I nominate
The Chronicles of Clovis by Saki (AKA H. H. Munro).
It is included in the omnibus of Saki books available
here on MobileRead (free). Or see
Project Gutenberg.
It's hard to find a good blurb, even Goodreads offers little more
than a list of story titles. But I found the following
review on Amazon that seemed informative and positive:
Quote:
Just for the record, The Chronicles of Clovis has nothing whatever to do with the legendary French king. It is a collection of 30 extremely wry and witty short stories written by the inimitable Saki (the pen name for H.H. Munro). The setting is in the midst of upper class English society during the Edwardian Period, the period between the Boer War and World War when the British Empire reached it's peak. Devotees of Downton Abbey will find themselves on familiar ground, save for the slightly disconcerting presence of Clovis. Clovis Sangrail, the nominal central character about whom these stories revolve, is a typical Saki hero: young, vain, effete, worldly, slightly cruel, a bit decadent and extremely witty.
Included in this collection are some of Saki's very best works, including "Mrs. Packleetide's Tiger", "The Background", "The Jesting of Arlington Stingham", "Tobermory", "Sredni Vastar", "The talking-Out of Tarrington", "Filboid Studge" and "The Secret Sin of Septimus Brope".
Both Saki, and the world about which he wrote so well, came to an end during with World War I. Nevertheless, few writers have ever been able to achieve Saki's level of irony, satire, wit and sophistication. It was a terrible loss, both to Britain and the reading public everywhere, when Saki was killed on the Western Front in 1916.
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I've only ever read about Saki and figure it's high time I fixed that hole in my education. That the stories are supposed to be fun is just a bonus that fits nicely with the theme.
ETA: I added the Project Gutenberg link for those that would like the book separate rather than in an omnibus. Plus the Gutenberg edition includes an introduction by A.A. Milne.