Leslie Charteris (May 12, 1907, Singapore–April 15, 1993) was born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, to a Chinese father and an English mother, and changed his name to Charteris (the i is silent) in 1926.

In his youth he studied law at Cambridge University before writing his first book whilst still in his teens. The first Simon Templar "Saint" adventure followed shortly after that.

In all he chronicled the adventures of the Saint in nearly one hundred books. Some of his later ones were collaborations with other authors.

External Resource

• mystery fiction site for in-depth illustrated bibliography