Saki (author)

H.H. (Hector Hugh) Munro (1870-1916), better known by his pen name Saki, was a British writer of over 100 short stories, three novels (The Unbearable Bassington, When William Came, and The Westminster Alice), and three plays (The Death-Trap, Karl-Ludwig's Window, and The Watched Pot). Full of sarcasm, wit, and Black Comedy, the influence of Oscar Wilde shows through in his work—and he, in turn, is a major influence on writers like P. G. Wodehouse and Dorothy Parker.

His work has entered the public domain, so a little searching will make all his stories available.

Not to be confused with Japanese rice wine.

• Adults Are Useless: "The Lumber-Room", "The Storyteller".
• Alternate History: When William Came speculates on life in London after the Germans win World War I ("William" is Kaiser Wilhelm II).
• Ambiguously Gay: Most of Saki's young male leads, particularly Clovis Sangrail and Reginald [last name never given].
• Baleful Polymorph: "Ministers of Grace." It has overtones of Grand Theft Me, as politician's minds are put in animal bodies and angels take their place.
• Blackmail: Several stories, including "Mrs. Packeltide's Tiger" and "The Treasure Ship".
• Cats Are Superior: "The Achievement of the Cat".
• Deadpan Snarker: In spades.
• Ear Worm (in-universe): "Cousin Theresa", "The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope"
• The Edwardian Era
• Fractured Fairy Tale: A nice one in "The Storyteller".
• Grande Dame: Plenty.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Subverted horribly in "The Easter-Egg".
• If It Tastes Bad, It Must Be Good for You: "Filboid Studge, or the Mouse That Helped"
• It Will Never Catch On: "Cousin Teresa".
• Kids Are Cruel: Quite a few, most notably in "The Strategist" and "The Penance" (as Disproportionate Retribution).
• Kindhearted Cat Lover: Saki may well have been one in life, given the affectionate depictions of them in various stories.
• Lost Him in a Card Game: "The Stake".
• Mister Muffykins: The eponymous "Louis", with a twist. Louis is dead and his owner uses her pretended affection for him and his alleged needs to get her way.
• My Beloved Smother: Several, though the most unpleasant example (in "Sredni Vashtar") is the protagonist's adult cousin and appointed guardian.
• Our Werewolves Are Different: "Gabriel-Ernest".
• Reincarnation: "Laura".
• Royal Brat: The eponymous "Hyacinth", and Victor in "Morlvera".
• Stylistic Suck: "Reginald's Rubiyat", "The Recessional".
• Take That: The Westminster Alice is an Alice in Wonderland parody that takes potshots at the prominent politicans of the time.
• Talking Animal: The eponymous housecat "Tobermory". Hilarity Ensues when it turns out Tobermory thinks Keeping Secrets Sucks and says so in no uncertain terms.
• Values Dissonance: Anti-Semitism is treated as a joke in stories like "The Unrest-Cure" and "A Touch of Realism", and several stories (in particular "Hermann the Irascible-- A Story of the Great Weep") play up the idea that women's suffrage was just too ridiculous a concept to be taken seriously.
• Uncatty Resemblance: Taken to an extreme in "The Remoulding of Groby Lington."
• Upper Class Wit: Oh my yes.
  • Upper Class Twit: Some of these too.
• World War I: The short story collection The Square Egg (published posthumously) were written during his service on the Western Front. Saki himself was killed in action in Beaumont-Hamel (probably during the Battle of the Somme).
• You Can Keep Her: "The Disappearance of Crispina Umberleigh"-- to the point that the kidnappers demand ransom by threatening to return her.