In all the fuss about the rebirth of native literature allegedly taking place north of the border since devolution, little has been heard of one undeniably Gaelic name: Hector Hugh Munro, alias Saki. This is understandable. As Sandie Byrne points out in her new book, at first sight everything about Saki’s work – and about Munro himself – strikes one as typically English. There are many images of Englishness, of course, often in conflict with one another. Today most are plebeian, but Saki’s is aristocratic of a sort: unflappable, humorous, sardonic, superior, courteous, reckless, even slightly mad. The genial face of this image is Bertie Wooster, the vulgar face James Bond, the dangerous face Clovis Sangrail.

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