Once More the Saint

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Once More the Saint
also The Saint and Mr. Teal
OnceMoreTheSaint.jpg
1937 edition
Author Leslie Charteris
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Series The Saint
Genre Mystery
Publisher Hodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1933
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Preceded by Getaway  
Followed by The Brighter Buccaneer  

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 January 1933. This was the tenth book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The first American edition, published in May 1933, changed the title to The Saint and Mr. Teal, which was later adopted by UK editions of the book. (Mr. Teal refers to Scotland Yard Inspector Claud Eustace Teal, a recurring character.)

Contents

The first two stories in the book were originally published in the UK magazine, Thriller in 1932, with the third story being written exclusively for the book.

Stories

The book, which picks up soon after the events of the previous full-length novel, Getaway , consisted of the following stories (designated as Part One, Part Two, and Part Three):

  1. The Gold Standard - In Paris, Simon Templar finds a mortally wounded man who claims his brother can create gold. Upon returning to England, Templar finds himself pursued by the man's murderer. The man, known as Jones, kidnaps Templar's girlfriend, Patricia Holm, leading Templar to discover the truth about the alchemy, which results in the Saint choosing to become judge, jury and executioner for Jones. The leads to a narrow escape for Templar when Inspector Teal arrives on the scene. This story takes place two months after the events of the novella "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal" from The Holy Terror , and includes considerable character development of both Teal and Holm. Holm is shown asserting herself more than in previous stories, challenging Templar about both his treatment of Teal in this and previous stories (asking Templar at one point when "open season" on Teal is expected to end), and at the end questions Templar's decision to kill Jones. Templar would go up against another would-be alchemist in "The Mixture As Before", a short story in Boodle .
  2. The Man from St. Louis - Tex Goldman, a small-time crime boss from the U.S., comes to London and sets up his own American-style gang, the Green Cross Gang. He soon finds himself in a pitched battle against The Saint, who (with unofficial encouragement from Mr. Teal) sets out to prevent London from becoming another Chicago, along the way dodging assassination attempts, including a bomb that destroys part of Simon and Patricia's new home in London. In order to stop Goldman's string of killings and robberies, Templar decides to kill the gangster, but relents at the last minute when he learns that Goldman has just been married and has promised his new wife that he'll turn over a new leaf; he settles for capturing Goldman's trigger man, instead. This story takes place three months after the events of "The Gold Standard" and is unusual for its lack of resolution—Goldman apparently goes free, despite indicating his plan to conduct a major heist soon. (The Green Cross Gang returns in the short story "The Export Trade" included in the next book, The Brighter Buccaneer ; however, that short story was actually published in a magazine before "Man from St. Louis", therefore Templar is unfamiliar with the group in that piece.)
  3. The Death Penalty - Soon after the events of the above story (with interior decorators still repairing the bomb damage), Templar gives up the lease on his new flat and he and Patricia move into a swank London hotel. But an unusual heat wave drives the two out of the city to the remote Isles of Scilly where Simon has learned an African dope smuggler whom he encountered five years earlier is joining forces with a British counterpart, adding white slavery into the mix. When his target ends up being killed by one of his victims, it is up to the Saint to arrange things so that the victims of the smuggler go free and the truly guilty parties are punished.

Publication history

Two of the three stories had previously been published under different titles in Thriller magazine:

Television adaptation

All three stories in this collection were adapted as episodes of The Saint .

"The Death Penalty" was first broadcast during the show's third season on December 3, 1964. "The Man from St. Louis" was retitled "The Set-Up" and aired on January 14, 1965. "The Gold Standard" was retitled "The Abductors" and aired on July 8, 1965, as part of the fourth season.

Related Research Articles

The Saint is the nickname of the fictional character Simon Templar, featured in a series of novels and short stories 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 participation were published in 1997. The character has also been portrayed in motion pictures, radio dramas, comic strips, comic books and three television series.

<i>Knight Templar</i> (The Saint)

Knight Templar is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in October 1930. This was the fourth book—and third full novel—featuring Charteris's Robin Hood-inspired anti-hero, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The title of the book is a pun on the religious organization Knights Templar. Later editions were titled The Avenging Saint and the book is also well known by this title, which was first used in a 1931 edition.

<i>Enter the Saint</i>

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 October 1930, followed by an American edition by The Crime Club in April 1931.

<i>The Last Hero</i> (The Saint)

The Last Hero is the title of a thriller novel by Leslie Charteris that was first published in the United Kingdom in May 1930 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States in November 1930 by The Crime Club. The story initially appeared in The Thriller, a British magazine, in 1929. Because of this somewhat convoluted publishing history, The Last Hero is occasionally cited as the second volume of adventures featuring the crime-busting antihero Simon Templar, alias The Saint, predating Enter the Saint. In fact, according to Charteris himself, it was the third book of the series. This is supported by references to the events of Enter the Saint within the novel.

<i>Alias the Saint</i>

Alias the Saint is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in May 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 The Thriller magazine in the UK.

<i>She Was a Lady</i>

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 serialized form in the magazine Thriller in February and March 1930, and after being rewritten by Charteris, was first published in complete form in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in November 1931. This was the seventh book chronicling Templar's adventures, and the fourth full novel.

<i>The Holy Terror</i> (short story collection) 1932 collection of novellas by Leslie Charteris

The Holy Terror is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in May 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, in September 1932, the title was changed to The Saint vs. Scotland Yard.

<i>Getaway</i> (The Saint)

Getaway is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris first published in the United Kingdom in September 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 overall since 1928. When first published in the United States by The Crime Club in February 1933, the title was modified to The Saint's Getaway which was later adopted by future UK editions.

<i>The Brighter Buccaneer</i>

The Brighter Buccaneer is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in June 1933. This was the eleventh book to feature the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". It was the first volume to make use of the short story format; previously Charteris had written either short novels or full-length novels featuring the character. This format would dominate the series during the late 1940s and through the 1950s.

<i>The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal</i>

The Misfortunes of Mr. Teal is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in May 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and the United States by The Crime Club. The book was republished under two additional titles: The Saint in England and, as of 1952, The Saint in London.

<i>Boodle</i> (short story collection)

Boodle is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton in August 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. The title is taken from the British slang term "boodle" meaning bribery, stolen goods or loot. When first published in the United States by The Crime Club, the unfamiliar-sounding title was changed to The Saint Intervenes, and this title was later applied to future UK editions.

<i>The Saint Goes On</i>

The Saint Goes On is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in November 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton and in the United States in May 1935 by The Crime Club. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint.

<i>The Ace of Knaves</i>

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 editions of the book were retitled The Saint in Action. The adventures in this book mark the return of Templar's longtime girlfriend and partner Patricia Holm and his nemesis, Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal since The Saint Goes On.

<i>Prelude for War</i>

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 novel had been serialized in the American magazine Cosmopolitan. Publication of the book marked the 10th anniversary of the Simon Templar character.

<i>The Saint in Miami</i>

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. Instead of being published first in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton, as had been custom for most previous volumes, the first edition instead came out in 1940 in the United States, published by The Crime Club. The first UK edition followed in 1941. Most future Charteris-written Saint books would be published in the United States first hereafter.

<i>Call for the Saint</i>

Call for the Saint is a collection of two mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United States in 1948 by The Crime Club, and later the same year in the United Kingdom by Hodder and Stoughton. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. "The Masked Angel" features the first literary appearance of Patricia Holm, Templar's on-again, off-again partner/girlfriend, since the 1940s novel The Saint in Miami.

<i>Saint Errant</i>

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 short story collection since 1939's The Happy Highwayman. Several of the stories were based upon the then-current Saint comic strip, while the story "Judith" was first published in 1934.

<i>Meet the Tiger</i> Novel by Leslie Charteris

Meet the Tiger is an action-adventure novel written by Leslie Charteris. In England it was first published by Ward Lock in September 1928; in the United States it was first published by Doubleday's The Crime Club imprint in March 1929 with the variant title Meet – the Tiger!. It was the first novel in a long-running series of books 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 in Danger.

Patricia Holm Fictional character

Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels and short stories of Leslie Charteris between 1928 and 1948. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint", and shared a number of his adventures. In addition, by the mid-1930s, Holm and Templar shared the same flat in London, although they were unmarried. Although such co-habitation between unmarried partners is commonplace today, it was rare, shocking in the 1930s. The two also appeared to have a somewhat "open" relationship, with Holm accepting Templar's occasional dalliances with other women.

Claud Eustace Teal Fictional character

Claud Eustace Teal is a fictional character who made many appearances in a series of novels, novellas and short stories by Leslie Charteris featuring The Saint, starting in 1929. A common spelling variation of his first name in reference works and websites is Claude, however in his works Charteris uses the spelling without the 'e'.

References

  1. Lofts, W.O.G.; Adley, Derek (1971). The Saint and Leslie Charteris. London: Hutchinson Library Services. pp. 91–92.