NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Saki

Saki (December 18, 1870 – November 14, 1916) was the pen name of British author Hector Hugh Munro, whose witty and sometimes macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... The neutrality of this article is disputed. ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It succeeded the Victorian period and is sometimes extended to include the period up to the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the start of World War...

Saki is considered a master of the short story who is often compared to O. Henry and Dorothy Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window" may be his most famous, with a closing line ("Romance at short notice was her speciality") that has entered the lexicon. This article is in need of attention. ... William Sydney Porter in his thirties O. Henry was the pen name of American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862â€“June 5, 1910), whose clever use of twist endings in his stories popularized the term O. Henry Ending. His middle name at birth was Sidney; he later changed the... Dorothy Parker (August 22, 1893 â€“ June 7, 1967) was an American writer and poet, best known for her caustic wit, wisecracks, and sharp eye for 20th century urban foibles. ...

In addition to his short stories (which were first published in newspapers, as was the custom of the time, and then collected into several volumes) he also wrote several plays; a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington (1912); and two novella-length satires, the episodic The Westminster Alice (1902, a Parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland), and When William Came (1914), subtitled "A Story of London Under the Hohenzollerns". Satire is a literary technique of writing or art which principally ridicules its subject (individuals, organizations, states) often as an intended means of provoking or preventing change. ... The Houses of Parliament, seen over Westminster Bridge The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories. ... Parody of Back to the Future In contemporary usage, a parody is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Alice in Wonderland is the widely known and used title for Alices Adventures in Wonderland, a book written by Lewis Carroll -- as well as several movie adaptations of the book -- and is also the setting for several short stories. ... German Emperor Wilhelm (born Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albrecht, Prince of Prussia 27 January 1859â€“4 June 1941), was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia (de: Deutscher Kaiser und KÃ¶nig von PreuÃŸen), ruling from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918. ... The House of Hohenzollern is a German dynasty of electors, kings, and emperors of Prussia, Germany, and Romania. ...

The name Saki is often thought to be a reference to the cupbearer in the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyam, a poem mentioned disparagingly by the eponymous character in "Reginald on Christmas Presents" (see quote below). It may, however, be a reference to the South American primate of the same name, "a small, long-tailed monkey from the Western Hemisphere" that is a central character in "The Remoulding of Groby Lington" and that, like Munro himself, hid a vicious streak beneath a gentle exterior. Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (Persian: Ø±Ø¨Ø§Ø¹ÛŒØ§Øª Ø¹Ù…Ø± Ø®ÛŒØ§Ù…) The RubÃ¡iyÃ¡t (Arabic: Ø±Ø¨Ø§Ø¹ÛŒØ§Øª) is a collection of poems (of which there are about a thousand) attributed to the Persian mathematician and astronomer Omar KhayyÃ¡m (1048 â€“ 1123). ... Type species Simia pithecia Linnaeus, 1766 Species Pithecia pithecia Pithecia monachus Pithecia irrorata Pithecia aequatorialis Pithecia albicans Sakis, or saki monkeys, are any of several New World monkeys of the genus Pithecia. ...

Biography

H.H. Munro was born in Akyab, Burma (now known as Myanmar), the son of Charles Augustus Munro, an inspector-general for the Burmese police when that country was still part of the British Empire. His mother, the former Mary Frances Mercer, died in 1872, killed, essentially, by a runaway cow. It charged at her, the shock of which caused her to miscarry; she never recovered and soon died ([1] ). It was an incident that may have influenced the sometimes deadly animals of Saki's later stories. He was brought up in England with his brother and sister by his grandmother and aunts in a straitlaced household whose comic side he appreciated only later in life. He used the severity of these domestic arrangements in many stories, notably "Sredni Vashtar", in which a young boy keeps a pet polecat without the knowledge of his spiteful and domineering female guardian, who, to the boy's great satisfaction, is eventually killed by the animal. Akyab is a city and district in the Arakan division of Burma. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London (de facto) Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification - by Athelstan AD 927 Area - Total 130,395 kmÂ² (1st in UK) 50,346 sq mi Population - 2006 est. ... Sredni Vashtar is a short story written by Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) between 1900 and 1914. ... Binomial name Mustela putorius (Linnaeus, 1758) The European Polecat (Mustela putorius), also known as a fitch, is a member of the Mustelidae family, and is related to the stoats, otters, weasels, and minks. ...

Munro was educated at Pencarwick School in Exmouth and the Bedford Grammar School. In 1893 he followed in his father's footsteps by joining the Burma police. Three years later, failing health forced his resignation and return to England, where he started his career as a journalist, writing for newspapers such as the Westminster Gazette, Daily Express, Bystander, Morning Post, and Outlook. For several years he travelled with his sisters and their retired father between watering holes and tourist resorts of Europe. Map sources for Exmouth at grid reference SY004809 Exmouth is a town in Devon, England, at the east side of the mouth of the River Exe. ... Bedford School is a public school for boys in Bedford, fifty miles north of London, England. ... The Westminster Gazette was a liberal newspaper based in London which started publishing on January 31, 1893. ... The Daily Express is a conservative, middle-market British tabloid newspaper. ... The Morning Post was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by The Daily Telegraph. ...

In 1900 Munro's first book appeared: The Rise of the Russian Empire, a historical study modelled upon Edward Gibbon's magnum opus The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Edward Gibbon (1737â€“1794). ... Magnum opus (sometimes Opus magnum, plural magna opera), from the Latin meaning great work,[1] refers to the best, most popular, or most renowned achievement of an author, artist, or composer, and most commonly one who has contributed a very large amount of material. ... The History of The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, a major literary achievement of Eighteenth Century, was written by the British historian, Edward Gibbon. ...

From 1902 to 1908 Munro worked as a foreign correspondent for The Morning Post in the Balkans, Russia, and Paris, then settled in London. Many of the stories from this period feature the elegant and effete Reginald and Clovis, young men-about-town who take heartlessly cruel delight in the discomfort or downfall of their conventional, pretentious elders. In addition to his well-known short stories, Saki also turned his talents for fiction into novels. On the eve of the Great War, he published a "what-if" novel, When William Came, imagining the eponymous German emperor conquering Britain. (A novel titled " Mrs. Elmsley, published in 1911 under the name "Hector Munro," is in fact by a different person, not the man who wrote as Saki.) Foreign Correspondent is a 1940 film which tells the story of an American reporter who becomes involved in espionage in England during the onset of World War II. It stars Joel McCrea, George Sanders, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall, Albert Bassermann and Robert Benchley. ... Balkan peninsula with northwest border Isonzo-Krka-Sava The Balkans is the historic and geographic name used to describe a region of southeastern Europe. ... City flag City coat of arms Motto: Fluctuat nec mergitur (Latin: Tossed by the waves, she does not sink) Paris Eiffel tower as seen from the esplanade du TrocadÃ©ro. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow...

At the start of World War I, although officially over age, Munro joined the Army as an ordinary soldier, refusing a commission. He returned to the battlefield more than once when officially still too sick or injured to fight. He was sheltering in a shell crater near Beaumont-Hamel, France in November 1916 when he was killed by a German sniper. His last words, according to several sources, were "Put that damned cigarette out!" After his death, his sister Ethel destroyed most of his papers and wrote her own account of their childhood. The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 801 soldiers of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment rose from the British trenches and went into battle at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometres north of Albert in France. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ...

He never married. A. J. Langguth in his biography produces strong evidence to support the hypothesis that Munro was homosexual. In the social climate of Edwardian Britain, in the years after the tragic downfall of Oscar Wilde, Munro would have had every reason, social and psychological, to keep silent about "the love that dares not speak its name". Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 â€“ November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. ...

In recognition of his contribution to literature, a blue plaque has been affixed to a building in which he once lived on Mortimer Street in central London. One of his social-climber young characters lived in a similar "roomlet which came under the auspicious constellation of W" (i.e. within the postal district of the West End of London, where, in Edwardian times, all the fashionable people lived). A blue plaque showing information about The Spanish Barn at Torre Abbey in Torquay. ... Central London is a much-used but unofficial and vaguely defined term for the most inner part of London, the capital of England. ... The interior of Covent Garden Market in the West End The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the citys major tourist attractions, businesses, and administrative headquarters. ... The Edwardian period or Edwardian era in the United Kingdom is the period 1901 to 1910, the reign of King Edward VII. It is sometimes extended to include the period to the start of World War I in 1914 or even the end of the war in 1918. ...

Controversy

Some believe that Munro wrote misogynistic and anti-Semitic stories. See, for example, "The Unrest-Cure", in which Clovis perpetrates a hoax to the effect that the local bishop is going to massacre every Jew in the neighbourhood. Compared with such contemporaries as Belloc or Chesterton, however, Munro appears mild. Misogyny is an exaggerated pathological aversion towards women. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Photograph of Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre RenÃ© Belloc (July 27, 1870â€“July 16, 1953) was one of the most prolific writers in England during the early twentieth century. ... Gilbert Keith Chesterton (May 29, 1874â€“June 14, 1936) was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. ...

Rather than the blanket term 'misogyny', it might be more correct to say that he disliked and disapproved of childless women, probably from his own negative experience of growing up in the care of his strict aunts. Some stories give voice to his irritation with aspects of female psychology, such as the middle-class conventionality epitomised by the ceremony of afternoon tea, or the inability to shop efficiently. He was persistently and derisively anti-suffragette. Tea (a meal, as opposed to the beverage), has different meanings according to country. ... Suffragette with banner, Washington DC, 1918 The title of suffragette (also occasionally spelled suffraget) was given to members of the womens suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. ...

Despite his lampooning of suffragettes and aunts, several of his stories feature sympathetic portrayals of admirably cool and self-possessed schoolgirls. Others feature strong-willed, independent women in a positive manner. One of his best childhood friends was his sister Ethel, who also never married, and they remained close until his death - a sign of Munro's personal forbearance, as she had a powerful and difficult personality.

Short stories

Saki's world contrasts the effete conventions and hypocrisies of Edwardian England with the ruthless but straightforward life-and-death struggles of nature. Nature generally wins in the end.

Saki's work is now in the public domain, and all or most of these stories are on the Internet. The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...

The Interlopers

"The Interlopers" is about two families fighting over a forest located on the eastern slopes of the Carpathian Mountains. Ulrich's family legally owns this land, but Georg - thinking it really belongs to him - hunts there anyway. Ulrich catches Georg hunting in his forest. A tree branch suddenly falls on them, trapping them near each other. Gradually they become friends and decide to end the family feud: "if we choose to make peace among our people there is none other to interfere, no interlopers from the outside," Georg says. They call out the other foresters to help them. After a brief period of time they see what they think are rescuers, but the story ends with a one word realization of what is really coming: "Wolves." Satellite image of the Carpathians. ...

The Schartz-Metterklume Method

At a train station, an arrogant and overbearing woman mistakes the mischievous Lady Carlotta for the governess she expected. Lady Carlotta, deciding not to correct the mistake, presents herself as a proponent of "the Schartz-Metterklume method" of making children understand history by acting it out themselves, and chooses a rather unsuitable historical episode for her first lesson. A governess is a female employee from outside of the family who teaches children within the family circle. ...

The Toys of Peace

Rather than giving their young boys gifts of toy soldiers and guns, a couple decides to give their sons "peace toys". When the packages are opened, young Bertie shouts "It's a fort!" and is disappointed when his father replies "It's a municipal dust-bin". The boys are initially baffled as to how to obtain any enjoyment from models of a school of art and a public library, or from little toy figures of John Stuart Mill, poetess Felicia Hemans, and astronomer Sir John Herschel. Youthful inventiveness finds a way, however. John Stuart Mill (20th May 1806 â€“ 8th May 1873), a British philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century. ... Felicia Hemans Felicia Hemans (September 25, 1793 - 1835), was a British poet. ... John Herschel Sir John Frederick William Herschel (7 March 1792 â€“ 11 May 1871) was an English mathematician and astronomer. ...

The Storyteller

"The Storyteller" is a cynical antidote to crude didacticism. An aunt is travelling by train with three of her nieces and nephews; a bachelor is sitting opposite. The aunt starts telling a story, but is unable to satisfy the curiosity of the children. The bachelor intervenes and tells a different kind of story which feeds their curiosity and imagination. The central character is unbearably good and in the end is devoured by a wolf, much to the delight of the bored children in the railway carriage. Thus the short story "The Story Teller" provides an antidote to crude didacticism and expresses an attitude of cynicism.

The Unrest-Cure

Saki's recurring hero Clovis Sangrail, a sly young man, overhears the complacent middle-aged Huddle complaining of his own addiction to routine and aversion to change. Huddle's friend makes the wry suggestion of the need for an "unrest-cure" (the opposite of a rest-cure) to be performed, if possible, in the home. Clovis takes it upon himself to "help" the man and his sister by involving them in an invented outrage that will be a "blot on the twentieth century".

Esmé

In a hunting story with a difference, the Baroness tells Clovis of a hyena she and her friend Constance encountered alone in the countryside, who cannot resist the urge to stop for a snack. The story is a perfect example of Saki's delight in setting societal convention against uncompromising nature.

The Open Window

A man with the unlikely name of Framton Nuttel comes to a country vilage for some peace and rest. He calls upon a lady his aunt used to know; for a few minutes he is left alone with her niece, who has quite an active imagination. She tells Framton a story about the tragedy of the lady's husband and two sons, who went hunting one day and never returned. The bodies were never found, and because of this the window from which they left is always kept open. When indeed they do return that very night, Framton, who has suffered from nerves in the past, runs out of the house, and the niece explains his sudden departure to her relatives with an equally imaginative fiction.

Sredni Vashtar

The story of a young, sickly child, Conradin. His caregiver, Mrs. De Ropp, "would never... have confessed to herself that she dislike Conradin, though she might have been dimly aware that thwarting him for 'his own good' was duty which she did not find particularly irksome." When she finds Conradin's beloved Houdan hen and pet polecat/ferret, which he reveres as "Sredni Vashtar", she calls the exterminator to get rid of the pets. On the morning of the dreaded visit, Mrs. DeRopp enters the shed in which the ferret lies in his hatch, in full view of Conradin. As the time slips by without a stirring from the shed, Conradin begins to pray to Sredni Vashtar — and receives his darkest wish.

Quotations

From "The Square Egg": Chartreuse may refer to: The Chartreuse Mountains north of Grenoble, France. ...

Books

Beasts and Super-Beasts is a collection of short stories, written by Saki (the literary pseudonym of Hector Hugh Munro) and first published in 1914. ... When William Came is a novel written by British author Saki (Hector Hugh Munro) and published in 1914. ... Cyril Maude (April 24, 1862 - February 20, 1951), English actor, was born in London and educated at Charterhouse. ... Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH (October 2, 1904 â€“ April 3, 1991) was a prolific English novelist, playwright, short story writer, travel writer and critic whose works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world. ... John Campbell Bonner Letts (November 18, 1929 - March 25, 2006) was an English publisher, who founded the British Empire and Commonwealth Museum. ...

External links

Image File history File links Wikiquote-logo-en. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links Wikisource-logo. ... The original Wikisource logo. ... Project Gutenberg logo Project Gutenberg (often abbreviated as PG) is a volunteer effort to digitize, archive, and distribute cultural works via book scanning. ...

Literary Criticism and Biography

Categories: 1870 births | 1916 deaths | British historians | British satirists | British short story writers | English horror writers | People commemorated by blue plaques | Ailurophiles | British World War I killed in action In the Gregorian Calendar, December 18 is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years), at which point there will be 13 days remaining to the end of the year. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Akyab is a city and district in the Arakan division of Burma. ... November 14 is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 47 days remaining. ... Year 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... On July 1, 1916, the first day of the Battle of the Somme in World War I, 801 soldiers of the 1st Newfoundland Regiment rose from the British trenches and went into battle at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometres north of Albert in France. ...