Patricia Holm
Encyclopedia
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...
from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was the on-again, off-again
On-again, off-again relationship
An on-again, off-again relationship is a form of casual relationship, usually sexual, between two people. It is where the couple concerned do not see their discontinuous affair as an ongoing or formal relationship...
girlfriend and partner 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" and shared a number of his adventures.
Early Appearances
Holm is in her early 20s when she first encounters Templar in the inaugural Saint adventure Meet - The Tiger! (published in 1928). She and Templar encounter each other on the street in a quiet seaside English village, and she is initially annoyed by his flippant, almost comical behavior. Later, following more encounters, she begins to fall in love with Templar and literally talks herself into assisting the Saint on a scheme to uncover the identity of a crime boss named The Tiger and make off with a hoard of illegally obtained gold. Templar, after some initial hesitancy, recognizes Holm as a kindred spirit, with "Saintly" qualities not unlike his own.Holm actually becomes the main protagonist for the middle third of the novel, as at one point the Saint is incapacitated and Holm is led to the assumption that he is dead. She decides to complete his mission and take revenge upon the Tiger, but is reunited with Templar before things get out of hand.
Charteris' physical description of Holm (which remained consistent) is of a tall and willowy woman with long, golden-blonde hair.
Following Meet - The Tiger!, Holm fades into the background for the next Saint book, 1930's 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....
(a novella collection), and is relegated to cameo status, the character being sent on a Mediterranean cruise, ostensibly to keep her out of trouble. In the third Saint book, the novel 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...
, Holm alternates between being an active heroine (she and Templar witness a test of the electroncloud device, a machine that has the potential to spark a second world war) to "damsel in distress
Damsel in distress
The subject of the damsel in distress, or persecuted maiden, is a classic theme in world literature, art, and film. She is usually a beautiful young woman placed in a dire predicament by a villain or monster and who requires a hero to achieve her rescue. She has become a stock character of fiction,...
" as she is kidnapped by the villain, millionaire Rayt Marius, an action that sends the Saint into a murderous rage. In the same book, the reader - but not Holm herself - learns that Templar's friend Norman Kent is deeply and hopelessly in love with her, a futile love which has a significant part in bringing Kent to decide upon the self-sacrificing act which he takes at the book's conclusion.
After The Last Hero, Holm all but vanishes from the series for a time. She is only briefly mentioned in Knight Templar
Knight 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...
, a direct sequel to The Last Hero (Charteris writes that she's on another Mediterranean cruise), and appears only briefly in the next two novella collections 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...
and Alias the Saint
Alias the Saint
Alias 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 sixth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint"...
(initially released in the United States as the omnibus 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....
). She is completely absent from the following novel, She Was a Lady
She Was a Lady
She 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...
, however her presence is felt as Templar, despite finding himself in partnership with a beautiful crime boss for a number of weeks, states that his heart belongs to another and that his relationship with Jill Trelawney is nothing beyond platonic.
Relationship with the Saint
Beginning in the next book, 1932's The Holy TerrorThe 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...
, Charteris returns to using Patricia Holm in the same way in which she made her debut in Meet - The Tiger! - as a willing and loyal partner to The Saint, who is willing to do almost anything (within reason) to help Templar achieve his goals. Templar reaffirms his love for Holm several times in The Holy Terror, even going so far as to considering proposing marriage, but Holm replies that she has no interest in marrying, fearing it would spoil her unique relationship with Templar.
Considering that these early adventures were written in the late 1920s and early 1930s, the relationship shared between Holm and Templar was progressive for its day. In Meet - The Tiger! they make love not long after their first meeting, and in Enter the Saint it is suggested they may be living together; by the time of The Holy Terror there is no ambiguity at all that they share the same flat in London. Although such co-habitation between unmarried partners is commonplace today, it was rare (and in some areas, even illegal) in the 1930s. The two also appeared to have a somewhat "open" relationship, with Holm accepting (or, at least, tolerating) Templar's occasional dalliances with other women. For example, in the short story "The Bad Baron" (in the collection The Brighter Buccaneer
The Brighter Buccaneer
The 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 briefly goes off with another woman (and steals a kiss from her); Holm's response is to simply ask if Templar has started a new romance; in Prelude for War
Prelude for War
Prelude for War is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his Robin Hood-inspired crime fighter, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club the same year. Previously, the...
, in which Holm plays a major supporting role, Holm refers to Lady Valerie (the lead female character in the book who Templar briefly woos) as the latest addition to Simon's harem
Harem
Harem refers to the sphere of women in what is usually a polygynous household and their enclosed quarters which are forbidden to men...
.
The novel Getaway
Getaway (The Saint)
Getaway is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom in 1932 by Hodder and Stoughton. This was the fifth full-length novel featuring the adventures of the modern day Robin Hood-inspired crimebuster Simon Templar, and the ninth Saint book published...
sees Templar and Holm taking a European vacation, although they soon find themselves battling Prince Rudolf, who had been the power broker behind Rayt Marius in The Last Hero. At one point, Holm and another colleague, Monty Hayward, are left to fend for themselves and Holm reveals that Templar has been training her in the ways of crimefighting, and she takes charge of the situation from Monty. Holm dons several disguises during this adventure, and at the end of the book safely escapes a police station shootout with Templar. Soon after (in the novella "The Gold Standard" in Once More the Saint
Once More the Saint
Once 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...
), she and Templar return to London by separate ways. Templar is apprehended for questioning by 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...
Inspector Claud Eustace Teal; while Templar is in custody Teal receives word that a petty crook has himself been robbed at gunpoint in another part of England. The robber left behind a copy of Templar's trademark stick figure-with halo calling card. Templar claims that someone is impersonating him, a charge Teal initially believes; later, the reader learns that this second "Saint" was in fact Patricia Holm, who committed the act in order to provide Templar with a handy alibi (that an impersonator is responsible for the crimes attributed to him).
Later career
Holm's interests and involvement outside of Templar's inner circle are rarely touched upon. In "The Gold Standard" she is shown attending a party thrown by some friends, but her thoughts remain with Templar throughout and she is described as carrying a gun in a holster under her left arm. In "The Simon Templar Foundation" (a novella in The Misfortunes of Mr. TealThe Misfortunes of Mr. Teal
The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and the United States by The Crime Club...
), Charteris describes her as having the same look in her eyes as Templar has (i.e. the look of someone converted to a cause) but her attempt at emulating Templar in that story (trying to divert Teal's attention away from discovering a piece of anti-Saint evidence) is unsuccessful. On a couple of occasions in the short story collection Boodle
Boodle (The Saint)
Boodle is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in 1934. This was the thirteenth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", and the second short story collection featuring the character...
(a.k.a. The Saint Intervenes) Holm goes undercover as a secretary in order to help move Templar's plots along; in one of these stories, "The Loving Brothers", Holm adopts Templar's physical mannerisms and even mode of speech as she play-acts the role of a fired secretary.
Although she is reduced to a one-line cameo in what is arguably the most famous Saint novel, 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...
, her presence is still felt at a crucial point in the book where Templar is tempted to fall in love with the troubled Fay Edwards. Instead, Charteris writes, Templar remembers that his heart belongs to someone else. (This doesn't stop him from kissing the woman several times, however.) In the very next novel, however, Saint Overboard
Saint Overboard
Saint Overboard is the title of a 1936 mystery novel by Leslie Charteris, one of a long series of novels featuring Charteris' creation Simon Templar, alias "The Saint"...
, not only is Holm conspicuous by her total absence, but Templar explicitly falls in love with Loretta Page, the heroine of the book. By the next book, The Ace of Knaves
The Ace of Knaves
The Ace of Knaves is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1937 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. Later...
, Templar is once again back with Holm and no reference to Page is made. Holm is absent once again from the next book, Thieves' Picnic
Thieves' Picnic
Thieves' Picnic is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his Robin Hood-inspired crime fighter, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1937 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club the same year...
and Templar briefly woos another heroine, but the following novel, Prelude for War
Prelude for War
Prelude for War is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his Robin Hood-inspired crime fighter, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club the same year. Previously, the...
places Holm back at the forefront again, described by Charteris as the one constant in Templar's life. She is nowhere to be found in 1939's short story collection The Happy Highwayman
The Happy Highwayman
The Happy Highwayman is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1939 by Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom and The Crime Club in the United States. This was the 21st book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint"...
which sees Templar romancing several different women. The next book in the series, 1940s The Saint in Miami
The Saint in Miami
The Saint in Miami is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. As with an earlier release, Follow the Saint, the order of publication for this book was changed...
, makes Holm the instigator of the book's plot, but she otherwise spends much of the novel either "off-screen" or captured by the villains, awaiting Templar's rescue; meanwhile Templar romances a female British secret agent
Secret Agent
Secret Agent is a British film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, loosely based on two stories in Ashenden: Or the British Agent by W. Somerset Maugham. The film starred John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Madeleine Carroll, and Robert Young...
, with hardly a complaint from Holm. Holm subsequently disappears from the series for a number of years, being absent from the next few books, all of which were set in the United States.
Leaves the Series
The character finally disappeared from the series for good following the 1948 collection Saint ErrantSaint Errant
Saint Errant is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1948 by The Crime Club in the United States and in 1949 by Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom. This was the 28th book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", and the first Saint...
, and Charteris declined later suggestions for her to return. Nonetheless, according to The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television 1928-1992 by Burl Barer
Burl Barer
Burl Barer is an American author and literary historian. He is best known for his fiction and non-fiction writings about the character Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint".-The Saint:...
, Charteris did attempt to get a fan-written novel entitled The Saint's Lady
The Saint's Lady
The Saint's Lady is the title of an unpublished novel by Joy Martin featuring the character of criminal-turned-detective Simon Templar who had been created by Leslie Charteris in 1928....
published as part of the official series in the late 1970s; the book featured Holm. The Saintly Bible website also tells of a plan for a film script entitled Son of the Saint that would have revealed that Holm had a child by Templar. This close relationship could, of course, explain the distance which is always kept between Templar and Pat Holm - if they were close it would be easy for many of the Saint's enemies to revenge themselves on her or her child, something which nearly happened early in Templar's career in The Last Hero
The Last Hero
The Last Hero is a short novel, the twenty-seventh of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. It was published in 2001 in a larger format than the other Discworld novels and illustrated on every page by Paul Kidby.-Plot summary:...
.
Ultimately a brief reference to Holm was included in the final Saint novel published under Charteris' tenure, Salvage for the Saint
Salvage for the Saint
Salvage for the Saint is the title of a 1983 mystery novel featuring the character of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The novel was written by Peter Bloxsom based on the two-part Return of the Saint episode, "Collision Course" by John Kruse, but per the custom at this time, the author credit on...
, revealing that at some point in the past, Holm had left Templar.
Charteris' depiction of Holm was fairly consistent, though the character herself could vary wildly in her mood and attitudes. Although often seen as wide eyed and innocent, she is anything but, and is more than willing to kill in order to protect herself or Templar, although in The Holy Terror even Templar momentarily questions her sanity when she expresses disappointment that she didn't get to kill a villain. Charteris often describes her as being cold and dispassionate in her reactions to things and her interactions with others, but at other times she uses affectionate terms like "lad" and "boy" when referring to Templar. The banter between the two frequently resembles that later seen between John Steed
John Steed
John Steed is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the popular British series The Avengers and The New Avengers, played by Patrick Macnee and Ralph Fiennes in the movie....
and Emma Peel
Emma Peel
Emma Peel was a fictional spy played by Diana Rigg in the British 1960s adventure television series The Avengers. She was born Emma Knight, the daughter of an industrialist, Sir John Knight.-Casting:...
in the television series The Avengers
The Avengers (TV series)
The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...
. Holm doesn't blindly follow Templar's every whim, however. She is often described as being exasperated by Templar's tendency to be oblique in his discussion of a situation as well as his obsession with writing poetry; in Once More the Saint she also criticizes Templar for his blackmailing of Inspector Teal in The Holy Terror, and on occasion (such as in "The Gold Standard") questions Templar's tendency to act as judge, jury and executioner.
Film and other portrayals
To date, the character of Patricia Holm has only been portrayed on screen once, by Jean GillieJean 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:...
in a 1943 film adaptation of Meet - The Tiger! entitled The Saint Meets the Tiger
The Saint Meets the Tiger
The 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...
, produced by RKO Radio Pictures. In all other film and TV adaptations of stories in which Holm originally appeared, the character name has been changed.
Kim Thomson
Kim Thomson
Kim Thomson is an English actress who has appeared on stage, television and film since the early 1980s in both the United Kingdom and the United States.-Early life:...
played Holm in a series of adaptations broadcast on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British domestic radio station, operated and owned by the BBC, that broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history. It replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. The station controller is currently Gwyneth Williams, and the...
in the 1990s.
The character also appeared in the Saint comic strip of the 1940s, although according to Barer the comic strip version of the character barely resembled that of the books. (Barer points out that a comparison between the literary and comic strip versions of Holm can be found in the short story collection Saint Errant which featured "two Patricias" - one story featured a character consistent with her previous book and story appearances, while another story was adapted from the comic strip and shows the "other" version of Patricia.)