Saki in The Reading Room at Kitchen Sink Dramas

The Reading Room

Saki (1870-1916)

Saki, or Hector Hugo Munro, is famous for his satirical and rather cruel portraits of Edwardian society, many of which followed the trials and tribulations of Reginald and Clovis, two young men who delight in exposing the foibles of their conventional and socially repressed elders. Much of his work was inspired by his own unhappy childhood, and he took refuge in his macabre wit. He began writing short stories while working as a journalist, publishing four volumes in his lifetime before he was shot by a German sniper during the Great War. Legend has it that his last words were, "Put that damned cigarette out!" - a parting shot that wouldn't have disgraced one of his own fictional heroes. 'The Image of the Lost Soul' is a story with an uncharacteristically sombre tone, but demonstrates Saki's recurring theme of shortsighted human behaviour with regard to the free and authentic natural world.