Amazon Publishing Acquires Classic Series from British Masters Leslie Charteris and Gladys Mitchell
Thomas & Mercer imprint will begin publishing in North America in late 2013
Amazon has announced their Thomas & Mercer imprint has acquired the North American rights to a pair of classic British series: The Saint by Leslie Charteris and Gladys Mitchell’s Mrs. Bradley. The books will be published in digital and, where rights permit, print formats by the Thomas & Mercer imprint beginning in late 2013. This is the first time many of these titles will be made available digitally in North America.
Leslie Charteris’ books featuring criminal-turned-hero Simon Templar – known as The Saint – became cult classics when originally published between 1928 and 1983. The series has spawned fifteen feature films, including a 1997 version starring Val Kilmer as Templar; a popular 1960s British television series starring Roger Moore; a number of radio series; and a comic strip that was syndicated to newspapers around the world for over a decade. Under the agreement negotiated by Jane Gelfman of Gelfman Schneider Literary Agents, Amazon Publishing has acquired the exclusive rights to publish 49 titles in the Saint series, including Enter the Saint (1930), The Saint in New York (1935), Follow the Saint (1938), and Salvage for the Saint (1983).
A pilot for a new television series based on the Saint books, co-starring former Saints Moore and Ian Ogilvy as well as Eliza Dushku (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), is currently in production.
Additionally, Amazon Publishing has entered into an agreement to publish 71 titles by Gladys Mitchell, including 65 titles in her classic Mrs. Bradley series. Mitchell’s works span seven decades – and earned her a reputation as an esteemed contemporary of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers. Titles to be published by Amazon Publishing include the first book featuring Mrs. Bradley, Speedy Death (1929), as well as The Devil at Saxon Wall (1935); Printer’s Error (1939); Sunset Over Soho (1943); and The Crozier Pharaohs (1984). Since their first publication, the books have sold over 10 million copies worldwide and have been the inspiration behind the BBC television series The Mrs. Bradley Mysteries.
