Christmas with Dull People

Description

'They say (said Reginald) that there's nothing sadder than victory except defeat. If you've ever stayed with dull people during what is alleged to be the festive season, you can probably revise that saying.' These Christmas stories present Saki at his inimitable, satirical best as he addresses the most perilous aspects of the holiday period: visiting dull relatives, tolerating Christmas Eve merriment, receiving unwanted gifts, and writing ecstatic thank-you cards for those aforementioned gifts. The undisputed master of the English short story, never is Saki's satire sharper than when dissecting the customs of the upper classes at Christmas. These are four tales guaranteed to delight and disturb any Christmas gathering.

Saki or Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916) is one of the undisputed English masters of the short story. Born in Burma, at the age of two he was sent to England after his mother's death. He worked as a journalist and produced some of the finest short stories of the Edwardian era, distinguished by their satirical and macabre take on polite society. He was killed fighting on the Western Front during World War I, despite being officially too old to serve in the British army.