The story was initially serialized in 1929 in a British magazine...
, a novel-length adventure. Charteris would go on to write more than 100 Saint adventures over the next three decades, in a mixture of formats including novels, short stories, and novella
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. His character would be featured in several radio series in the 1940s and 1950s, a series of Hollywood films in the 1930s-50s, and most notably a television series of the 1960s
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...
starring Roger Moore
Roger Moore
Sir Roger George Moore KBE , is an English actor, perhaps best known for portraying British secret agent James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985. He also portrayed Simon Templar in the long-running British television series The Saint.-Early life:Moore was born in Stockwell, London...
.
In his introduction to the 1980 reprinting of Meet the Tiger by Charter Books, Charteris all but disowned the work, stating "I can see so much wrong with it that I am humbly astonished that it got published at all" and dismissing it as an early work by a writer who was less than 21 years of age at the time. In a 1960s edition of Enter the Saint, Charteris goes so far as to define Enter the Saint as the first Templar book, ignoring Meet the Tiger. Nonetheless Charteris acknowledged that Meet the Tiger was an important work, if for no reason other than it launched the long-running series of books that became, effectively, his life's work. Charteris would also refer back to the events of this novel on several later occasions, most notably in the prologue to The Saint in New York
The Saint in New York
The Saint in New York is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1935. It was published later that year in the United States by Doubleday...
.
Film adaptation
- Main article: The Saint Meets the TigerThe Saint Meets the TigerThe Saint Meets the Tiger is the title of a crime thriller motion picture produced by the British unit of RKO Pictures and released in 1943 by Republic Pictures that RKO sold the film to after a dispute with Leslie Charteris...
In 1943, Meet the Tiger was adapted as the motion picture The Saint Meets the Tiger. Although the film takes some liberties with the novel (the character of Carn, for example, becomes Templar's regular rival in the film series (and later books), Inspector Teal, and the plot is sparked by a murder on Templar's doorstep, which does not occur in the book), the basic plot remains the same.
The film starred Hugh Sinclair
Hugh Sinclair (actor)
Hugh Sinclair was a British actor born in London, England, the son of a clergyman. He was educated at Charterhouse School and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His first marriage was to the actress Valerie Taylor...
as Templar, with Jean Gillie
Jean Gillie
Jean Gillie was an English film actress of the 1930s and 1940s. Gillie appeared in 20 British and two American films before her career was cut short by her early death.-Career:...
as Patricia Holm, Wylie Watson
Wylie Watson
Wylie Watson was a British actor. Among his best known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film The 39 Steps, and wily storekeeper Joseph Macroon in the Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!...
as Horace (renamed from the original book's Orace), and Clifford Evans
Clifford Evans
Clifford Evans was a Welsh actor. As a conscientious objector he served in the Non-Combatant Corps in World War II.During the summer of 1934 he appeared in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the Open Air Theatre in London....
as the Tiger. To date it is the only adaptation of The Saint in which the character of Holm appears (in the books she shares most of Templar's adventures before Charteris phased her out in the 1940s; film adaptations of stories originally featuring Holm would substitute different female characters).
External links
- Review of Meet the Tiger (erroneously gives the publishing date as 1927)