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Simon Templar started his career as a criminal, and burglary is often alluded to in the books. It is clear from the texts, however, that at the time of the books, all of his income derives from the pockets of the 'ungodly' (as he terms those who live by a less moral code than his own). There are several references to a 'ten percent collection fee' as he extracts large sums of money from his victims, the remainder being returned to its owners or given away. These unworthies include bent politicians, warmongers , indeed all the nastier forms of low life. "He claims he's a Robin Hood," bleats one of his victims, "but to me he's just a robbing hood."

The Saint has many partners in his escapades in the books, though none that lasted throughout the series. In the early books the most frequently recurring was Patricia Holm. Inspector Claude Eustace Teal could often be found attempting to put the Saint behind bars, although in the later books they can be found working in partnership. In the very earliest stories the Saint had a veritable band of compatriots, including Patricia Holm, Norman Kent, Archie Sheridan, Dicky Tremain (a character name that later appeared in Twin Peaks -- coincidence?), and Roger Conway. When most of these dropped out of the stories, the dimwitted but reliable thug Hoppy Uniatz (who gulped down Vat 69 like it was lemonade) was frequently found at Simon's side.

The time period of the books begins in the 1920s and moves through the 1930s and 1940s quite recognisably as the series of about 45 books by Charteris progresses. In the early books most of the Saint's activities are clearly illegal (though directed at much worse characters). In the later books this becomes less true. In the books written during the period of WW2, The Saint (in common with many fictional maverick heroes) was recruited by the government to help with the war effort by tracking down spies and similar undercover work. The quality of writing also changes; early books have a freshness of spirit which becomes replaced to an extent by an air of cynicism in the later works. Charteris started to step back from writing the books in the early 1960s. The last few titles released carried his name but he didn't write them; the last Saint novel to carry his name was published in 1973 but a number of additional books have appeared since then. Charteris died in 1993. A few additional Saint novels appeared around the time of the 1990s film starring Val Kilmer.

The character appeared in a string of movies in the 1930s and 40s, frequently portrayed by George Sanders. (He later appeared as a very similar character called The Falcon in a string of Falcon movies.) Many years later Roger MooreCurtis in The Persuaders ( 1971/ 72) Sir Roger George Moore (born October 14, 1927) is an English actor. Born in Stockwell, London, the son of a policeman. He served in the military during World War II in the entertainment branch above such luminaries as revived the role in a long-running television show The Saint (1962 - driving a Volvo P1800Volvo P1800 is an automobile from Volvo. The project was started in 1957 because Volvo wanted a sports car. The man behind the project was Volvo president Helmer Petterson, who in the 1940s was responsible for the Volvo PV 444. The design work was done by with licence plates ST1). Since then there have been several other actors who played him in less successful TV series, most notably Return of the Saint (1978) starring Ian Ogilvy (who outdid Moore in his interpretation of the Saint, in the view of some fans). In the mid-1980s, the National Enquirer tabloid and other newspapers reported that Moore was planning to produce a movie based upon The Saint with Pierce BrosnanPierce Brendan Brosnan OBE (born May 16, 1953) is an Irish film actor and producer. He is best known for his portrayal of the James Bond character in four films: GoldenEye Tomorrow Never Dies The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day''. He is credited w as Templar, but it was never made. A pilot for a The Saint in Manhattan series starring AustraliaAustralia is the sixth-largest country in the world (geographically), the only one to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia. Australia includes the island of Tasmania, which is an Australian State. Its neighbouring countn actor Andrew Clarke was shown in 1987, produced by Don Taffner , but it never progressed beyond the single episode. That featured another character from the Charteris book The Saint in New York, Insp John Fernack of the NYPD, while Templar got about in a black Lamborghini, also bearing the ST1 licence plate. In 1989, a series of six movies was made for Britain's ITVThis article is about the British television network. ITV (or iTV) can also mean interactive television. Independent Television (ITV is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to by Taffner, starring Simon Dutton .

A film with Val Kilmer in the title role was finally made in 1997, but diverged far from the Charteris books, though it did revive Templar's use of aliases. Whereas the original The Saint resorted to aliases which all had the initials S.T., Kilmer's Saint used names of Saints. The film mirrored some aspects of Charteris's own life, notably his origins in the Far EastFar East is a term often used for East Asia and Southeast Asia combined, sometimes including also the easternmost territories of Russia, i. Russian Far East, and the western Pacific Ocean region. See also Near East, Orient. though not in an orphanage as the film portrayed.