Beasts and Super-Beasts (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Satirical Short Stories with Clever Twists and Quirky Characters from Edwardian BritainBy Saki, H. H. Munro
Length8h 3m
About this audiobook
Beasts and Super-Beasts gathers Saki's brilliantly compressed tales of manners, mischief, and menace, set within the brittle elegance of Edwardian society. Moving between drawing-room satire, fable, black comedy, and the uncanny, the collection exposes the savagery beneath polite convention. Stories such as "The Open Window," "Sredni Vashtar," and "The Story-Teller" exemplify its artful reversals, mordant wit, and fascination with children, animals, and outsiders as agents of disruption. H. H. Munro, writing as Saki, brought to these stories the sharp eye of a journalist, the irony of a social satirist, and the formal precision of a master miniaturist. His work belongs to the late Victorian and Edwardian tradition of the short story, yet it pushes that tradition toward modern psychological ambiguity and comic cruelty. Across the volume, recurring voices—worldly, rebellious, naïve, and predatory—combine to critique imperial confidence, class ritual, and sentimental moralism. This collection is ideal for readers seeking a concentrated encounter with one of English literature's most distinctive short-story writers. Its variety of tones and settings offers both pleasure and provocation, while its recurring motifs invite comparison across the volume. Beasts and Super-Beasts rewards close reading as a compact education in satire, narrative economy, and the unsettling dialogue between civility and instinct.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- A comprehensive Introduction outlines these selected works' unifying features, themes, or stylistic evolutions.
- A Historical Context section situates the works in their broader era—social currents, cultural trends, and key events that underpin their creation.
- A concise Synopsis (Selection) offers an accessible overview of the included texts, helping readers navigate plotlines and main ideas without revealing critical twists.
- A unified Analysis examines recurring motifs and stylistic hallmarks across the collection, tying the stories together while spotlighting the different work's strengths.
- Reflection questions inspire deeper contemplation of the author's overarching message, inviting readers to draw connections among different texts and relate them to modern contexts.
- Lastly, our hand‐picked Memorable Quotes distill pivotal lines and turning points, serving as touchstones for the collection's central themes.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 4.1 (4.2K)
Includes Goodreads, LibraryThing, StoryGraph, Amazon
GenreHumor, Literary Classics
Length8 hrs 3 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateJun 8, 2018
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Beasts and Super-Beasts (Annotated)
23The Byzantine Omelette
2Introduction
24The Feast of Nemesis
3Historical Context
25The Dreamer
4Synopsis (Selection)
26The Quince Tree
5The She-Wolf
27The Forbidden Buzzards
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6Laura
28The Stake
7The Boar-Pig
29Clovis on Parental Responsibilities
8The Brogue
30A Holiday Task
9The Hen
31The Stalled Ox
10The Open Window
32The Story-Teller
11The Treasure Ship
33A Defensive Diamond
12The Cobweb
34The Elk
13The Lull
35“Down Pens”
14The Unkindest Blow
36The Name-Day
15The Romancers
37The Lumber Room
16The Schartz-Metterklume Method
38Fur
17The Seventh Pullet
39The Philanthropist and the Happy Cat
18The Blind Spot
40On Approval
19Dusk
41Analysis
20A Touch of Realism
42Reflection
21Cousin Teresa
43Memorable Quotes
22The Yarkand Manner
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