The Short Fiction of Saki

Saki, the pen name of H. H. Munro, built his reputation on short stories that swing from drawing-room comedy to sudden cruelty in a single sentence. This gathering brings together the fiction that made him famous, from the idle schemes of his recurring dandies Reginald and Clovis to standalone shockers like ‘The Open Window,’ ‘Sredni Vashtar,’ and ‘Tobermory,’ the tale of a cat taught to speak. Munro skewers Edwardian manners with a cold, glittering wit, and his stories often let animals or children take a quiet revenge on smug, self-satisfied adults. The prose is quick, precise, and merciless. Free PDF and EPUB editions are available here.