Hector Hugh Monro (alias Saki) was one the most accomplished short story writers of the English language, and the three stories printed here are brilliant examples of his wit and ingenuity in this form. The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope, and Sredni Vashtar both first appeared in the short story collection, The Chronicles of Clovis (1912). The Lumber-Room, an account of a young boy's escape from the domineering authority of his bossy aunts, was published two years later in Saki's popular collection entitled Beasts and Super-Beasts.