The Chronicles of Clovis

The Chronicles of Clovis is Saki's third collection of short stories, published in 1911. The title character, Clovis Sangrail, is a disenchanted, sharp-tongued young man who delights in tormenting his elders with elaborate pranks and uncomfortable truths. Some stories feature Clovis as the central character; in others he plays a minor role, Munro having revised several non-Clovis stories to give the collection a degree of unity.

The collection includes some of Saki's most celebrated work, including Tobermory (the talking cat), Sredni Vashtar (the ferret-god), Mrs. Packletide's Tiger, and Esmé.

Stories in This Collection

• Esmé — A woman recounts an improbable hunting adventure involving a hyena she claims to have named Esmé.
• The Match-Maker — Clovis engineers a romantic encounter at a garden party with characteristically mischievous results.
• Tobermory — A scientist teaches a cat to speak English, and the cat immediately starts revealing the house party guests' secrets.
• Mrs. Packletide's Tiger — A socialite sets out to shoot a tiger in India, motivated entirely by jealousy of a rival.
• The Stampeding of Lady Bastable — Clovis concocts an outrageous scheme to disrupt his hostess's household.
• The Background — A portrait painter discovers the wrong background can ruin more than a painting.
• Hermann the Irascible — A Story of the Great Weep — A satirical fable about a king who bans the use of tears in politics.
• The Unrest-Cure — Clovis decides a complacent household needs a jolt of chaos, with dramatic consequences.
• The Jesting of Arlington Stringham — A dull man suddenly develops a devastating wit, alarming everyone around him.
• Sredni Vashtar — A sickly boy worships a ferret as a god and prays for deliverance from his cruel guardian.
• Adrian — A young man's unconventional approach to a country visit creates lasting embarrassment.
• The Chaplet — A chef's masterpiece is ruined by a dinner party guest's thoughtless request, with tragic results.
• The Quest — A mother's search for her lost child at a garden party reveals more about the adults than the children.
• Wratislav — A young diplomat's social ambitions collide with an awkward family connection.
• The Easter Egg — A political crisis is resolved by an unlikely diplomatic gesture involving an Easter egg.
• Filboid Studge, the Story of a Mouse that Helped — An artist's brilliant advertising campaign saves a cereal company but costs him everything he wanted.
• The Music on the Hill — A woman who doesn't believe in the old gods of the countryside learns to fear them.
• The Story of St. Vespaluus — A medieval prince uses a feigned religious conversion to torment his pagan uncle.
• The Way to the Dairy — Clovis orchestrates social revenge through a brilliantly timed piece of mischief.
• The Peace Offering — A theatrical entertainment meant to heal political divisions goes spectacularly wrong.
• The Peace of Mowsle Barton — Two women seeking a quiet country retreat discover the countryside has its own unsettling rituals.
• The Talking-Out of Tarrington — Clovis silences a bore at a dinner party with a devastating improvised fiction.
• The Hounds of Fate — A desperate man assumes a dead stranger's identity, only to inherit his enemies as well.
• The Recessional — A curate's well-meaning sermon has consequences he never anticipated.
• A Matter of Sentiment — A woman's sentimental attachment to a piece of jewelry leads to an unexpected confrontation.
• The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope — A respectable poet's hidden creative life is exposed to the horror of his hostess.
• Ministers of Grace — Angels replace prominent politicians, with results that prove angels are no better at governing.
• The Remoulding of Groby Lington — A parrot's influence gradually transforms a mild-mannered man into something quite different.