The Saint in New York
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Hodder and Stoughton | |
Publication date | 1935 |
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Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) |
Preceded by | The Saint Goes On |
Followed by | Saint Overboard |
The Saint in New York is a
The Saint in New York was the 15th book chronicling the adventures of
Up until this point, Charteris had published at least two (sometimes more) Saint books in any given calendar year. The Saint in New York broke the pattern by being the only series entry published in 1935.
Plot
During a visit to Europe, Simon Templar (alias "The Saint") befriends a rich American whose son was recently murdered in New York City; the culprit went free due to police and courtroom corruption. Templar is given an offer he can't refuse: $1 million if he goes to New York and deals out his unique brand of justice to evildoers in that city.
The book begins with the
When an accused cop-killer is found shot to death, the NYPD knows the Saint has arrived in New York. After Templar rescues a child who has been kidnapped by a mob boss (assassinating the gangster in the process), the whole city learns that the Saint is on the job. Templar's ultimate goal is to discover the identity of the city's main kingpin who is known only as "The Big Fellow".
Templar is abducted by one of the remaining crime lords and two corrupt, high-ranking New York City officials offer him $200,000 to reveal who is backing him. Templar claims to be working on his own, and the crime lord orders Templar to be taken for the proverbial "ride". Templar is taken to a remote location in New Jersey but manages to escape his fate thanks to the intervention of Fay Edwards, a beautiful young woman who happens to be a cold-blooded killer, and who claims to be working for The Big Fellow. Simon Templar and Fay Edwards fall in love with each other, in a completely Platonic way (they exchange only two kisses and exchange only a few words) which seems nevertheless very deep and poignantly emotional. (On his return to London, in the last page of the book, Templar would refuse to tell Patricia Holm about his American experiences.)
The Saint eventually learns that he is being manipulated into killing off certain crime bosses in order that The Big Fellow will not have to split a $17 million cache of blood money that was going to be shared among the gangsters. In effect, rather than being a daring and idealistic
And when Big Fellow's identity is finally revealed, he ends up being the last person Templar would suspect.
Film adaptation
It was this book that
In 1987, a television pilot for a potential new Saint TV series was broadcast on CBS. Entitled The Saint in Manhattan, the pilot was not directly based upon the novel but did feature the character of Inspector Farnack.
Cultural references
A copy of the novel The Saint in New York was featured prominently in an episode of the Canadian sitcom
In the film Inglourious Basterds, the character Shosanna Dreyfus can be seen reading The Saint in New York while sitting in a Paris café. The same book is present in a scene where Shosanna and her lover Marcel are planning to kill all the top Nazis in Chapter Five ("Revenge of the Giant Face").
References
- ISBN 0-7864-1680-7.
- ^ "Saint.org".
Sources
- Burl Barer, The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television 1928–1992. Jefferson, N.C.: MacFarland, 2003 (originally published in 1992).