The Chronicles of Clovis

Description

Considered to be the ultimate master of the genre of the short story in English literature, Saki – the pen name of Hector Hugh Munro – created some of the funniest satirical writings, the 30 pieces in The Chronicles of Clovis being excellent examples of his storytelling genius.

The stories in the collection are set in the mid-Edwardian period, the characters featured being members of the upper classes. The central character that most of the stories revolve around is Clovis Sangrail, a worldly and extremely vain, but very witty youth. Each of the stories conveys a different atmosphere – some are dark and cynical, others are humorous and very funny.

The collection includes some of Saki’s best stories. Sredni Vastar is about a sickly child revolting against the authority of his guardian and inventing a secret religion in which his ferret is a deity that will take revenge for the sufferings of its master and a story that ends with a very surprising twist; Tobermory is about a cat taught to speak human language and revealing a lot of awkward secrets about the private life of his masters; Mrs. Packleetide’s Tiger is about a lady who wants to shoot a tiger in India and pays the villagers to help her, but is eventually only partially successful, shooting a duck, but obtaining the skin of the tiger that died of a heart attack when the lady fired her gun at the duck, while the story entitled Esme is about the killing of a hyena.

The stories mentioned above are just a few examples – one can list the entire table of contents of the collection, for all the stories are excellent. If you love wry and dry humor that is paired with incredible sensitivity at times, Saki’s Chronicles of Clovis will surely be to your liking.
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