H H Munro

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In two brilliant collections of stories, Reginald (1904) and Reginald in Russia (1910), which spanned the Edwardian period, Saki made his name as the predominant wit of the emergent twentieth century. As the new Georgian age dawned, his star was at its height: .." Sylvia, notwithstanding her name, was accustomed to nothing much more sylvan than "leafy Kensington." She looked on the country as something excellent and wholesome in its way, which was apt to become troublesome if you encouraged it overmuch..."..". I love Americans, but not when they try to talk French. What a blessing it is that they never try to talk English..."..". You needn't tell me that a man who doesn't love oysters and asparagus and good wines has got a soul, or a stomach either. He's simply got the instinct for being unhappy highly developed." In this volume, first published in 1911, he introduced a new titular character, albeit with a huge resemblance to both Reginald and himself. Clovis Sangrail is unsurprisable, louche in conversation, thoroughly determined to avoid the banal. In this magnificent collection, he observes the ludicrous with an unswerving eye, and undermines it with rapier-like skill, while gleefully and covertly turning all to his advantage. Saki had announced himself as the brief Edwardian flame burnt itself out; with the brilliance of this volume he made it plain that he had no intention of fading away.

A renowned short story writer of the Edwardian eraHector Hugh Munro was a British author and playwright who wrote under the pseudonym 'Saki' (a name which references the cup-bearer in the 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'). He belongs to that rare group of writers, which includes Kipling, O. Henry and others, recognised as 'masters of the short story'. His tales, which focus on the Edwardian culture and society of his times, are notable for their wit, mischievousness and satirical content. There existed many magazines eager to publish ghost and weird stories, for which the reading public had an insatiable appetite, and Saki was one of many writers who found success in them. Some of the stories collected here are now regarded as classics of the genre, among them is 'Srendi Vashtar', which has been adapted for opera, film, radio and television. Although officially too old at 43, Munro enlisted to fight in the First World War as an infantryman. He was killed at the Battle of Ancre in 1916. He has no known grave. In this comprehensive collection of Saki tales, readers will discover ' Tobermory', 'The Open Window', 'The She-Wolf', 'The Image of a Lost Soul', 'The Interlopers'.' The Lumber-Room' and many more. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

A renowned short story writer of the Edwardian eraHector Hugh Munro was a British author and playwright who wrote under the pseudonym 'Saki' (a name which references the cup-bearer in the 'Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'). He belongs to that rare group of writers, which includes Kipling, O. Henry and others, recognised as 'masters of the short story'. His tales, which focus on the Edwardian culture and society of his times, are notable for their wit, mischievousness and satirical content. There existed many magazines eager to publish ghost and weird stories, for which the reading public had an insatiable appetite, and Saki was one of many writers who found success in them. Some of the stories collected here are now regarded as classics of the genre, among them is 'Srendi Vashtar', which has been adapted for opera, film, radio and television. Although officially too old at 43, Munro enlisted to fight in the First World War as an infantryman. He was killed at the Battle of Ancre in 1916. He has no known grave. In this comprehensive collection of Saki tales, readers will discover ' Tobermory', 'The Open Window', 'The She-Wolf', 'The Image of a Lost Soul', 'The Interlopers'.' The Lumber-Room' and many more. Leonaur editions are newly typeset and are not facsimiles; each title is available in softcover and hardback with dustjacket.

Francesca Bassington is a somewhat cold and self-contained society woman who values her home and possessions above all else. She lives in a house that was left to a young, underage heiress, Emmeline Chetrof, and Francesca is free to continue living there until Emmeline gets married. Well contented to continue living there forever, Francesca is trying to find a way to stay in the house, maneuvering with her son Comus, a self-centered young man whose irresponsibility may have been excusable and endearing when he was young but whose flippancy and fecklessness has now become a sore point between him and his mother

Set several years the future, after a war between Germany and Great Britain in which the Germans won, "When William Came" chronicles life in London under German occupation and the changes that come with a foreign army's invasion and triumph. The "William" is actually Kaiser Wilhelm II of the House of Hohenzollern.

Esm The Match-Maker Tobermory Mrs. Packletide's Tiger The Stampeding of Lady Bastable The Background Hermann the Irascible The Unrest-Cure The Jesting of Arlington Stringham Sredni Vashtar Adrian The Chaplet The Quest Wratislav The Easter Egg Filboid Studge, the Story of a Mouse that Helped The Music on the Hill The Story of St. Vespaluus The Way to the Dairy The Peace Offering The Peace of Mowsle Barton The Talking-Out of Tarrington The Hounds of Fate The Recessional A Matter of Sentiment The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope "Ministers of Grace" The Remoulding of Groby Lington Clovis on Parental Responsibilities Clovis on the Alleged Romance of Business

This anthology of anthologies contains H. H. Munro's excellent short stories, derived from a total of six compilations which were published over the course of twenty years. Containing all of his best regarded and famous short tales, as well as a sizeable host of hidden gems and lesser-known treasures, this gigantic compendium is comprehensive and certain to satisfy any fan of the author. The sensual, tantalising and distinctly moral nature of the stories usually rail against the stifling conventions of society - in the end, the natural world (and people acting naturally) tend to come out on top. The recognisable style with which Saki tells his tales make their endings, which are usually surprising and witty, a keynote feature of every story. Saki's ingrained wit and the casually biting nature of the topics he chooses often leads certain characters and the things they represent to ridicule, usually to the great satisfaction of the reader.

Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 - 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story, and often compared to O. Henry citation needed] and Dorothy Parker citation needed]. Influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, he himself influenced A. A. Milne, No l Coward and P. G. Wodehouse. Besides his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was customary at the time, and then collected into several volumes), he wrote a full-length play, The Watched Pot, in collaboration with Charles Maude; two one-act plays; a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire, the only book published under his own name; a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington; the episodic The Westminster Alice (a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland); and When William Came, subtitled A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns, a fantasy about a future German invasion and occupation of Britain. Early life Hector Hugh Munro was born in Akyab, British Burma, which was then still part of the British Raj, and was governed from Calcutta under the authority of the Viceroy of India. Saki was the son of Charles Augustus Munro, an Inspector General for the Indian Imperial Police, by his marriage to Mary Frances Mercer (1843-1872), the daughter of Rear Admiral Samuel Mercer. Her nephew, Cecil William Mercer, later became a famous novelist as Dornford Yates. In 1872, on a home visit to England, Mary Munro was charged by a cow, and the shock caused her to miscarry. She never recovered and soon died. After the death of Munro's mother, Charles Munro sent his children, including two-year-old Hector, home to England. The children were sent to Broadgate Villa, in Pilton village near Barnstaple, North Devon to be raised by their grandmother and paternal maiden aunts Charlotte and Augusta in a strict and puritanical household. It is said that they were most likely models for a few of his characters, notably 'The Lumber Room' and 'Sredni Vashtar". Leading slightly insular lives Munro and his siblings, during their early years were educated under tutelage of governesses. At the age of 12 the young Hector Munro was educated at Pencarwick School in Exmouth and then as a boarder at Bedford School. In 1887, after his retirement, his father returned from Burma, and embarked upon a series of European travels with Hector and his siblings. Hector followed his father in 1893 into the Indian Imperial Police and was posted to Burma, but successive bouts of fever meant his return home after only fifteen months Writing career In 1896, he decided to move to London to make a living as a writer. Munro started his writing career as a journalist for newspapers such as the Westminster Gazette, the Daily Express, the Morning Post, and magazines such as the Bystander and Outlook. His first book The Rise of the Russian Empire, a historical study modelled upon Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, appeared in 1900, under his real name, but proved to be something of a false start. Whilst he was writing The Rise of the Russian Empire, he made his first foray into short story writing and published a piece called 'Dogged' in St Paul's in February 1899. He then moved into the world of political satire in 1900 with a collaboration with Francis Carruthers Gould entitled "Alice in Westminster". Gould produced the sketches, and Munro wrote the text accompanying them, using the pen-name "Saki" for the first time. The series lampooned political figures of the day ('Alice in Downing Street' begins with the memorable line, '"Have you ever seen an Ineptitude?"' - referring to a zoomorphised Arthur Balfour), and was published in the Liberal Westminster Gazette.....

Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 - 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki, and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and culture. He is considered a master of the short story, and often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Influenced by Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll and Rudyard Kipling, he himself influenced A. A. Milne, No l Coward and P. G. Wodehouse. Besides his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was customary at the time, and then collected into several volumes), he wrote a full-length play, The Watched Pot, in collaboration with Charles Maude; two one-act plays; a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire, the only book published under his own name; a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington; the episodic The Westminster Alice (a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland); and When William Came, subtitled A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns, a fantasy about a future German invasion and occupation of Britain.