The suave, debonair, clever and highly devious Simon Templar (AKA The Saint) comes to us in three novellas. They are collected together because they all feature an appearance by Scotland Yard Inspector Claude Eustace Teal, his primary nemesis amongst the rozzers, but, in truth, the persistent and often helpful Mr Teal figures prominently only in the first two stories, "The Gold Standard" and "The Man From St Louis." In "The Death Penalty," that pillar of the English legal system only shows up for a moment at the end.Like all the tales of The Saint, these three are vibrant and whimsical, fast-paced and violent. Also, like most popular fiction that comes from bygone eras, there are aspects that will grate upon the modern reader, both in writing style and in social sensibilities. For the first problem, I think the frenetic pace and the devil-may-care attitude of the The Saint himself may help to bridge the style gap. As for the second issue, it's always good to recall that writers of ages past were much more honest (for the most part) than modern scribes, and that Chinese-English writer Leslie Charles Bowyer-Lin (AKA Leslie Charteris)nearly always based his characters on real people. The Saint real? Well, not The Saint of course -- he was always too good (or bad, as the need arose) to be true.Anyone wanting to get to know The Saint should obviously start with Meet the Tiger (1928), in which The Saint is introduced, but The Saint and Mr Teal is not a bad jumping off point as well. The three tales therein show The Saint as a whimsical meddler, a relentless thwarter of devious schemes, and as a gritty avenging angel.
