Audiobook · read by volunteers
Beasts and Super-Beasts
Saki (1870–1916)
Read by Justin Brett, Justin S Barrett, Al Gelman, Andrew Coleman, Joelle Peebles, Miriam Esther Goldman (1991-2017), Lucy Perry · 36 chapters · 6 h 48
About the book
Saki's stories are tiny masterpieces of mischief. In Beasts and Super-Beasts, a collection from 1914, the English upper classes meet a series of unexpected and often hilarious disasters. There are children who take revenge on dull adults, aunts whose self-assurance is punctured, hostesses, clergymen and young men about town, all of them watched by a narrator with a sharp eye and an acid wit. Animals play a large part, and so does a certain cruelty beneath the good manners. Each tale is short and perfectly timed, ending with a twist that is sometimes funny, sometimes chilling and often both. For anyone who enjoys the sharp, elegant humour of Edwardian England, these stories are a delight.
Introduction
Saki was the pen name of Hector Hugh Munro (1870-1916), a British writer born in Burma who was brought up in England. His stories contrast the effete conventions and hypocrisies of Edwardian society with the ruthless but straightforward life-and-death struggles of the animal world, and the result is a unique blend of high comedy and dark satire. He was killed in action in France in 1916, during the First World War.
Beasts and Super-Beasts appeared in 1914, shortly before the outbreak of war. It is one of several collections he published in his short career, and many of its stories have become classics of the form, anthologised and adapted time and again. Saki's method is economical. A few strokes establish a scene, a character or a social situation, and then a small event tips it into farce or horror. His dialogue is crisp, and his epigrams have been much quoted.
Among his recurring themes are the tyranny of grown-ups, the revenge of the young and the helplessness of the pompous before wit. The tone is detached but not unkind, and beneath it lies a certain melancholy.
The recording has thirty-six short chapters and runs for just under seven hours. It is read by LibriVox volunteers. It is perfect for listeners who like their humour dry and their endings sharp, and the stories can be enjoyed one at a time. Fans of dry wit, of Wodehouse and Wilde, and of the short story as a perfectly balanced machine will find themselves at home. It is also a good introduction for anyone who has never read Saki before.
Public domain
Saki died in 1916: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text