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The Background

Saki

First published August 1911
Type Short Fiction
Length Short Story

"Henri Deplis comes into some money and splashes out on an elaborate tattoo for his back; however, having used up most of his funds, he's unable to pay, and the tattoo (hailed as a masterpiece) is sold to the comune of Bergamo. Deplis subsequently becomes embroiled in an international dispute over the artwork on his back." (David Hebblethwaite)

According to Brian Gibson in Reading Saki, this story was first published in Leinsters' Magazine, date unknown.

Date Publication Publisher Type Page
August 1911 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis John Lane, The Bodley Head Collection 39
October 1948 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis Penguin Books Collection
1959 Cover Tall Short Stories Simon & Schuster Anthology 223
1959 Cover Tall Stories Faber and Faber Anthology
1960 Cover Tall Short Stories Ace Star Anthology 199
March 1966 Cover Incredible Tales Dell Collection 152
August 1971 Incredible Tales Dell Laurel-Leaf Collection 152
1976 Cover The Complete Works of Saki Doubleday Omnibus 121
1978 Short Stories J. M. Dent Collection 142
1982 The Complete Saki Penguin Books Omnibus 121
1985 Short Stories J. M. Dent Collection 142
1986 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis Penguin Books Collection 33
1993 Cover The Complete Stories of Saki Wordsworth Editions Omnibus 89
May 1998 Cover The Complete Saki Penguin Books Omnibus 121
October 2000 Cover Saki: The Complete Short Stories Penguin Books Collection 121
January 2003 The Chronicles of Clovis Project Gutenberg Collection
February 2008 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis LibriVox Collection |6
November 2012 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis CreateSpace Collection
May 2016 Cover The Chronicles of Clovis LibriVox Collection |6
October 2019 Cover Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink The British Library Anthology 109
October 2019 Cover Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink The British Library Anthology |109
November 2019 Cover Tales of the Tattooed: An Anthology of Ink The British Library Anthology 109