Six Uncollected Stories by Saki
September 28, 2014 12:13 PM Subscribe
Six short stories by Edwardian humorist and short-form master H. H Munro (Saki) that do not appear in any yet-published collection of Saki’s “complete” short stories, taken from an appendix in A.J. Langguth’s A Life of H.H. Munro (1982).
Wonderful. Any details out there on how they got lost?
posted by benito.strauss at 12:24 PM on September 28, 2014
posted by benito.strauss at 12:24 PM on September 28, 2014
Excellent! Although on preview I have the same reservations as dorian. What if they don't live up to my expectations?
Oh, who am I kidding.. Off to read!
on edit: so far so good, and distinctly Saki-esque..
Oh, who am I kidding.. Off to read!
on edit: so far so good, and distinctly Saki-esque..
"She habitually wore the air of one who has seen trouble, or, at any rate, expects to do so very shortly; and she was accustomed to speak of the Angel of Death almost as other people would speak of their chauffeur waiting around the corner to fetch them at the appointed moment."posted by Nerd of the North at 12:25 PM on September 28, 2014
speculation: copyright issues? several of the stories mention as being published in the Bystander in 1913, would the newspaper have had any rights depending on contract or something? my "complete" copies are 1930 (not original, I think ~ later 1938 impression or something) and 1976 editions. I see there is a 1988 Penguin, could it be possible that it has the 6 added?
the stories themselves are not his most outstanding, but all are above-average and I am not disappointed! and I may well revise that opinion upward, upon re-reading a few days from now. several of them seem to closely inform later stories (horrid fiancees being awful to animals or hating nature in general, not-exactly-life-threatening bodies of water, Aunts, ludicrously creative last names, mistaken identities, etc.)
a Reginald would have made me happier than anything, but a Clovis is close enough!
posted by dorian at 12:54 PM on September 28, 2014
the stories themselves are not his most outstanding, but all are above-average and I am not disappointed! and I may well revise that opinion upward, upon re-reading a few days from now. several of them seem to closely inform later stories (horrid fiancees being awful to animals or hating nature in general, not-exactly-life-threatening bodies of water, Aunts, ludicrously creative last names, mistaken identities, etc.)
a Reginald would have made me happier than anything, but a Clovis is close enough!
posted by dorian at 12:54 PM on September 28, 2014
i pronounce them up to his usual snuff; more social embarrassments, good animals, lethal animals as we are used to.
posted by bruce at 1:20 PM on September 28, 2014
posted by bruce at 1:20 PM on September 28, 2014
Only read The Almanack so far, and agree with bruce.
Thank you so much!
posted by lungtaworld at 2:36 PM on September 28, 2014
Thank you so much!
posted by lungtaworld at 2:36 PM on September 28, 2014
Sent to my Kindle. I'm going to savour these. Thank you.
posted by night_train at 2:38 PM on September 28, 2014
posted by night_train at 2:38 PM on September 28, 2014
I do adore Saki.
For others who have yet to learn to do so, here is an excellent resource.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:49 PM on September 28, 2014
For others who have yet to learn to do so, here is an excellent resource.
posted by turbid dahlia at 2:49 PM on September 28, 2014
Sredni Vashtar smiles upon thee.
posted by JHarris at 3:10 PM on September 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
posted by JHarris at 3:10 PM on September 28, 2014 [1 favorite]
All this without an MFA.
Which is one reason why I don't read contemporary short fiction.
Thank you for this.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:08 PM on September 28, 2014
Which is one reason why I don't read contemporary short fiction.
Thank you for this.
posted by IndigoJones at 4:08 PM on September 28, 2014
Which is one reason why I don't read contemporary short fiction.
Because someone else wrote good short fiction without an MFA?
Ok!
posted by kenko at 4:36 PM on September 28, 2014
Because someone else wrote good short fiction without an MFA?
Ok!
posted by kenko at 4:36 PM on September 28, 2014
Thank you thank you thank you!
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:00 PM on September 28, 2014
posted by Orange Dinosaur Slide at 5:00 PM on September 28, 2014
This is awesome!
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:32 AM on September 29, 2014
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 1:32 AM on September 29, 2014
They have all been published, I'm holding the book right now. They were collected in "A Shot in the Dark" published by Hesperus Press (with a few more stories you may have not read). They also publish the wonderful Hesperus Classics collection of neglected and out of print literary gems.
posted by Marauding Ennui at 2:10 AM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
posted by Marauding Ennui at 2:10 AM on September 29, 2014 [3 favorites]
to be clear, no one was ever saying the stories were lost or that they were unpublished. simply that none of the various "complete short stories" books have ever included them.
posted by dorian at 7:39 AM on September 30, 2014
posted by dorian at 7:39 AM on September 30, 2014
I was asked to write us flashfiction in the style of Saki on Ello
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by The Whelk at 4:01 PM on October 4, 2014
Alas, it cannot be read unless you have an Ello account.
posted by JHarris at 5:27 PM on October 4, 2014
posted by JHarris at 5:27 PM on October 4, 2014
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and one is a Clovis story, even. man... should I save them for later? should I not-read them in case they're disappointing? way to over-butter a piece of toast for "giving trouble".
(I'm sure His thoughts were red thoughts will be in soon...)
posted by dorian at 12:24 PM on September 28, 2014 [2 favorites]