Saki

Saki (December 18, 1870 - November 14, 1916) was the pen name of British author Hector Hugh Munro, whose witty and outrageous stories satirised the Edwardian social scene in macabre and cruel ways.

Related Topics:
December 18 - 1870 - November 14 - 1916 - Pen name - British - Edwardian - Macabre

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Saki is considered a master of the short story, often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. Saki stories are always short but memorable, with finely-drawn characters, unique and macabre situations, and perfectly-timed narratives. His story "The Open Window" may be his most famous, with a closing line ("Romance at short notice was her speciality") that has entered the lexicon of many writers. He also wrote several novels and plays.

Related Topics:
Short story - O. Henry - Dorothy Parker - Novels - Plays

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The name Saki is often thought to be a nod to the cupbearer in the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, a poem to which he refers (disparagingly) in "Reginald on Christmas Presents" (see quote below). It may, however, be a reference to the South American monkey of the same name, "a small, long-tailed monkey from the Western Hemisphere", its nature a balance of gentle shyness with a vicious temper, featured as a central character in "The Remoulding of Groby Lington". This story is the only one of Saki's to begin with a quotation: "A man is known by the company he keeps", and turns upon the idea of humans becoming like the pets they keep.

Related Topics:
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam - Monkey of the same name - Monkey

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Saki himself had a similar personality to the troublesome and mischievous monkey in this story. Moreover, he began his writing career with a full-length history of Russia in the style of Edward Gibbon, and may have viewed himself as an analogue of Gibbon, whose last name is also the name of an ape.

Related Topics:
Edward Gibbon - Gibbon

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