The Ace of Knaves is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1937 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar, alias The Saint. Later editions of the book were retitled The Saint in Action. The adventures in this book mark the return of Templar's longtime girlfriend and partner Patricia Holm and his nemesis, Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal since The Saint Goes On. Two of the three novellas were first published in Thriller magazine several months before the book was released; this marked the return of the character to the magazine after a hiatus during which Charteris focused on writing novels.

Stories

The book consists of the following stories:

Television adaptations

All three stories were adapted as episodes of The Saint TV series. "The Beauty Specialist" was retitled "Marcia" and aired on October 24, 1963, as part of the second season. "The Spanish War" was retitled "The Work of Art" and aired on October 31, 1963, as part of the second season. "The Unlicensed Victuallers" was retitled "The Hi-Jackers" and aired on December 17, 1964, as part of the third season.

Publication history

Two of the three novellas were first published in Thriller magazine under different titles: