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Prelude for War

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Prelude for War
also The Saint and the Sinners
also The Saint Plays with Fire
File:Saint Plays With Fire.jpg
1967 paperback edition with alternate title
AuthorLeslie Charteris
LanguageEnglish
SeriesThe Saint
GenreMystery, Novel
PublisherHodder and Stoughton
Publication date
1938
Publication placeUnited Kingdom
Media typePrint (Hardback & Paperback)
ISBNNA Parameter error in {{ISBNT}}: invalid character
Preceded byThieves' Picnic 
Followed byFollow the Saint 

Prelude for War is a mystery novel by Leslie Charteris featuring his Robin Hood-inspired crime fighter, Simon Templar, alias "The Saint". The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938 by Hodder and Stoughton, and in the United States by The Crime Club the same year. Previously, the novel had been serialized in the American magazine Cosmopolitan.

Later editions of the book were retitled The Saint and the Sinners and The Saint Plays with Fire. This was the last time a Simon Templar novel or short story collection would be published under different titles (although a later novella, The Saint and the Sizzling Saboteur from The Saint on Guard would later be published individually).

Story summary

Television adaptation

Prelude for War was adapted as an episode of the The Saint entitled "The Saint Plays with Fire". The episode aired on November 28, 1963 during the second season. It is one of only a few full Saint novels to be adapted for the series.