The First Saint Omnibus [together with] The Second Saint Omnibus. An Anthology of Saintly Adventures by CHARTERIS, Leslie (1907-1993)

London: Hodder and Stoughton Ltd., 1939, 1952. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITIONS, two volumes. Octavos (19 x 13cm), pp.1008 (printed on thin wartime paper); 636. Elegantly hand-bound in half navy blue calf over blue cloth sides, spines gilt-lettered in six compartments with traditional raised bands, publisher's original titled cloth spine bound in at rear, top edge gilt. A few light and sporadic marks within, else fine pair in an attractive recent leather binding. The complete original omnibus adventures of 'The Robin Hood of Modern Crime'. The success of the first 'Saint' collection led to a great number of later impressions, and a second omnibus which appeared in 1952. According to Paul Simpson (The Rough Guide to James Bond, p.47), 'The Saint' is a literary ancestor of 007, the debonair Simon Templar being a gentleman adventurer whose parallels with Bond are obvious. Steinbrunner & Penzler, pp.349-351. See also Gilbert, p.616.