English writer Hector Hugh Munro, better known by his pseudonym Saki, was BOTD in 1870. Born in British-controlled Burma (now Myanmar), he was sent to England as a child after his mother’s death, and raised by a series of aunts before being packed off to boarding school. He followed his father into the Indian Imperial Police, until illness forced him to return to England. Settling in London, he worked as a journalist, becoming a war correspondent and publishing a historical study of the Russian Empire. He found greater success as a short story writer, adopting the pseudonym Saki (named for the beautiful young boy and cup-bearer of Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám). His witty, often macabre stories satirised Edwardian society and culture, presenting an acerbic and cynical world-view with a strong queer subtext. His most famous epigrams include “Romance at short notice was her speciality”; “I’m living so far beyond my income that we may almost be said to be living apart”; and “Think how many blameless lives are brightened by the blazing indiscretions of other people.” His most famous series, featuring the Edwardian dandies Reginald and Clovis, include a number of coded references to homosexuality. Like many gay men of his generation, Munro lived in the shadow of the Oscar Wilde trial, employing a houseboy for much of his adult life and enjoying a discreet but robust sex life. As World War One broke out, he enlisted in the British Army. He was killed during the Battle of the Somme in 1916, aged 45. His last words were reportedly “Put that bloody cigarette out!” Now considered one of the masters of the 20th century short story, his stories have remained continuously in print, admired for their arch tone and carefully-crafted queer subtext.