Contains Enter the Saint (which is in turn made up of "The Man Who Was Clever" and "The Lawless Lady"), The Last Hero/The Saint Closes the Case, The Avenging Saint/Knight Templar, and The Saint vs Scotland Yard.

"Adventure came to him not so much because he sought it as because he brazenly expected it. He believed that life was full of adventure, and he went forward in the full blaze and surge of that belief." -- from The Last Hero

Starts with the 2nd of the Saint's adventures, which was the first where the Saint really began to hit his stride. (Charteris himself didn't like the first Saint book, Meet the Tiger, very much.) In those days, the Saint was accompanied not only by Patricia Holm, but by other wearers of the halo: Roger Conway (see esp. The Avenging Saint), Dicky Tremayne (see esp. Enter the Saint), Norman Kent (see esp. The Last Hero).

These books cover the first appearances of: Claude Eustace Teal of Scotland Yard, Rayt Marius the arms dealer, and Prince Rudolf.

Consists of "The Helpful Pirate", "The Bigger Game", "The Cleaner Cure", "The Intemperate Reformer", "The Uncured Ham", and "The Convenient Monster."

Who's tougher - a big-game hunter or a retired matador? (Who better than the Saint to decide the issue?) How could a man die from cleaning a stain off his necktie? The answers to these and other questions are provided, as well as a meeting between Simon Templar and the Loch Ness Monster...

This book is far superior to the film,in as much there is more humour. Being a fan of the latter Saint books there is more of the television style in them and would need only minor changes to them.

I read a Pocket Book Edition, and it contains three stories; "The Man Who Was Clever", "The Policeman With Wings", "The Lawless Lady".

This book is written after "The Last Hero", but it describes the Saint's adventures before "The Last Hero", how he makes his debut as a "Modern Robin Hood". In the foreword, Charteris states that this is the answer to the many people's question how the Saint gains the reputation that he already has in "The Last Hero".

The stories are rather simple and not so unique as later stories such as "The Saint and Mr. Teal". But I like them. Few dull parts and highly enjoyable. I particularly love the Saint of this era; youthful, gay and lively. And I also like his amiable and capable sidekick Roger Conway. It's a pity that he doesn't appear on later stories.

(The second of the Saint books, where Simon Templar really began to hit his stride. Charteris in later years didn't care for the first book, Meet the Tiger! very much.)

Consists of 2 novellas, "The Man Who Was Clever" and "The Lawless Lady". If you have The Saint: Five Complete Novels, then you already have this book as part of that one.

In "The Man Who Was Clever", the Saint takes on Edgar Hayn, a drug dealer who runs some undercover gambling operations in London. "The Lawless Lady" is more the story of Dicky Tremayne, one of the Saint's friends and another wearer of the halo, and his pursuit of Audrey Perowne.

Covers the first appearance of Inspector Teal, and the poor man's initial encounters with the Saint, when the Saint was first beginning to make his signature stick-figure drawings the terror of evildoers. In those days, the Saint operated with a team of four other Saints, and made a point of donating 10% of the take from every operation to charity (which helped rub the salt into Teal's wounds by underlining that the Saint had got away with it yet again...)

This collection of short stories represents the best of Charteris' work. Much closer to the TV series, this is worlds better than his earlier Shadow-esque work. Interesting plots, memorable characters, clean prose, and a smooth style make this the one Saint book you must have. If you've never read any Saint stories before, this collection will make you a fan!

? ?rant is a great collection of some of the finest short stories that Charteris ever wrote. Each story is titled after a woman's name, and the plots are clever and very tightly written. My favorite Saint stories are the short stories from this era, and Saint Errant is the first such collection. This new Black Dagger edition is very nice, and features a nicely designed green dustjacket.

This book contains three stories; "The Inland Revenue", "The Million Pound Day" and "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal". They are typical Saint stories; the Saint fights a life-and-death fight with a ferocious villain on one hand, and tweaks the nose of poor Inspector Teal on the other hand. The feud between the Saint and Teal reaches to the bitterest. In later books such as "The Saint and Mr. Teal" or "The Saint Intervenes", their relationship gets milder.

"The Inland Revenue" and "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal" are not so good as I expected. I know the Saint is never an infallible man, but he is too careless and makes too many mistakes in these stories. But "The Million Pound Day" is SUPERB! I really LOVE it. Very thrilling, fast-paced, action-packed and few dull parts. One of the best Saint stories. 5 stars for this one.

For anyone who wanted to know how the feud between the Saint and Mr. Teal became so bitter, or whether the Saint ever married Patricia Holm...

This is an early Saint book, when he was more obviously swashbuckling than in some later works, and one of the first Saint short story collections. His opponents here (other than Claud Eustace) are the Scorpion (in "The Inland Revenue"), Kuzela (in "The Million Pound Day"), and Gunner Perrigo (in "The Melancholy Journey of Mr. Teal.").

If possible, should be read before Getaway, which picks up where the last of the stories in this book leaves off.

This is a strange novel. I can point out a lot of defects of this novel; the style is old-fashioned and too figurative; the story is also old-fashioned; the plot is easy and crude. Nevertheless, I LIKE THIS NOVEL. It has some inexplainable charm that fascinates me. It may be partly because of a charm of the hero, Simon Templar, alias the Saint.

I didn't know this "Knight Templar (alias The Avenging Saint)" was a continuation to "The Last Hero". I will read the previous story, too.

I liked the book for being different from the normal Saint stories. The plot is wide and it makes you think. The Saint plays a more thoughtful role in this story as he can't make a false move. He knows that he is the only one who knows anything about a coming war and he is the only one who can stop it. Actually, that's what I liked about this book. The Saint didn't do anything remotely rash in this book.

If you already have The Avenging Saint, don't get this book. The publisher just changed the book's name and cover.

The story starts with Simon Templar returning to England to revenge the death of a friend. Revenge isn't easy if every member of Scotland Yard is trying to arrest you for murder and other crimes. Simon soon learns he is the only person who can stop a major European war. Can Simon bash the villians, stop their war, and avoid arrest? Not quite; he only manages to achieve two of these objectives

This was the very first Saint book I read, thanks to a library book sale, and thanks to a lack of reading material at my hometown library, it may be the last for a while. But still- read it. If you've never heard of the Saint, except for the terrible plotless movie that bears no resemblance to the books, read it anyway. It may not be the best in the series, and who am I to say so, but after reading this I have come to one conclusion: I think I am in love with Simon Templar.

MEET THE TIGER was Leslie Charteris' very first novel about his now long-running series hero Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". First published in 1928, certainly it is somewhat dated. Still, the setting is interesting, the mystery at least clever, and the characters range from impressive (Templar himself and Patricia Holm), to stereotyped but delightful ('Orace), to a little ctoo much P.G. Wodehouse/Bertie Wooster in many of the supporting players. That being said, MEET THE TIGER is a rousing debut, and this early Simon Templar is much harder and more resourceful than his later television incarnation, while at the same time his optimistic determination and rakish smile continue to amuse and delight. Charteris followed MEET THE TIGER with some "prequel" Saint short stories, and then perfected his hero in a series of novels about the encroaching war. A couple of other strong Saint novels (and several perfect short stories) followed, before the character lapsed into formula. Still, there were a few gems in those later decades-- and The Saint has been around a very long time. Still, MEET THE TIGER was first, and should be experienced.

I should mention that the Saint (a.k.a. Simon Templar) began his career by boldly seeking out adventure, and after awhile, it began coming to him. Templar mentions from time to time (e.g. in "The Elusive Ellshaw" in _The Saint Goes On_) that he also attracts women looking for lost dogs, con men looking for a mark, and a public who generally see him as "something between a benevolent if weak-minded uncle and a miracle-working odd job man." He's adept at sorting the wheat from the chaff to find profitable adventures.

"The Covetous Headsman" (Paris) - The headless body of a shipping office clerk was found in Paris - but the decapitation took place after death. Templar uses some of his old Resistance connections to solve the mystery. Note that this isn't a mystery story as such; Templar's problems generally have only 1 suspect, and aren't arranged to ensure that the reader necessarily has a fair chance at guessing things. Incidentally, the fictional story mentioned in passing is G.K. Chesterton's "The Secret Garden", from _The Innocence of Father Brown_.

"The Angel's Eye" (Amsterdam) - A respectable-looking middle-aged couple approach Templar in a restaurant with a problem. The diamond cutter to whom they just delivered the Angel's Eye for recutting (on behalf of a firm of jewelers) now denies that he ever heard of it or them.

"The Rhine Maiden" (The Rhine) - This is Templar's private label for a girl met on a (train) journey along the Rhine - a girl with an aura of enchantment about her, traveling with her newly retired grandfather. (His ideal of a Rhine maiden is closer to the original myth than the popular image fostered by opera singers.)

"The Golden Journey" (The Tirol) - The Saint, meeting a spoiled, beautiful girl, decides to try to salvage her, by arranging matters so that she must hike overland with him to Innsbruck. While this is an unusual tack for him to take, there are precedents - "The Sleepless Knight" and "The Man Who Was Clever", for instance. Oddly enough, it also reminds me of George MacDonald's _The Wise Woman_, although stylistically they are quite different.

"The Loaded Tourist" (Lucerne) - While walking up to his hotel by the lake on a dark night, Templar fails to stop two thugs from fatally stabbing a shoe manufacturer and stealing the victim's briefcase. Following the usual investigator's tack (looking for breaks in established patterns) nets an interesting collection of observations, starting with the victim: a businessman (and looking like it) in a tourist's paradise, on the eve of his immigration to the U.S.

"The Spanish Cow" (Juan-les-Pins) - Templar doesn't rate the title of Saint here. The lady mentioned in the title is an aging, rich widow who hasn't done any harm. Templar's plan to steal her diamonds has no justification. What good he does is more accidental than intentional, at least initially. Not a bad story, but not consistent with the Saint's original swashbuckling philosophy.

"The Latin Touch" (Rome) - Back to the old Saint, fortunately. Templar casually makes the acquaintance of Sue Inverest while sightseeing in the Colosseum - only to be knocked cold when Mafia kidnappers ambush her. (The daughter of the U.S. Secretary of State, she had eluded her escort as a lark.) Fortunately, upon Templar's awakening in jail, the Secretary has not only checked his war record with the O.S.S., but is prepared to trust him rather than risk his daughter's life to cops who may be in the Mafia's pay.