Saki -

Saki’s career was cut short by World War I. Despite being over the official age to enlist, he joined the front lines and was killed by a sniper in 1916. His final recorded words were famously, "Put that bloody cigarette out!". His influence persists today, seen in the works of writers like Roald Dahl and Graham Greene, who admired his ability to pack complex social commentary into a few pages. "Saki" Review - LiveJournal

: Many stories feature a sudden intrusion of the wild or the supernatural into the polite drawing room. In works like "Sredni Vashtar," a pet ferret is worshipped as a god to seek vengeance against a guardian. Saki’s career was cut short by World War I

: Perhaps his most famous story, it centers on a young girl named Vera who uses a tall tale to terrify a nervous visitor, demonstrating Saki's fascination with "romance at short notice". His influence persists today, seen in the works

: Unlike the sentimental Victorian view of children, Saki’s child characters (like the protagonist in "The Story-Teller") are often unsentimental, manipulative, and vastly more intelligent than the adults around them. : Perhaps his most famous story, it centers