2013 - The Saint is Back

There are a handful of fictional creations who can truly be called immortal, characters who have escaped the confines set by their creators and live a life of their own. It is a select group and perhaps every author dreams of creating characters that will gain membership of this exclusive club.It's not easy to get a membership card but the membership is varied - Dracula belongs there, as does Sherlock Holmes, James Bond and Tarzan.

 Another card carrying member of this club  is Simon Templar AKA The Saint, that gentleman rogue created by Leslie Charteris when he was just twenty years old.

There's a lot happening in the world of The Saint at the moment with the character being at his most active in many years - not only is there a new TV series currently filming, (well a pilot at least but here at the Archive we have faith it will go to a full series) but the original books are being reissued by Hodder & Stoughton on their Mulholland Books imprint. The series of reprints,both paperback and eBook, are being put together under the watchful eye of series editor, Ian Dickerson and each book will feature and all new introduction - I've written the intro for one of the reprints though I'm not sure yet which book my intro will appear in, but rest assured I am deeply honored to be included.

The books have started to appear in bookshops now as well as being available from most online sellers, and this weekend I picked up The Saint Closes the Case which features an entertaining intro from Steve Baille. The publishers have done a great job with these new editions - they look both retro and strikingly modern at the same time -  their uniform design means that the whole set will look great together, and give any home library a touch of nostalgic cool.

So if you are new to the Saint or simply want to replace those battered old paperbacks then now is the perfect time to get down with  the old stickman.


Expect a full review of The Saint Closes the Case on the Archive later this week.