Beschreibung:

Charteris (Leslie) [The Saint's Second Front], original typescript of unpublished Simon Templar novella with manuscript corrections in pencil by the author, 237pp., some creasing and folds, loose in remains of brown envelope with "Manuscripts, Hope this is the way you want it Mr. Charteris - Ruth" in pencil and "Pearl Harbour" in red ink on upper cover, preserved in custom folding chemise and morocco-backed slip-case, 4to, 1941. ⁂ The working typescript of an unpublished Saint novella, long assumed lost, the plot of which foreshadows the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Charteris wrote The Saint's Second Front in or around the summer of 1941, the story centres around a plan for a surprise attack upon the United States by a Japanese clandestine army named the Black Dragon as a prelude to a larger invasion. He submitted it for publication with Cosmopolitan but was rejected on the grounds that "we do not think this is the time to publish anything which might aggravate the tensions with out Japanese friends." Although referenced occasionally in interviews by Charteris, the story was ultimately feared to be lost when Charteris revealed he did not keep a copy himself after it was rejected (he later stated about the affair "perhaps I was lucky that time, after all. As a period piece, today, it might have seemed a bit silly") and an incident at Doubleday's warehouse storage which resulted in many of their pre-1950s manuscripts becoming lost or damaged. This therefore represents a unique opportunity to own the only known copy of what Charteris himself called "the only story I have failed to sell since I became what is called 'established'". Provenance: Part of a small archive of material given by the author to a friend in Ireland.