''Salvage for the Saint'' is the title of a 1983 mystery novel featuring the character of
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 novel was written by
Peter Bloxsom
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
, based on the two-part ''
Return of the Saint
''Return of the Saint'' is a British action-adventure television series that aired for one series in 1978 and 1979 in Britain on ITV, and was also broadcast on CBS in the United States. It was co-produced by ITC Entertainment and the Italian b ...
'' episode "Collision Course" by
John Kruse
John Kruse (1921–2004) was an English film and television screenwriter, director and novelist. He is mostly remembered for his work on ITC classic TV series '' The Saint'', as well as several films of the franchise, and as the author of th ...
, but as was the custom at this time, the author credit on the cover went to
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.syndicated as the made-for-TV film ''The Saint and the Brave Goose''.
This was the 50th book of Simon Templar adventures. It was also the last to be published during the original 1928–1983 series of novels. Although Charteris had served more in an editorial or co-writer capacity on the Saint books since the early 1960s, he remained directly involved with them up to this point, making his 55-year tenure as official "chronicler" of the Saint one of the longest in Western fiction.
The book was first published in the United States by
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 was followed thereafter by a United Kingdom edition from
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 was also the last Saint book to be published by these two companies. The book is notable for including a rare reference to
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 ...
, who was the Saint's girlfriend and adventuring partner in the early Saint novels and short stories, having last appeared within the short story collection ''
Saint 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 Si ...
'', published in 1948.
Following publication of ''Salvage for the Saint'', the decision was made to retire the character, although in 1984 Charteris attempted to revive ''The Saint Magazine'', an anthology series that included stories featuring the character, among others; it only lasted for three issues. Charteris died in 1993; the next Saint books did not appear until 1997, when
Burl Barer
Burl Barer (born 1947 in Walla Walla, Washington) is an American author, literary historian and radio host. He is best known for his writings about the character Simon Templar.
Career
Fiction
''The Saint''
''The Saint: A Complete History in ...
published a novelization based upon a film adaptation, and a limited-edition original novel.