The Toys of Peace, and Other Papers, the collection in which "The Interlopers" was included, was published in 1919, three years after Saki's death. The title, one of two books published posthumously, collected thirty-three sketches and stories about prewar England and the war itself. Some of these pieces were humorous, some satirical, and some surprisingly grim.
In Britain, critics responded positively to the work, both for the pieces themselves as well as for Saki's heroic death. Some critics speculated on why Saki did not gain more popularity during his lifetime, while others believed that his unexpected death would bring him fame. An anonymous reviewer for the Spectator notes that Saki's "great gifts" consist of "wit, mordant irony, and a remarkable command of ludicrous metaphor." However, the writer believes that Saki's "intermittent vein of freakish inhumanity belied.....
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