Hector Hugh Munro, also known as H.H. Munro and best known by his pen name Saki, was a Scottish writer of plays, short stories, and novels. His work is characterized by its use of wit and satire targeted at Edwardian-era English society and convention.
Born in Akyab, Burma, Munro lived with his parents until his mother died. Munro’s father, an officer in Burma's colonial police force, sent Saki and his siblings to live with their grandmother and aunts in England. Munro did not enjoy his stay with his extended family, who were strict and overbearing, and his works contain frequent references to aunt characters often cast as antagonists.
Scholars have complained about the dearth of biographical information about Munro. Many attribute this lack to the fact that Munro’s sister, Ethel, destroyed all of his papers in 1955 so that nobody else could add to the biography she was already writing abut her brother. Some speculate that Ethel also wanted to keep hidden facts that would support rumors that her brother was gay.
Under the pen name Saki, Munro published over one hundred short stories, five plays, two novels, and dozens of sketches, political satires, and essays. Scholars argue that Munro chose the pen name "Saki" in order to write works distinct from the writings he produced as a newspaper correspondent. However, the distinction became muddied after his death. In the present day, most of Saki’s writings are attributed to H.H. Munro, with Saki written in parentheses or brackets.