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 by English teachers and scholars as 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, Noël Coward and P. G. Wodehouse

3. Nick Name: H. H. Munro
Birthday: December 18, 1870
Nationality: British
Died At Age: 45
Sun Sign: Sagittarius
Also Known As: Hector Hugh Munro, H. H. Munro
Born In: Sittwe
Famous As: Writer

4. Family:
Father: Charles Augustus Munro
Mother: Mary Frances Mercer
Siblings: Ethel Munro
Died On: November 13, 1916
Place Of Death: Beaumont-Hamel

6. • He kicked off his writing career as a journalist for newspapers such as
Morning Post, Westminster Gazette and Daily Express.
• He worked as a journalist for Outlook and Bystander magazines as
well.
• In 1900, his first book - ‘The Rise of the Russian Empire’
• In 1902, he wrote a political sketch, titled ‘The Women who Never
Should’
• Saki was considered to be the master of short stories.

7. In 1904, his short stories, titled ‘Reginald’ were published.
‘Reginald’ - 1910 and ‘The Chronicles of Clovis’ in 1911.
1912 - ‘The Unbearable Bassington’.
In 1913 - “what if novel”, ‘When William Came: A Story of London
Under the Hohenzollerns’.
‘The Toys of Peace’ in 1919, ‘The Square Egg and Other Sketches’ in
1924.
He had also written a play that was co-authored with Charles Maude
and was published in 1924.

9. • Saki’s plays and stories have also been adapted as TV series and plays.
• In 2007, three of his stories - “The Storyteller", "The Lumber Room"
and "Sredni Vashtar” were showcased in BBC TV production show
Who Killed Mrs De Ropp?
• “Saki: The Improper Stories of H. H. Munro” was an eight-part series
produced for Granada Television in 1962.
• His stories have also been adapted into theatre plays such as ‘Saki
Shorts’, ‘The Playboy of the Week-End World’, ‘Miracles At Short
Notice’ and ‘Wolves At The Window’.

12. WRITING STYLE:
• H. H. Munro succeeds in his fiction because of his inimitable blend of
satire, irony, startling endings, clever dialogue, sparkling wit,
psychological insight, unconventional settings, mystery, and
sometimes even horror.
• While Saki is almost always a satirist, his satire is not biting; rather it
seems more a practical joke upon a character of the narrative rather
than an invective against the social class Sakicriticizes.
• Saki's writing is certainly clever, socially satiric, and surprising; with its
unconventionalities, there is little obeisance for the rules of realism.

14. Framton Nuttel's Sister - She writes a letter in order to introduce him
to Mrs. Sappleton; this is how Framton finds himself in Mrs.
Sappleton's home.
Mr. Framton Nuttel - A nervous man, Framton Nuttel arrives in a new
town seeking relaxation in order to alleviate an unspecified nervous
disorder.
Ronnie - Mrs. Sappleton’s youngest brother and member of the
hunting party. He often teases her by singing a short song.

15. Mr. Sappleton - Mrs. Sappleton’s husband and a member of the
hunting party.
Mrs. Sappleton - Framton’s host and Vera’s aunt.
Vera - A 15-year-old girl who greets Framton and informs him of her
aunt’s “great tragedy” .

16. Wildness/Chaos vs. Order
Power of Storytelling
Rural Calm
Satirization of Edwardian Society
Comedy
Empowerment (at expense of adults)
Desire to Escape

17. Genre -
Short Story, Period Fiction
Setting and Context -
Rural Countryside, Edwardian England
Narrator and Point of View -
Omniscient Third-Person Narrator
Protagonist and Antagonist -
Vera (Protagonist); Adulthood (Antagonist)