Listen free for 30 days
-
Short Stories by Saki
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson, Nadia May
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Anthologies & Short Stories
People who bought this also bought...
-
The Chronicles of Clovis
- By: H. H. Munro - Saki
- Narrated by: Ian Richardson
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Chronicles of Clovis, published in 1911, was the third in Saki (H. H. Munro)'s series of very funny and very vicious stories. As an insider, Saki was ideally poised to eviscerate the Edwardian middle class way of life, and his pitiless and magnetic sense of humour - teamed with an ability to wield that sharpest of writer's tools, the (very) short story - makes these some of the funniest and most quotable of tales. All of the running themes in Saki's work are here.
-
-
Perfect reading - attrocious audio quality
- By APD on 11-02-17
-
E.F. Benson's Ghost Stories
- read by Mark Gatiss
- By: E. F. Benson
- Narrated by: Mark Gatiss
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark Gatiss ( Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones) reads chilling tales by the unsung master of the classic ghost story: E. F. Benson. There's nothing sinister about a London bus. Nothing supernatural could occur on a busy train platform. There's nothing terrifying about a little caterpillar. And a telephone, what could be scary about that? Don't be frightened of the dark corners of your room. Don't be alarmed by a sudden inexplicable chill.
-
-
Excellent stuff!
- By Amazon Customer on 13-10-16
-
P.G. Wodehouse Volume 1
- The Jeeves Collection
- By: P.G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 40 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“I have the honour to offer up to you, thanks to the good people of Audible, a selection of some of my very favourite Wodehouse. If these stories are new to you I hope it will be the beginning of a lifelong pleasure, if some or all are familiar I hope you will welcome them like old friends.” (Stephen Fry). Audible Studios presents this brand new performance by Stephen Fry of some of his favourite Jeeves stories from P.G. Wodehouse, with an exclusive introduction.
-
-
Wrong voice...
- By TC on 19-12-20
-
The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and Other Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Evelyn Waugh, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Miles, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front, including Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited, Scoop and Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy).
-
-
a comprehensive collection from bbc archive
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
The Man in Black: The Complete Series 1-4
- Twenty Creepy Full-Cast Dramas
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Full Cast, Mark Gatiss
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Man in Black is waiting to make your acquaintance. Maybe you’ll meet him on a bus, in the supermarket or at an airport luggage carousel. Perhaps he’ll peer into your baby’s pram or approach you in the corridor of a care home. Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories of darkness and death, myth and madness. Stories to unsettle and horrify.
-
-
Short story heaven
- By Marion G. on 03-10-20
-
The Somerset Maugham BBC Radio Collection
- Eight Full-Cast Dramatisations and Readings
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Janet Maw, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the BBC’s dramatisations and readings of W. Somerset Maugham’s fiction, with star casts including Alex Jennings, Dirk Bogarde, and Janet Maw.
-
-
fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
The Chronicles of Clovis
- By: H. H. Munro - Saki
- Narrated by: Ian Richardson
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Chronicles of Clovis, published in 1911, was the third in Saki (H. H. Munro)'s series of very funny and very vicious stories. As an insider, Saki was ideally poised to eviscerate the Edwardian middle class way of life, and his pitiless and magnetic sense of humour - teamed with an ability to wield that sharpest of writer's tools, the (very) short story - makes these some of the funniest and most quotable of tales. All of the running themes in Saki's work are here.
-
-
Perfect reading - attrocious audio quality
- By APD on 11-02-17
-
E.F. Benson's Ghost Stories
- read by Mark Gatiss
- By: E. F. Benson
- Narrated by: Mark Gatiss
- Length: 5 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mark Gatiss ( Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones) reads chilling tales by the unsung master of the classic ghost story: E. F. Benson. There's nothing sinister about a London bus. Nothing supernatural could occur on a busy train platform. There's nothing terrifying about a little caterpillar. And a telephone, what could be scary about that? Don't be frightened of the dark corners of your room. Don't be alarmed by a sudden inexplicable chill.
-
-
Excellent stuff!
- By Amazon Customer on 13-10-16
-
P.G. Wodehouse Volume 1
- The Jeeves Collection
- By: P.G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 40 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
“I have the honour to offer up to you, thanks to the good people of Audible, a selection of some of my very favourite Wodehouse. If these stories are new to you I hope it will be the beginning of a lifelong pleasure, if some or all are familiar I hope you will welcome them like old friends.” (Stephen Fry). Audible Studios presents this brand new performance by Stephen Fry of some of his favourite Jeeves stories from P.G. Wodehouse, with an exclusive introduction.
-
-
Wrong voice...
- By TC on 19-12-20
-
The Evelyn Waugh BBC Radio Drama Collection
- Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited and Other Full-Cast Dramatisations
- By: Evelyn Waugh, Jeremy Front
- Narrated by: Anne-Marie Duff, Ben Miles, Emilia Fox, and others
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Evelyn Waugh is one of the pre-eminent English novelists of the 20th century. This collection comprises six of his finest works, dramatised by award-winning writer Jeremy Front, including Decline and Fall, Brideshead Revisited, Scoop and Sword of Honour (The Waugh Trilogy).
-
-
a comprehensive collection from bbc archive
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
The Man in Black: The Complete Series 1-4
- Twenty Creepy Full-Cast Dramas
- By: Various
- Narrated by: Full Cast, Mark Gatiss
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Man in Black is waiting to make your acquaintance. Maybe you’ll meet him on a bus, in the supermarket or at an airport luggage carousel. Perhaps he’ll peer into your baby’s pram or approach you in the corridor of a care home. Wherever you encounter him, he's eager to pass on his stories. Stories of darkness and death, myth and madness. Stories to unsettle and horrify.
-
-
Short story heaven
- By Marion G. on 03-10-20
-
The Somerset Maugham BBC Radio Collection
- Eight Full-Cast Dramatisations and Readings
- By: W. Somerset Maugham
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings, Janet Maw, full cast
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A collection of the BBC’s dramatisations and readings of W. Somerset Maugham’s fiction, with star casts including Alex Jennings, Dirk Bogarde, and Janet Maw.
-
-
fantastic
- By Amazon Customer on 04-09-20
-
Ghost Stories, Volume One
- By: M. R. James
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 2 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sir Derek Jacobi reads a collection of tales from the master of ghost stories, M. R. James, whose stories have for many years inspired the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptations. M. R. James was described as "a man who, in company with Sheridan le Fanu, is the best ghost-story writer England has ever produced".
-
-
Stories Included
- By Alice on 03-11-17
-
The Man from the Diogenes Club
- By: Kim Newman
- Narrated by: William Gaminara
- Length: 21 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The debonair psychic investigator Richard Jeperson is the most valued member of the Diogenes Club, the least-known and most essential branch of British Intelligence. While foiling the plot of many a maniacal mastermind, he is chased by sentient snowmen and Nazi zombies, investigates an unearthly murderer stalking the sex shops of 1970s Soho, and battles a poltergeist to prevent it triggering nuclear Armageddon.
-
-
Great stories. Well performed.
- By daron richard donnelly on 06-03-18
-
Ghost Stories, Volume 2
- By: M. R. James
- Narrated by: Derek Jacobi
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A second collection of tales from the master of ghost stories, M. R. James, whose stories have for many years inspired the BBC's A Ghost Story for Christmas TV adaptations. This volume includes 'A Warning to the Curious', 'The Stalls of Barchester Cathedral', 'The Mezzotint', and 'A Neighbour's Landmark'.
-
-
Better than Volume 1
- By Amazon Customer on 24-11-11
-
Evelina
- By: Frances Burney
- Narrated by: Dame Judi Dench, Finty Williams, Geoffrey Palmer
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fanny Burney's wickedly funny satire follows the trials and romantic adventures of the young and beautiful Evelina as she tries to make her way through 18th-century Britain handicapped by her three great problems: being poor, being illegitimate - and being a girl. Evelina was a raging best seller when it was first published in 1778 and is widely credited with being the first of the great British domestic novels. Burney was a direct influence on her immediate follower, Jane Austen.
-
The Strings of Murder
- By: Oscar de Muriel
- Narrated by: Andy Secombe
- Length: 11 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Penguin presents the unabridged,downloadable audiobook edition of The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel, read by Andy Secombe, including musical interludes recorded by the author himself. Edinburgh, 1888. A virtuoso violinist is brutally killed in his home. But with no way in or out of the locked practice room, the murder makes no sense. Fearing a national panic over a copycat Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Frey to investigate under the cover of a fake department specializing in the occult.
-
-
Pure Class
- By Mr Chops on 29-10-15
-
Tales of the Unexpected
- By: Saki
- Narrated by: Sir Derek Jacobi
- Length: 2 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Master storyteller, H.H. Munro, better known by the pen name Saki, is famous for his witty, mischievous, and macabre stories of suspense. He specialized in impudent practical jokes, devilish trickery, and incredible yarns and his writing became popular in the early 1900s for its witty and satirical look at the pretensions and ignorance of bourgeois English society.
-
The Crime at Black Dudley
- An Albert Campion Mystery
- By: Margery Allingham
- Narrated by: David Thorpe
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When George Abbershaw is invited to Black Dudley Manor for the weekend, he has only one thing on his mind - proposing to Meggie Oliphant. Unfortunately for George, things don't quite go according to plan. A harmless game turns decidedly deadly and suspicions of murder take precedence over matrimony. Trapped in a remote country house with a murderer, George can see no way out. But Albert Campion can.
-
-
Campion's first appearance...
- By FictionFan on 27-01-17
-
HorrorBabble's Ultimate Weird Tales Collection, Volume 1
- By: Ian Gordon, Algernon Blackwood, Robert Bloch, and others
- Narrated by: Ian Gordon
- Length: 25 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This collection comprises 40 stories by and inspired by the originators of weird fiction. From Blackwood's The Empty House, through to Philip K. Dick's The Hanging Stranger, Lovecraft's Out of The Aeons, and beyond.
-
-
Breathing new (un)life into great, classic tales.
- By Ryan Pascall on 18-12-19
-
Jeeves & Wooster: The Collected Radio Dramas
- By: P.G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: full cast, Michael Hordern, Richard Briers
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A rollicking collection of six acclaimed dramatisations of P.G Wodehouse's Jeeves & Wooster novels, starring Michael Hordern and Richard Briers as Jeeves and Wooster. Also featuring Maurice Denham, Paul Eddington, David Jason, John Le Mesurier, Miriam Margolyes, Jonathan Cecil, Liza Goddard and Patrick Cargill.
-
-
The third best way to experience Jeeves & Wooster
- By Gus Honeybun on 09-06-19
-
The Inimitable Jeeves and My Man Jeeves - Unabridged
- By: P. G. Wodehouse
- Narrated by: Kevin Theis
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here, the master of 20th century English humor, P. G. Wodehouse, presents two of his most beloved classics: The Inimitable Jeeves and My Man Jeeves. The perpetually befuddled Bertie Wooster and his knight-in-shining-tuxedo Jeeves have long been hailed as the greatest literary creations of P. G. Wodehouse, the most popular English humorist in history. Here are two complete novels, the latter containing a handful of short stories featuring Reggie Pepper, an early prototype for Bertie.
-
-
American Accent very annoying
- By Anonymous User on 02-04-20
-
The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
- The Complete First Edition
- By: Jacob Grimm, Wilhelm Grimm, Jack Zipes (translator and editor)
- Narrated by: Joel Richards, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm published their Children's and Household Tales in 1812, followed by a second volume in 1815, they had no idea that such stories as "Rapunzel", "Hansel and Gretel", and "Cinderella" would become the most celebrated in the world. Yet few people today are familiar with the majority of tales from the two early volumes, since in the next four decades the Grimms would publish six other editions, each extensively revised in content and style.
-
-
160 chapters with no titles :(
- By Ruth on 10-02-21
-
Buddenbrooks
- The Decline of a Family
- By: Thomas Mann
- Narrated by: David Rintoul
- Length: 26 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
First published in 1900, when Thomas Mann was 25, Buddenbrooks is a minutely imagined chronicle of four generations of a North German mercantile family - a work so true to life that it scandalized the author’s former neighbours in his native Lübeck.
-
-
Five Star
- By Hugh M. Clarke on 01-04-17
Summary
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Short Stories by Saki
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- RAC
- 21-09-19
Fantastic stories appalingly read.
Appaling reading.
The accents are soooo artificially upperclass they pass through normal comprehension of aristocratic accents into the incomprehensable realm of actor affectation.
Awesone stories wrecked
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dr. R. Brompton
- 15-12-15
Simply brilliant.
The short stories by Saki are simply wonderful. Some are sadly poignant, some mystical and macabre, most of funny. The character of Clovis deserves to be more widely known as he is a triumph of literature! Darker than Wodehouse, funnier than Wilde, sharper than Coward. Listen to one at a time or gorge on a lot in an afternoon, you are bound to enjoy it.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan Bowen
- 12-11-13
Saki Saki long time ...
Any additional comments?
Wonderfully English in the traditional aristocratic sense. There are a lot of stories here and my only criticism would be that despite the wit and invention of them, there is little variation in the style and arc. It's a minor problem though.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
- Jackson
- 20-11-12
Lady Bracknell meets the Hound of the Baskervilles
Imagine a drawing room in an Oscar Wilde play, with the atmosphere crackling with epigrams. And underneath that there is an untamed world of nature, amoral and cruel but liberated. That is the effect of Saki’s typical short stories. Anyone who enjoys The Importance of Being Ernest will enjoy the wit of Saki, although there is a quite distinctive character to his writing. Every word counts.
The stories are read alternately by a male and female reader. Their accents are highly mannered, which is completely appropriate for the material and its Edwardian upper class background (viewed highly ironically) but some may find this irritating. The author’s attitudes to trade unions and suffragettes are frankly reactionary, but this is apparent in only a few of the least typical stories.
They are very short and about six stories are included in each chapter of the audiobook.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- BadMedisin
- 23-09-20
Darkly hilarious (mostly)
These stories are great. If you’ve read any of Roald Dahl’s tales of the unexpected, this is where he got the idea from. They’re somewhat dark, ironic, twisted, and mostly very funny, although it might not be everybody’s kind of humour.
Yes, the narration is annoying, but it’s entirely the way it should be. The characters are posh edwardians, deal with it.
Clovis is such a great character, he’s like a trickster god for posh people. And Sredni Vashtar is one of my all time favourites - polecat god ftw!
The one big problem for me is the chapters, there’s about 5 or 6 stories in each chapter so it’s difficult to find the end of a story if you’re not enjoying it, but that’s no big deal. I’d advise listening to this in small doses to avoid going mad, but overall this is pretty good.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Adeliese Baumann
- 18-11-12
Satirical brilliance
Saki is a favorite of mine, and I often turn to these familiar tales as I would to an old photograph album of times gone by.
There are a few dark, haunting tales such as "The Image of the Lost Soul" and "The Music on the Hill," but most of the stories here are light and funny. We are introduced to social-climbing hostesses, party-crashers, kleptomaniac relatives, aristocrats with amnesia, precocious children, reticent men in trying situations, scheming shopkeepers, and hapless travelers. All sparkle with originality and humor, and May and Davidson bring each one to life.
The author's prejudices against suffragettes, labor unions, and so forth, are evident. If this offends some, recall that these things are also a part of what makes Saki so very much a man of his time and social station. In short, there is no such thing as Edwardian "political correctness," however much we'd like to believe it was all "Downton Abbey."
Saki's death at the age of 45 while fighting in World War I cut short a brilliant writing career. I often wonder what he would have had to say about the dissolution of the society he knew so well...
The only thing I would change is that this collection is missing "The Interlopers," an eerie classic. Still, this is an extensive collection. I highly recommend it to all Saki fans as most other readings are quite short by comparison, and many are not performed half as well as those you'll hear here.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- pashopper
- 02-03-09
Wonderful collection for Saki fans
I would have given this 5 stars but for the fact that the memory of an old record from the public library I listened to as a child is hard to live up to. The narrators here are very good though. If you are not familiar with Saki writings - then this is an excellent collection for those who love the subtle wit and dry British humor that was his style (in order to appreciate it fully). Also included in this book are a few stories that were not meant to be comedic. He was a master of what he did and I enjoyed this audio very much.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Chris
- 10-05-07
Devilishly witty
A gross (more or less) of short stories ranging from very short to extremely short. Very few duds and almost all with a dry, slyly cynical, rapier-witted twist in the final sentence. Perfect for car listening and often laugh-out-loud funny. I often rewound to listen to the same story twice just to savor Saki's way with the Queen's English.
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Glen Phipps
- 29-11-03
A Poor Recording of a Brilliant Work
If you like insane humor delivered quietly and politely, then you'll love Saki. His twisted view of everyday life is as funny today as when it was written. Davidson and May give an excellent reading of these wonderful stories, it is unfortunate that they sound as if they were recorded on a Mr. Microphone in the trunk of a 1957 Buick on I-95 during rush hour. If you go for this, and you should, definitely get the best quality format your player can handle.
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Johnny Tezca
- 26-08-15
Everything was great except for it's totallystupid
Saki is a singular writer, not in style but in substance. His style is still with us, with fiction writers like Hammett, Vonnegut and Palahniuk.
In substance, he and Wodehouse share a lot in a very good way. They could be cousins, but one of them drinks a lot of absinthe.
The stupid part is that's it's a book of short stories, without a table of contents or
story titles in the app display.
Please tell me if it's there and I didn't see it. All 5 stars if had been or becomes formatted better.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Edie Snow
- 12-08-10
Giggling on the subway
This is a great collection. Saki is always wonderful, and and these two readers perform perfectly. I would strongly consider audios by either of them. And if you are snickering to yourself on the train in a bad neighborhood, people will leave you alone.
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Jenny
- 28-12-05
My kind of humor
Humor is a very personal thing. I remember once giving a collection of 'The Onion' articles to someone who later returned it to me with a puzzled expression. "That wasn't funny at all," she said. So, that said, if you don't think subversive, ironic, slightly sarcastic, Monty-Pythonesque, prim-people-stuck-in-very-unpleasant-situations, prim-people-who-don't-even-realize-they're-prigs, subtle, comedy of manners kind of situations funny, then you probably may not like Saki. Otherwise, this man is a genius.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- jonathan
- 25-12-10
Excellent stories, flawed implementation
It's quite frustrating to have a collection of short stories presented out of order and with no indication of which story titles are in which segment of the audiobook. It should have been very easy to give each story its own track.
Brilliant wit. Both readers do a good job, but their styles may not be to everyone's tastes. I recommend listening to a segment before purchasing.
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall

- Brenna J Boucher
- 26-04-04
Terrible
I bought this audiobook because the review said it was "witty and urbane." There is humour that is so bad it becomes funny again, but this book's humour is so awful I was shocked. I don't mean "boo, bad pun" or dirty humour, I mean the humour was just not funny. It wasn't even interesting. I kept listening hoping it would improve. It didn't. Only buy this book as a horrifying example of bad literature.
1 person found this helpful