The Saint on the Spanish Main

by Leslie Charteris

Book Overview

The Saint is a traditionalist. He knows what a good pirate story needs: gold, hidden treasure, smugglers, dastardly villains, and damsels in distress. From Bimini to Nassau, via Jamaica and Haiti, the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B000K1USLU
• Release Date: January 1966
• Publisher: MacFadden
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Swashbuckling Crime Adventures

Leslie Charteris' _The Saint on the Spanish Main_ (1955) is a lively collection of six Simon Templar ("the Saint") stories, in which that Happy Highwayman solves the occasional mystery that crops up, or outcons arrogant villains with too much money or power in various parts of the Carribean Sea. This book was preceded by _The Saint in Europe_ (1954) and was followed by _The Saint Around the World_ (1956). The stories, along with their geographic locales, are: "The Effete Angler" (Bimini), "The Arrow of God" (Nassau), "The Black Commissar" (Jamaica), "The Unkind Philanthropist" (Puerto Rico), "The Old Treasure Story" (The Virgin Islands), and "The Questing Tycoon" (Haiti). Both "The Effete Angler" and "The Unkind Philanthropist" have to do with egotistical businessmen. In the second story, the Saint gives a critical nod to Leslie Charteris, who writes up some of his adventures. "The Black Commissar" has the Saint bring down a communist sympathizer and would-be dictator. In "The Old Treasure Story," the Saint makes use of a movie crew to help a young woman find some treasure in the proverbial nick of time. In "The Arrow of God," Simon solves the mystery of a rather acerbic reporter who is murdered in a rather gruesome fashion. And "The Questing Tycoon" is a story of poetic justice meted out through the use of voodoo. (This last story may also be found in the collection, _The Fantastic Saint_ , 1982). I once went on vacation on a cruise ship to various ports in the Carribean. I can't say that I had as many adventures on that trip as Simon Templar. But seeing some of the same sights as the Saint was still a great deal of fun.

What better place for swashbuckling?

Rather than one connected novel, this volume of the Saint's adventures contains 7 short stories. As Charteris remarks in the first story, at this point in his career, Templar didn't have to seek adventure - it found him."The Effete Angler" (Bimini) - Why would a man who won't even use light tackle for game fishing have a bodyguard?"The Arrow of God" (Nassau) - Why is a dead journalist found with a beach umbrella through his chest?"The Black Commmissar" (Jamaica) - Templar meets an old acquaintance, one of the Maroons of Jamaica, on his way to the islands. (Forester's _Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies_ has an adventure in Maroon country, if you're interested.)"The Unkind Philanthropist" (Puerto Rico) - The lovely Tristan Brown introduces herself as a lawyer for the Kiel foundation, on the lookout for worthy causes to receive funds. Quire, a local 'natural philanthropist', would love to get a chunk of money to disburse as he sees fit. So Templar, being familiar with the Colossal Lie strategy, begins checking bona fides and seeking opportunity, after seeing a man cheated out of his farm by one of the parties involved..."The Old Treasure Story" (The Virgin Islands) - April Mallory, having inherited a small nest egg and the family legend of a sunken ship, has opted to be the first to *do* something about it."The Questing Tycoon" (Haiti) - The tycoon in question doesn't care about religion as such, but only about what he can use. Falsely promising to marry the daughter of a respected houngan to learn the ways of voodoo has certain drawbacks, though...

A Very Good Book

One of my favorite Saint novels. Seven short stories showing the good and bad side of the Saint.

A good book

One of the best Saint novels I have read. It is filled with both sides of the Saint: crime and good deeds. Even if you are not a fan of the saint, you will enjoy this book.