Count on the Saint

John Telfer is a historian with a special interest in the Italian Renaissance. His writing explores the complex political and social dynamics of the period. He is known for his work, "The Borgias and their enemies."

Leslie Charteris was born Leslie Charles Bowyer-Yin in Singapore, the son of a Chinese physician father and an English mother. He started writing in childhood, creating his own magazine with articles, short stories, poetry, editorials, serials, comic strip. In 1926, he legally changed his last name to Charteris. He wrote his first book, X Esquire (1927), as an undergraduate at King's College, Cambridge. When it was accepted for publication, he left university to became a professional writer. He...