''The Saint in the Sun'' is a collection of

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

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.Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

-inspired crimefighter,

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 unt ...

, whom Charteris introduced in 1928. The book was first published in 1963 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 fir ...

in the United States and 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 publisher ...

in the United Kingdom in 1964. This was the 36th book of Simon Templar adventures, and was the first published after the start 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 ...

'' starring

Roger Moore Sir Roger George Moore (14 October 192723 May 2017) was an English actor. He was the third actor to portray fictional British secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, playing the character in seven feature films between 19 ...

as Templar. This was the final Simon Templar book to be solely written by Charteris. Following this release, Charteris began to step back from writing the series and future volumes would be written by different authors but credited to Charteris (who continued on in an editorial capacity until the book series was retired in 1983). This volume marks a one-time return to the

travelogue Travelogue may refer to: Genres * Travel literature, a record of the experiences of an author travelling * Travel documentary A travel documentary is a documentary film, television program, or online series that describes travel in general or t ...

theme that had dominated the Saint books of the early-mid-1950s particularly ''

The Saint in Europe ''The Saint in Europe'' is a collection of short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1953 by The Crime Club in the United States and in 1954 by Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom. This was the 29th book to feature the adventur ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', and ''

The Saint Around the World ''The Saint Around the World'' is a collection of six short stories by Leslie Charteris, first published in 1956 by The Crime Club in the United States and by Hodder and Stoughton in the United Kingdom in 1957. This book continues the adventures ...

'' as each story takes place in a different exotic locale. This was the last Saint book to feature short stories; hereafter the books would be either longer

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...

s or full novels. The book is dedicated to film director

John Paddy Carstairs John Paddy Carstairs (born John Keys; 11 May 1910, in London – 12 December 1970, in London) was a British film director (1933–62) and television director (1962–64), usually of light-hearted subject matter. He was also a comic novelist and ...

who not only directed entries in the

RKO Pictures RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orphe ...

Saint film series, but also episodes of the Roger Moore series.

Stories

The book consisted of 7 stories: #Cannes: The Better Mousetrap #St. Tropez: The Ugly Impresario #England: The Prodigal Miser #Nassau: The Fast Women #Florida: The Jolly Undertaker #Lucerne: The Russian Prisoner #Provence: The Hopeless Heiress

Television adaptations

Three stories from this collection were later adapted as episodes of the 1962-69 TV series, ''

''. All three stories appeared during the fifth season, with "The Russian Prisoner" airing on 14 October 1966, followed by "The Better Mousetrap" on 25 November and "The Fast Women" on 13 January 1967. "The Fast Women" was the last original Leslie Charteris story to be adapted for the series. 1963 short story collections Simon Templar books Short story collections by Leslie Charteris The Crime Club books {{1960s-mystery-novel-stub