The Chronicles of Clovis
1911
Saki's Edwardian England is a place where courtesy masks chaos, and propriety conceals pure anarchy. At its center stands Clovis Sangrail, a young man whose gift for conversation is matched only by his talent for catastrophe. Whether he's convincing a society matron to sponsor a hyena, teaching a cat to speak devastating truths, or orchestrating a tiger's humiliating demise, Clovis approaches the absurdities of the upper classes with gleeful devastation. These 28 stories sparkle with the kind of malice that makes manners memorable. Saki skewers the Edwardian elite with a scalpel disguised as a teacup, exposing the vanity, greed, and petty cruelty beneath garden parties and county dances. The stories feel fresh and dangerous a century later because Saki understands that the funniest things are often the most unflattering. Clovis never moralizes; he simply acts, and the results are magnificent chaos. If you like your humor with teeth and your satire served cold, this is the book.
