'All decent people live beyond their incomes nowadays, and those who aren't respectable live beyond other people's'. Saki (H.H. Munro) stands alongside Anton Chekhov and O Henry as a master of the short story. His extraordinary stories are a mixture of humorous satire, irony and the macabre, in which the stupidities and hypocrisy of conventional society are viciously pilloried. This collection includes Sredni Vastor and The Unrest Cure. 'We all know that Prime Ministers are wedded to the truth, but like other married couples they sometimes live apart'

The death of Oscar Wilde in 1900 left the position of The Wittiest Man in the World open and up for grabs. There seemed no clear inheritor. Then, over the next couple of years, in the pages of the Westminster Gazette, there slowly emerged someone whose political satires and sketches of society brought the Wildean barb screaming into the new century. He was a man by the name of Hector Munro, but very few knew that. All his pieces were signed with a name now synonymous with wit - simply Saki. - "Youth should suggest innocence." "But never act on the suggestion." - "Scandal is merely the compassionate allowance which the gay make to the humdrum." Saki's savage sketches of society were initially centred around one character, uncannily like himself. Reginald is dangerous. Brutally honest, not interested in mediocrity or convention, he cuts a hilarious swathe through more polite circles. These 15 pieces were first collected together in 1904. - "Her frocks are built in Paris, but she wears them with a strong English accent." - "The fashion just now is a Roman Catholic frame of mind with an Agnostic conscience: you get the mediaeval picturesqueness of the one with the modern conveniences of the other." - "I hate posterity - it's so fond of having the last word." Saki (Hector Munro) was born in Burma in 1870. He was sent to boarding school in Devon and Bedfordshire. Following his father into the Imperial Police, he was posted back to Burma. After contracting malaria, he returned to England where his writing career blossomed. When war broke out in 1914, he refused a commission and joined up as an ordinary trooper. During the Battle of the Ancre in 1916, whilst resting in a crater, he was shot by a German sniper. His output included some of the funniest stories in the English language, as well as plays, essays and two novels.

This early work by H. H. Munro was originally published in 1912 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Unbearable Bassington' is a novel detailing the story of Comus Bassington, the only son of Francesca Bassington, and his attempt to marry a wealthy woman so as to save his mother from losing her house. Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma in 1870. He was raised by aunts in North Devon, England, before returning to Burma in his early twenties to join the Colonial Burmese Military Police. Later, Munro returned once more to England, where he embarked on his career as a journalist, becoming well-known for his satirical 'Alice in Westminster' political sketches, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette. Arguably better-remembered by his pen name, 'Saki', Munro is now considered a master of the short story, with tales such as 'The Open Window' regarded as examples of the form at its finest.

These works by H. H. Munro were originally published in the early 20th century and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'A Collection of Short Stories from the Bystander & Morning Post' is a collection of short stories, including 'A Shot in the Dark', 'The Holy War', 'The Pond', and many more. Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma in 1870. He was raised by aunts in North Devon, England, before returning to Burma in his early twenties to join the Colonial Burmese Military Police. Later, Munro returned once more to England, where he embarked on his career as a journalist, becoming well-known for his satirical 'Alice in Westminster' political sketches, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette. Arguably better-remembered by his pen name, 'Saki', Munro is now considered a master of the short story, with tales such as 'The Open Window' regarded as examples of the form at its finest.

This early work by H. H. Munro was originally published in 1910 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Gabriel-Ernest' is a short story about a were-wolf named Gabriel and his terrible deed. Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma in 1870. He was raised by aunts in North Devon, England, before returning to Burma in his early twenties to join the Colonial Burmese Military Police. Later, Munro returned once more to England, where he embarked on his career as a journalist, becoming well-known for his satirical 'Alice in Westminster' political sketches, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette. Arguably better-remembered by his pen name, 'Saki', Munro is now considered a master of the short story, with tales such as 'The Open Window' regarded as examples of the form at its finest.

This early work by H. H. Munro was originally published in 1904 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'Reginald' is a collection of short stories, including 'Reginald's Drama', 'Reginald on Tariff's', 'Reginald on Worries', and many more. Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma in 1870. He was raised by aunts in North Devon, England, before returning to Burma in his early twenties to join the Colonial Burmese Military Police. Later, Munro returned once more to England, where he embarked on his career as a journalist, becoming well-known for his satirical 'Alice in Westminster' political sketches, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette. Arguably better-remembered by his pen name, 'Saki', Munro is now considered a master of the short story, with tales such as 'The Open Window' regarded as examples of the form at its finest.

This early work by H. H. Munro was originally published in 1912 and we are now republishing it with a brand new introductory biography. 'The Westminster Alice' is a collection of satirical sketches, including 'Alice in Lambeth', 'Alice in Pall Mall', 'Alice in a Fog', and many more. Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, Burma in 1870. He was raised by aunts in North Devon, England, before returning to Burma in his early twenties to join the Colonial Burmese Military Police. Later, Munro returned once more to England, where he embarked on his career as a journalist, becoming well-known for his satirical 'Alice in Westminster' political sketches, which appeared in the Westminster Gazette. Arguably better-remembered by his pen name, 'Saki', Munro is now considered a master of the short story, with tales such as 'The Open Window' regarded as examples of the form at its finest.

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.