The Reticence of Lady Anne by Saki — His Wife Gives Him the Silent Treatment
From LitReading - Classic Short Stories and Timeless Tales by Short Storyverses
September 1, 2026 · 9 min
About this episode
This episode features Saki's short story 'The Reticence of Lady Anne', exploring themes of communication and relationships through a comedic lens.
A December afternoon, a fire going down, and a marriage stalled halfway through a quarrel nobody bothered to finish. Egbert comes in for tea prepared to be reasonable, then conciliatory, then almost penitent. Lady Anne, rigid in the armchair by the tea table, declines to participate. Somewhere above them a bullfinch works through the only tune it knows, and on the rug a Persian cat named Don Tarquinio waits with the patience of an animal who has already decided something. Saki at his most precise: eleven minutes of drawing-room comedy built entirely out of one person not speaking, and a closing line that reorganizes everything you just heard. "The Reticence of Lady Anne" was collected in Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches (1910). Read by Don McDonald. Litreading is part of Short Storyverses. shortstoryverses.com If you enjoyed this story, buy me an e-book! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/donmcdonald or click FOLLOW Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
People in this episode
Host: Don McDonald
Topics covered
- classic literature
- short stories
- comedy
- marriage
- character study
Keywords
- Saki
- short story
- comedy
- Lady Anne
- marriage
- drawing-room
- bullfinch
- Persian cat
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: The Reticence of Lady Anne, Reginald in Russia and Other Sketches
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