Season 1
The Unrest-Cure — Saki (H. H. Munro)
Tobermory — Saki (H. H. Munro)
The Clicking of Cuthbert — P. G. Wodehouse
A reading of Saki's delightfully mischievous short story The Unrest-Cure, first published in 1910. Clovis Sangrail has devised a novel remedy for the ennui of the wealthy: a little excitement, a touch of danger, and perhaps a healthy dose of terror. When he proposes his cure to the bored and comfortable, the results are rather more dramatic than anyone might have anticipated. A wickedly entertaining comedy of manners, in which Saki turns his sharp wit upon the languor, privilege, and self-satisfaction of Edwardian society.
A reading of Saki's celebrated short story Tobermory, first published in 1911. At a country house gathering, Mr Appin succeeds in teaching his host's cat, Tobermory, to speak. What initially appears to be a remarkable scientific achievement soon becomes a rather serious social problem—for Tobermory has been listening rather more attentively to his human companions than they had realised. A brilliantly malicious comedy of manners from Saki, in which the conventions of polite society begin to unravel with the arrival of one extraordinarily indiscreet cat.
A reading of P. G. Wodehouse's delightful golfing tale The Clicking of Cuthbert, first published in 1922. A quintessentially Wodehousian tale of romance, golf, eccentric characters, and the absurdities of the English upper classes.
A reading of Saki's wickedly amusing short story Mrs. Packletide's Tiger, first published in 1911. Mrs. Packletide is determined to shoot a tiger—not for sport, exactly, but for the social triumph that will follow. Yet beneath the surface of her carefully arranged expedition lies a rivalry considerably more dangerous than the tiger itself. Saki's razor-sharp satire skewers social ambition, vanity, and the peculiar competitiveness of polite society.