The Ace of Knaves is a collection of three mystery novella

Novella

A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...

s by Leslie Charteris

Leslie Charteris

Leslie Charteris , born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin, was a half-Chinese, half English author of primarily mystery fiction, as well as a screenwriter. He was best known for his many books chronicling the adventures of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint."-Early life:Charteris was born to a Chinese father...

, first published in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1937 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 by The Crime Club

The Crime Club

The Crime Club was an imprint of the Doubleday publishing company, which later spawned a 1946-47 anthology radio series.Many classic and popular works of detective and mystery fiction had their first U.S. editions published via the Crime Club, including all 50 books of The Saint by Leslie Charteris...

. This book continues the adventures of Charteris' creation, Simon Templar

Simon Templar

Simon Templar is a British fictional character known as The Saint featured in a long-running series of books by Leslie Charteris published between 1928 and 1963. After that date, other authors collaborated with Charteris on books until 1983; two additional works produced without Charteris’s...

, 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

Patricia Holm

Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels of Leslie Charteris from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" and shared a number of his adventures....

 and his nemesis, Chief Inspector Claud Eustace Teal

Claud Eustace Teal

Claud Eustace Teal is a fictional character who made many appearances in a series of novels, novellas and short stories by Leslie Charteris entitled The Saint, starting in 1929...

 since The Saint Goes On

The Saint Goes On

The Saint Goes On is a collection of three mystery novellas by Leslie Charteris, first published in the United Kingdom in 1934 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States in 1935 by The Crime Club...

.

Stories

The book consisted of the following stories:

1. The Spanish War - A 10 pound
   Pound sterling
   The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
   
    debt turns into a mystery involving $30,000 in bearer bond
   Bearer bond
   A bearer bond is a debt security issued by a business entity, such as a corporation, or by a government. It differs from the more common types of investment securities in that it is unregistered – no records are kept of the owner, or the transactions involving ownership. Whoever physically...
   
   s, a dead body, and a connection to the (then-current) Spanish Civil War
   Spanish Civil War
   The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
   
   .
2. The Unlicensed Victuallers - When Templar and his crew pursue a liquor-smuggling racket, their mission becomes complicated when they discover a beautiful blonde is somehow caught up in it and Templar becomes concerned that she is somehow connected to a murder.
3. The Beauty Specialist - The Saint is suspected of being "The Z-Man", a mysterious figure who is blackmailing a trio of movie starlets. It's up to Simon and Patricia Holm
   Patricia Holm
   Patricia Holm is the name of a fictional character who appeared in the novels of Leslie Charteris from the 1920s to the 1940s. She was the on-again, off-again girlfriend and partner of Simon Templar, alias "The Saint" and shared a number of his adventures....
   
    to protect the women until the blackmailer's real identity is revealed.

Television adaptations

All three stories were adapted as episodes of The Saint

The Saint (TV series)

The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...

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 Hijackers" and aired on December 17, 1964 as part of the third season.