Helen M Walters
HH Munro, also known as Saki, is well known for writing stories of a witty and sometimes macabre nature. Those who have been following my short story master classes will remember we have already looked at two of his stories: Sredni Vashtar, which tells of a young boy turning the tables on his unkind guardian, and The Open Window, in which a young girl gets the better of an unexpected visitor. Like these two stories, the story we are going to look at this month considers the relationship between adults and children, and the profound differences between them. In The Lumber Room (writ. rs/wmmar18) a young boy outwits and gets revenge on his selfproclaimed ‘aunt’. As always you will gain most from this masterclass if you read the story for yourself.