The Chronicles of Clovis

The stories in The Chronicles of Clovis are loosely connected by a handful of recurring characters. Most notable is Clovis, a seventeen-year-old with a subversive wit and a disrespect for the British upper class, of which he is a member. Clovis is present in most of the stories, if only as observer, and in many he is Saki's satirical mouthpiece, making light of his staid companions' most cherished interests, values, and beliefs. Saki's cruel satires are written in refined and genteel language that parallels the stories' central themes. Saki sees elite Edwardian society as morally bankrupt and self-absorbed, yet obsessed with appearances. In the same way that Saki's elegant language disguises the sinister nature of his stories, his characters' cultivated manners hide the emptiness of their social customs and their secret malice. Their polished conversations contain thinly veiled insults, and their outward politeness masks a scheming self-interest. Saki's style is also full of wonderfully understated irony and memorable epigrams reminiscent of Oscar Wilde.