Short Stories — The Folio Society | Saki (H.H. Munro) | 1976 | First Impression | Drawings by Sir Osbert Lancaster | in Slipcase

A charming first impression of the Folio Society's 1976 edition of Short Stories by Saki — one of the most perfectly matched pairings of author and illustrator in the Society's catalogue.

Hector Hugh Munro, who wrote as Saki, was the supreme satirist of Edwardian England — wickedly funny, occasionally macabre, and possessed of a prose style of diamond-sharp precision. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives, and his work influenced A.A. Milne, Noël Coward, and P.G. Wodehouse.  This selection, chosen and introduced by John Letts, draws from Reginald in Russia, The Chronicles of Clovis, Beasts and Super-Beasts, The Toys of Peace, and The Square Egg — an ideal introduction to Saki's art and a delight for those who know it well.

The illustrations by Sir Osbert Lancaster are a masterstroke of editorial judgement. Lancaster's draughtsmanship — witty, precise, and steeped in the same Edwardian world that Saki so mercilessly dissected — complements the text with a rare sympathy. Frontispiece and nine full-page drawings throughout. Bound in lime-green cloth printed with Lancaster's busy London street scenes in dark green. Gilt-lettered title to spine. Yellow top edge and endpapers. 244 pp.

Housed in the original brown card slipcase.

This first impression copy is in very good condition throughout — cloth bright, pages clean and fresh, binding tight and square. Light tanning to spine, as is typical of this edition. Slipcase present and sound.

A thoroughly English book in the best possible sense — ideal for collectors of Folio Society editions, Edwardian literature, or the work of Sir Osbert Lancaster.