Humor | Lecturia

Saki: Reginald’s Christmas Revel

In Reginald’s Christmas Revel, published in 1904, Saki introduces us to the witty and acerbic Reginald, who ironically recounts his misadventures during a Christmas spent with the Babwolds, a family as solemn as they are eccentric. Forced to attend due to a family commitment, the protagonist observes with sharp sarcasm the absurd rituals of the evening: a commander obsessed with his hunt, tedious social activities and a hostess whose earnestness borders on the grotesque. With his biting humour, Reginald transforms the monotony of the experience into a brilliant satire that questions social conventions and the emptiness of bourgeois life.

Saki: The Open Window

“The Open Window” is a short story by Hector Hugh Munro (Saki), published in November 1911 in The Westminster Gazette. It tells of Framton Nuttel’s visit to the Sappleton family home. Nuttel, a man who has gone to the country due to a nervous illness, is received by Mrs. Sappleton’s young niece, who, while they wait, tells him a disturbing family story. Although Nuttel is skeptical about the young woman’s story, an unexpected event will plunge him into a terrifying moment.

Saki: The Story-Teller

“The Story-Teller” is a short story by Saki (H. H. Munro), published in 1914 in the book Beasts and Super-Beasts. In a hot train carriage, a woman tries to keep her three restless nephews entertained. To do so, she tells them a moralistic story that fails miserably, causing boredom and disinterest in the children. Irritated by the commotion, a man also traveling in the car intervenes and tells them his own story: a witty and provocative tale that immediately captures the attention of his impromptu audience.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Sphinx

DURING the dread reign of the Cholera in New-York, I had accepted the invitation of a relative to spend a fort-night with him in the retirement of his cottage ornée on the banks of the Hudson. We had here around us all the ordinary means of summer amusement; and what with rambling in the woods, sketching, boating, fishing, … Read more

Mark Twain: The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend’s friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result. I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W. Smiley is a myth; and … Read more