Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Leslie Charteris
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Read Next
Union Jack flag of Great Britain, united kingdom
What’s the Difference Between Great Britain and the United Kingdom?
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Ancient book lit by candle
9 Obscure Literary Terms
Britannica's Book Bingo. Take our reading challenge! Books range form greatest, banned, and counterculture.
Britannica’s Book Bingo
Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, Wales.
10 Captivating Contemporary Novels Set in the British Isles
Discover
Santa Claus flying in his sleigh, christmas, reindeer
Was Santa Claus a Real Person?
Diverse elementary school children wearing school uniforms running outside of school. Boys girls
Pro and Con: School Uniforms
Mayer Amschel Rothschild (1744-1855), founder of the house of Rothschild; lithograph by Friedrich Lieder, c. 1830.
Where Do Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories About the Rothschild Family Come From?
The Cheshire Cat is a fictional cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. (Alice in Wonderland)
11 Banned Books Through Time
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Los Angeles Police Department wanted flyer on Elizabeth Short, aka the "Black Dahlia," who was brutally murdered in January 1947. The FBI supported the Los Angeles Police Department in the case, including by identifying Short through her fingerprints that
America’s 5 Most Notorious Cold Cases (Including One You May Have Thought Was Already Solved)

Leslie Charteris

British-American writer
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leslie-Charteris
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Britannica Websites
Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students.
Also known as: Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Quick Facts
Original name:
(until 1928) Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin
Born:
May 12, 1907, Singapore
Died:
April 15, 1993, Windsor, Berkshire, Eng.
Also Known As:
Leslie Charles Bowyer Yin
Subjects Of Study:
the Saint
See all related content

Leslie Charteris (born May 12, 1907, Singapore—died April 15, 1993, Windsor, Berkshire, Eng.) was an author of highly popular mystery-adventure novels and creator of Simon Templar, better known as “the Saint” and sometimes called the “Robin Hood of modern crime.” From 1928, some 50 novels and collections of stories about “the Saint” were published; translations existed in at least 15 languages.

The son of a Chinese surgeon and his English wife, Charteris (who changed his name in 1928) briefly attended King’s College, Cambridge (1926), and then worked as a merchant seaman; a gold prospector, tin miner, and pearl fisherman, all in Malaya; a bartender; and a professional bridge player in a London club. A U.S. resident from 1932, he was employed from 1933 as a Hollywood screenwriter, preparing scripts for eight “Saint” movies and several other films. Although he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 1946, he later returned to England.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.