Patricia Holm - Leaves The Series

Leaves The Series

The character finally disappeared from the series for good following the 1948 collection Saint Errant, and Charteris declined later suggestions for her to return. Nonetheless, according to The Saint: A Complete History in Print, Radio, Film and Television 1928-1992 by Burl Barer, Charteris did attempt to get a fan-written novel entitled The Saint's Lady published as part of the official series in the late 1970s; the book featured Holm. The Saintly Bible website also tells of a plan for a film script entitled Son of the Saint that would have revealed that Holm had a child by Templar. This close relationship could, of course, explain the distance which is always kept between Templar and Pat Holm - if they were close it would be easy for many of the Saint's enemies to revenge themselves on her or her child, something which nearly happened early in Templar's career in The Last Hero.

Ultimately a brief reference to Holm was included in the final Saint novel published under Charteris' tenure, Salvage for the Saint, revealing that at some point in the past, Holm had left Templar.

Charteris' depiction of Holm was fairly consistent, though the character herself could vary wildly in her mood and attitudes. Although often seen as wide eyed and innocent, she is anything but, and is more than willing to kill in order to protect herself or Templar, although in The Holy Terror even Templar momentarily questions her sanity when she expresses disappointment that she didn't get to kill a villain. Charteris often describes her as being cold and dispassionate in her reactions to things and her interactions with others, but at other times she uses affectionate terms like "lad" and "boy" when referring to Templar. The banter between the two frequently resembles that later seen between John Steed and Emma Peel in the television series The Avengers. Holm doesn't blindly follow Templar's every whim, however. She is often described as being exasperated by Templar's tendency to be oblique in his discussion of a situation as well as his obsession with writing poetry; in Once More the Saint she also criticizes Templar for his blackmailing of Inspector Teal in The Holy Terror, and on occasion (such as in "The Gold Standard") questions Templar's tendency to act as judge, jury and executioner.