The Chronicles of Clovis

In these short stories, Saki's hero Clovis Sangrail, a languid, sharp-tongued young man about town, punctures the pretensions of Edwardian society with practical jokes and cutting remarks. They include 'Tobermory', in which a cat taught to speak reveals the guests' secrets at a country-house party; 'The Unrest-Cure', in which Clovis cures a dull couple of their boredom with an alarming hoax; and 'Sredni Vashtar', in which a lonely, sickly boy worships a polecat-ferret as a god against his cruel guardian.

Saki, the pen name of Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916), born in Burma, published the collection in 1911; his elegant, macabre humour influenced writers from P. G. Wodehouse to Roald Dahl. He was killed in the First World War. It pairs well with Beasts and Super-Beasts.