''The Ace of Knaves'' is a collection of three 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.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 ...

, and 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 ...

. 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. 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 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 w ...

since '' The Saint Goes On''. Two of the three novellas were first published in ''Thriller'' magazine several months before the book was released; this marked the return of the character to the magazine after a hiatus during which Charteris focused on writing novels.

Stories

The book consists of the following stories: #The Spanish War - A 10 pound debt turns into a mystery involving $30,000 in

bearer bond A bearer bond is a bond or debt security issued by a business entity such as a corporation or a government. As a bearer instrument, it differs from the more common types of investment securities in that it is unregistered—no records are kept o ...

s, a dead body, and a connection to the (then-current)

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...

. #The Unlicensed Victuallers - When Templar and his crew pursue a liquor-smuggling racket, their mission becomes complicated when they discover a beautiful blonde is somehow caught up in it and Templar becomes concerned that she is somehow connected to a murder. #The Beauty Specialist - The Saint is suspected of being "The Z-Man", a mysterious figure who is blackmailing a trio of movie starlets. It's up to Simon and Patricia Holm to protect the women until the blackmailer's real identity is revealed.

Television adaptations

All three stories were adapted as episodes of '' The Saint'' TV series. "The Beauty Specialist" was retitled "Marcia" and aired on October 24, 1963 as part of the second season. "The Spanish War" was retitled "The Work of Art" and aired on October 31, 1963, as part of the second season. "The Unlicensed Victuallers" was retitled "The Hi-Jackers" and aired on December 17, 1964 as part of the third season.

Publication history

Two of the three novellas were first published in ''Thriller'' magazine under different titles: * "The Spanish War" - 13 February 1937 (as "The Return of the Saint") * "The Beauty Specialist" - 28 March 1937 (as "The 'Z' Man")

References

1937 short story collections Simon Templar books Short story collections by Leslie Charteris Hodder & Stoughton books British novellas {{1930s-mystery-novel-stub