Little Clothbound Classics: irresistible, mini editions of short stories, novellas and essays from the world's greatest writers, designed by the award-winning Coralie Bickford-Smith.

With his signature flair and razor-sharp wit, Saki is an undisputed master of the short story. His tales are by turns hilarious, festive, supernatural and macabre, but all offer fabulous, bite-sized satires of a decadent upper-class Edwardian world.

'Saki, like a chivalrous highwayman, only robs the rich: behind all these stories is an exacting sense of justice . . . they dazzle and delight' Graham Greene

Hector Hugo Munro, better known by his pen name Saki, was born in Burma in 1870. He came to England for schooling following the early death of his mother, and was raised by his grandmother. After much travelling he followed in his father's footsteps and worked for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, before falling ill and returning to England to pursue a career in journalism. He published his first book, The Rise of the Russian Empire, in 1900. Throughout his writing career he worked as a foreign correspondent and fought in World War I, during which he was killed by a sniper in 1916. He is considered a master of the short story form.