The Saint Books by Leslie Charteris

My apologies to anyone who bought Enter the Saint based on my raves in an earlier post. This was a very early entry in the series (1930) and the writer was still developing his hero. (Initially, an adolescent James Bond type.) The only other Saint book I've read has been Follow the Saint (1938), which I enjoyed much more. The truth is that I came to love the Saint stories via movies and old radio shows long before I discovered the so-so novels.

Leslie Charteris began writing the books in 1928 and continued until 1963. The suave, wise-cracking Robin Hood figure caught the imagination of the American public, spawning movies (with the inimitable George Sanders), copycat movies (also with Sanders) , comic books, radio shows (superbly done by a young Vincent Price), and a popular T.V. series with Roger Moore. The regrettable 1997 film character (played by Val Kilmer) bears no resemblance to the original debonair protagonist.

Simon Templar (S.T. = saint) is a droll sophisticate who follows his own code. Like Zorro and the Scarlet Pimpernel he is a "good guy" who is on the wrong side of the law. His mix of worldliness, boyishness and  good humor endeared him to gazillions of fans. Charteris describes him as a "flippant dandy with the heart of a crusader, a fighter who laughed as he fought, the reckless, smiling swashbuckler, the inspired and beloved leader of men..." (p. 123)

In the afterward to Enter the Saint, Ian Dickerson explains why the series was so popular: Aside from the charm and ability of Charteris´ storytelling, the stories, particularly those published in the first half of the ´30s are full of energy and joi de vivre. With economic depression rampant, the public at large wanted escapism. And the public got what they wanted in the chain-smoking, elegant outlaw. And in spite of the smoking and drinking (which were considered highly glamorous), there's a lot of good clean fun. Apart from Templar, my favorite character in the books is the homely, down-to-earth Inspector Teal who is a perfect foil to the reckless gallant.

(Be forewarned that the books and films contain stereotypes that were common in the '30s and '40s.)

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler

I read recently that all the world can be divided between Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett fans. Considering that most of the present world has never heard of these two writers of detective fiction, I’m wondering how that could be true. I’m still undecided as to which one I like better. Jim Widner over at Radio Detective Story Hour intrigued me by describing Chandler’s creation, Phillipe Marlowe, as more cerebral and sensitive than other popular detectives of the 1940’s. So I was delighted when I found a brand new copy of The Big Sleep at our library.

I should have taken Mandi's word for it when she doubted this book’s status as "literature", but I thought I’d have an insider’s understanding of the book since I’m a big fan of the old time radio podcasts which feature Marlowe. Well, I was wrong. As I read, I kept wondering, “Why is a nice girl like me reading a book like this?” Though the sins depicted in the book are not as graphic as those described in contemporary fiction, there are references to homosexuality, drinking, profanity and nudity. It seemed more than a little ironic that the hard-drinking P.I. abhorred pornography and was able to resist the charms of all the women who threw themselves at him.

Chandler is considered to be one of the fathers of “hard-boiled” detective novels and he certainly knows how to weave a good story, but for now I’ll stick to the family friendly radio shows. One totally off-the-wall comment I’d like to make about the book concerns its lovely binding. The book, Raymond Chandler: Stories and Early Novels: Pulp Stories , is part of the Library of America series and is beautifully bound with a ribbon book marker - a joy to hold while reading!