The undisputed master of the short story, Saki's name is synonymous with brilliant writing that satirises Edwardian Society, and his plays were no exception. In his only full-length play, 'The Watched Pot', Trevor Bavvel, sole heir to a country estate, is in want of a wife, but must operate under the strict attention of his miserly mother Hortensia. Although wildly neglected today, Saki's plays met with widespread acclaim in his day, and he was even compared favourably with the great Oscar Wilde. This complete edition of Saki's plays – the first complete edition ever published – demonstrates the great writer's prowess as a playwright, and sparkles with the same wit as the short stories that have enchanted generations of readers.

'His stories and novels appear as delightful and [...] sophisticated as they did when he first published them.' (Noel Coward)

Hector Hugh Munro (1870–1916), known by his nom de plume, Saki, whose humorous writings are amongst the best known in the English literary canon, is widely considered to be a master of the short-story genre. Although he also wrote longer works of fiction, they are not nearly as popular as his short stories – ‘Tobermory’, ‘The Schartz-Metterklume Method’, ‘The Open Window’, ‘The Storyteller’, ‘The Lumber Room’ and ‘Sredni Vashtar’, in particular, enjoy a widespread readership even today. Saki also wrote extensively for the Westminster Gazette, where he published political sketches such as the Westminster Alice series. Saki’s death is almost as famous as his short stories – he was a lance sergeant in the First World War, and he was killed by a German sniper during the Battle of the Ancre while he and his company sheltered; his last words were reportedly: ‘Put that bloody cigarette out!’