''Call for the Saint'' is a collection of two mystery novellas by

Leslie Charteris Leslie Charteris (born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, 12 May 1907 – 15 April 1993), was a British-Chinese author of adventure fiction, as well as a screenwriter.The Crime Club ''The Crime Club'' was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series, and a 1937-1939 film series. Literature Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their fi ...

, and later the same year in the United Kingdom by

Hodder and Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publishe ...

. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation,

Simon Templar ''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 un ...

, alias The Saint. "The Masked Angel" features the first literary appearance of

Patricia Holm 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 nu ...

, Templar's on-again, off-again partner/girlfriend, since the 1940s novel '' The Saint in Miami''. This was the final volume in which Charteris himself used the novella format for telling his stories; the format would be revived again in the 1960s, by which time other authors were writing the stories, with Charteris usually receiving lead writer credit while acting in an editorial capacity. For the remainder of his time writing the series, Charteris would use the short story format and the next Templar book to feature novellas would be ''

The Saint on TV ''The Saint on TV'' is a collection of two mystery novellas by Fleming Lee, continuing the adventures of the sleuth Simon Templar a.k.a. "The Saint", created by Leslie Charteris. This book was first published in the United States in 1968 by The C ...

'', published in 1968, with featured adaptations of episodes from the 1962-68 television series based on the character.

Stories

The book consists of the following stories: #The King of The Beggars: Templar and Hoppy are recruited by a theatre actress to investigate the murder of a beggar and a criminal ring shaking down other needy people. #The Masked Angel: When a boxer dies in the ring under mysterious circumstances, the Saint, Hoppy and Pat Holm investigate in hopes of preventing the Masked Angel from claiming another victim. A minor character in this story later plays a major role in one of the short stories featured in the 1955 collection ''

The Saint on the Spanish Main ''The Saint on the Spanish Main'' is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1955 by The Crime Club in the United States and Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom. This book continues the adventures of Simon Temp ...

''. The two stories do not narratively connect with the preceding novel, ''

The Saint Sees it Through ''The Saint Sees it Through'' is the title of a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. The book was first published in 1946 in the United States by The Crime Club. Hodder and Stoughton Hodder ...

'', beyond Templar still working in the United States, and a reference to his wartime activities. Most notably, the character of Avalon Dexter, introduced in the preceding book as a new romantic (and adventure) partner for Templar, cast in the same vein as Patricia Holm, is absent without explanation, with Templar once again working with his earlier partners, Hoppy and Patricia.

Television adaptation

"The King of the Beggars" was adapted as an episode of the TV series ''

The Saint The Saint may refer to: Fiction * Simon Templar, also known as "The Saint", the protagonist of a book series by Leslie Charteris and subsequent adaptations: ** ''The Saint'' (film series) (1938–43), starring Louis Hayward, George Sanders an ...

'' which first aired on November 14, 1963 during the second season. "The Masked Angel" was retitled "The Crooked Ring" and adapted during its fourth season, first airing on July 15, 1965. 1948 short story collections Simon Templar books Short story collections by Leslie Charteris The Crime Club books {{1940s-mystery-novel-stub