"the saint in new york" was the 15th book chronicling the adventures of simon templar (alias the saint), an anti-hero character patterned after robin hood. the book is considered the most popular saint volume. saint expert burl barer in his history "saint: a complete history in print, radio, film and television 1928–1992", indicates that "the saint in new york" was the first "bestseller" of the simon templar series, and was the book that established charteris as a literary celebrity in america and britain. due to the book's popularity, it became the first simon templar story to be adapted for film.