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The Toys of Peace
A short story by Saki
180 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1919
23 people are currently reading
215 people want to read
About the author
Saki
1,730 books592 followersBritish writer Hector Hugh Munro under pen name Saki published his witty and sometimes bitter short stories in collections, such as
The Chronicles of Clovis
(1911).
His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.
His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.
Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
His sometimes macabre satirized Edwardian society and culture. People consider him a master and often compare him to William Sydney Porter and Dorothy Rothschild Parker. His tales feature delicately drawn characters and finely judged narratives. "The Open Window," perhaps his most famous, closes with the line, "Romance at short notice was her specialty," which thus entered the lexicon. Newspapers first and then several volumes published him as the custom of the time.
His works include
* a full-length play, The Watched Pot , in collaboration with Charles Maude;
* two one-act plays;
* a historical study, The Rise of the Russian Empire , the only book under his own name;
* a short novel, The Unbearable Bassington ;
* the episodic The Westminster Alice , a parliamentary parody of Alice in Wonderland ;
* and When William Came: A Story of London under the Hohenzollerns , an early alternate history.
Oscar Wilde, Lewis Carroll, and Joseph Rudyard Kipling, influenced Munro, who in turn influenced A. A. Milne, and Pelham Grenville Wodehouse.
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November 17, 2023
Another Saki, read in Funny haha anthology. Here, the author discusses nature vs nurture. For Christmas, two parents decide to offer their children pacifist toys instead of war related ones. Were they successful to capture their children's interest? Read and see.
December 26, 2023
"Still, it would be something gained if, at a highly impressionable age, children could be got to fix their attention on the invention of calico printing instead of the Spanish Armada or the Battle of Waterloo."
This was a curious short story first published in 1919, right after the end of the First World War.
An uncle decides to offer his two nephews, aged eleven and nine-and-a-half, the toys of peace instead of belligerent toys.
He and his sister, the mother of the boys, want to influence the kids by giving a new, peaceful direction to their minds. If you are curious as to whether or not their attempt at social engineering was successful, you should consult the story. It is a very quick read.
At first sight, we may see the story as a meditation on a nature vs. nurture dichotomy. Is violence wired into us since the very beginning? Are we born with the tendency for violence and hatred? Or is it something that we learn? How much control do we have over violence?
But if we give it a second thought, we may see that the story is more subtle and complicated than that dichotomy.
The dialogues, which are not without a touch of humor, between the two boys point to the influence of society. An endless series of battles and conflicts is what they are mostly taught in history lessons. Wars and oppression have always been part of human history. Wars have often been romanticized. Killings have been glorified since ancient times. Think of the Iliad.
However, violence being pervasive does not mean that it is or has been inevitable.
This was a curious short story first published in 1919, right after the end of the First World War.
An uncle decides to offer his two nephews, aged eleven and nine-and-a-half, the toys of peace instead of belligerent toys.
He and his sister, the mother of the boys, want to influence the kids by giving a new, peaceful direction to their minds. If you are curious as to whether or not their attempt at social engineering was successful, you should consult the story. It is a very quick read.
At first sight, we may see the story as a meditation on a nature vs. nurture dichotomy. Is violence wired into us since the very beginning? Are we born with the tendency for violence and hatred? Or is it something that we learn? How much control do we have over violence?
But if we give it a second thought, we may see that the story is more subtle and complicated than that dichotomy.
The dialogues, which are not without a touch of humor, between the two boys point to the influence of society. An endless series of battles and conflicts is what they are mostly taught in history lessons. Wars and oppression have always been part of human history. Wars have often been romanticized. Killings have been glorified since ancient times. Think of the Iliad.
However, violence being pervasive does not mean that it is or has been inevitable.
January 27, 2026
This is a comic story of nature and nurture, war and peace, and the creative imagination of children. I've enjoyed it as a preteen, adult, parent of a young child, and beyond, getting something slightly different each time. However, it was only when sharing it outside my English bubble, with The Short Story Club, that I saw it in a new light.
We have no second amendment. Very few people have guns (licensed or otherwise), so the real thing is far removed from most people's mind, unless they or loved ones are in the armed forces.
Toyshops that make a virtue of not selling pretend guns are enthusiastically supported by parents like me. We’re not very consistent, and tend to excuse toy bows and arrows, swords and spears: they somehow have greater historical respectability, and the real versions are more limited in the damage they can do. Water pistols and bubble blowers are fine, too. Not that it matters:
Image: Children using bananas as guns.
When I was a child, my mother banned my brother having toy guns, whereas a family we were friends with had a playroom that was a veritable arsenal. Less than twenty years later, my brother joined the army, whereas the staunch Conservative Party activists found they'd raised three campaigning pacifists.
Hence, I took a muddy middle ground with my own kid.
War and Saki
Saki volunteered in WW1. He was too old to enlist for officer training, so went in as an ordinary trooper. He was injured more than once, and returned to front before officially fit. He was evidently no pacifist, but by the time he wrote this, perhaps he was having second thoughts. He died in the war. This was published posthumously.
The Story
Eleanor Bope has sons of nine and a half and nearly eleven. She reads a newspaper article about the National Peace Council, which echoes her concern that boys “naturally love fighting and all the panoply of war”. She asks her brother, Harvey, that when he next visits, he brings “peace toys”, rather than soldiers and similar.
Harvey agrees to do his best, with the caveat:
“'There is primitive instinct to be taken into consideration, you know’, said Harvey doubtfully, ‘and hereditary tendencies as well’.”
A while later, the boys excitedly unwrap crinkly paper and find what they think is a fort, but it’s a municipal dust-bin! Other models include a YWCA, an art school, a public library, a municipal wash-house, a beehive, a sewer ventilator, and a ballot box. There are even action figures: John Stuart Mill, Sir John Herschel, Rowland Hill, and nameless sanitary inspector, district councillor, and poetess, Mrs Hemans.
“Are we to play with these civilian figures?” asked Eric.
“Of course,” said Harvey, “these are toys; they are meant to be played with.”
“But how?”
History homework becomes oddly appealing. And when Harvey goes to check up on them… You can guess.
Beware Fruit
See the Monty Python - Self Defence Against Fruit sketch HERE.
More Saki
I'm gradually collating reviews of Saki short stories under The Best of Saki, HERE, as I read them in a rambling way, over several weeks and months.
You can find his stories, free, on Gutenberg. For example, HERE. Most are very short.
We have no second amendment. Very few people have guns (licensed or otherwise), so the real thing is far removed from most people's mind, unless they or loved ones are in the armed forces.
Toyshops that make a virtue of not selling pretend guns are enthusiastically supported by parents like me. We’re not very consistent, and tend to excuse toy bows and arrows, swords and spears: they somehow have greater historical respectability, and the real versions are more limited in the damage they can do. Water pistols and bubble blowers are fine, too. Not that it matters:
Image: Children using bananas as guns.
When I was a child, my mother banned my brother having toy guns, whereas a family we were friends with had a playroom that was a veritable arsenal. Less than twenty years later, my brother joined the army, whereas the staunch Conservative Party activists found they'd raised three campaigning pacifists.
Hence, I took a muddy middle ground with my own kid.
War and Saki
Saki volunteered in WW1. He was too old to enlist for officer training, so went in as an ordinary trooper. He was injured more than once, and returned to front before officially fit. He was evidently no pacifist, but by the time he wrote this, perhaps he was having second thoughts. He died in the war. This was published posthumously.
The Story
Eleanor Bope has sons of nine and a half and nearly eleven. She reads a newspaper article about the National Peace Council, which echoes her concern that boys “naturally love fighting and all the panoply of war”. She asks her brother, Harvey, that when he next visits, he brings “peace toys”, rather than soldiers and similar.
Harvey agrees to do his best, with the caveat:
“'There is primitive instinct to be taken into consideration, you know’, said Harvey doubtfully, ‘and hereditary tendencies as well’.”
A while later, the boys excitedly unwrap crinkly paper and find what they think is a fort, but it’s a municipal dust-bin! Other models include a YWCA, an art school, a public library, a municipal wash-house, a beehive, a sewer ventilator, and a ballot box. There are even action figures: John Stuart Mill, Sir John Herschel, Rowland Hill, and nameless sanitary inspector, district councillor, and poetess, Mrs Hemans.
“Are we to play with these civilian figures?” asked Eric.
“Of course,” said Harvey, “these are toys; they are meant to be played with.”
“But how?”
History homework becomes oddly appealing. And when Harvey goes to check up on them… You can guess.
Beware Fruit
See the Monty Python - Self Defence Against Fruit sketch HERE.
More Saki
I'm gradually collating reviews of Saki short stories under The Best of Saki, HERE, as I read them in a rambling way, over several weeks and months.
You can find his stories, free, on Gutenberg. For example, HERE. Most are very short.
August 16, 2022
Hector Hugh Munro became better known for his pen name, “Saki”. He is remembered as one of the masters of short stories, able to compartmentalize satire and mischief in just a few pages. This book is a 1928 publication of some of his stories, one of three volumes set out by the Viking Press. The other two books are somewhere in my collection but as of today, they haven’t purposefully fallen off any shelves in order to get my attention, but I will eventually find them.
The star story of this volume is THE TOYS OF PEACE, about a mother trying to prevent her young sons from developing boyhood obsessions with wars and soldiers, only to realize she never had a chance to be successful in that task. However, I preferred some of the other stories, which I’ve listed below.
THE INTERLOPERS
Two men belonging to two feuding families, end up fighting each other in the Carpathian Mountains, each with the belief they have their own back-up men somewhere behind them. When a falling tree branch traps them under a log, they start shouting for help. They soon see “men” coming to their rescue. Except, of course, the “rescuers” are something much scarier.
QUAIL SEED
The owner of a grocery store in an outlying town is finding his business is losing sales to bigger stores from larger companies. Soon, there appears in town a mysterious boy and an equally mysterious “Black Beard”. They both spend money on unusual items, drawing the attention of the townspeople, who start shopping again at the little store just to be around the foreign-looking newbies. However, all is not what it seems and the little twist provides a lesson for those who look down upon “foreigners”.
THE SHEEP
A man of property finds his future brother-in-law a complete nuisance. The dullard is not able to play bridge properly, shoots a protected bird, and ruins a local election. The man of property has no heir, his own boy lay underground somewhere on the Indian frontier, so his sister and her future husband will inherit his estate. The idea of a “sheep” inheriting all he has worked for upsets the man of property, but there doesn’t seem much that can be done to change his sister’s choice of fiancée. Until, that is, they visit an Alpine resort where a frozen lake and a dutiful dog change the future.
IMAGE OF THE LOST SOUL
An old cathedral provides resting perches for the many birds of the local area. When a tired songbird arrives to find shelter, the fat pigeons and noisy sparrows refuse to move over, as they don’t want to leave their stone angels and carved saints. So, the little bird finds itself the sole occupant of a brooding gargoyle, a “demon” to the other birds. Each day the songbird whirls a melodious tune then rests at night in the arms of the ugly sculpture. But the strange figure seems to change, its countenance becoming softer each day. When the little songbird is captured by the locals so it can sing to them, the Figure Of The Lost Soul finds itself missing its little friend, ending in a last foray. As the church bells ring, ”After joy…sorrow”.
When I started reading, I found I wasn’t really into the book. Perhaps the editors felt they had placed the strongest stories in the beginning, but I found my favorites to be in the later sections. Saki clearly sets up the reader to expect one ending or result, only to turn it all the way around, which is what a short story wizard must do. I didn’t realize he died during The Great War, another British writer lost in the mud of France. He seemed too old to enlist, but he joined the army anyway and returned to the Front even after he had been injured. After joy, sorrow.
‘You are not on the Road to Hell,’
You tell me with fanatic glee:
Vain boaster, what shall that avail
If Hell is on the road to thee?
Book Season = Spring (lives of mild content)
The star story of this volume is THE TOYS OF PEACE, about a mother trying to prevent her young sons from developing boyhood obsessions with wars and soldiers, only to realize she never had a chance to be successful in that task. However, I preferred some of the other stories, which I’ve listed below.
THE INTERLOPERS
Two men belonging to two feuding families, end up fighting each other in the Carpathian Mountains, each with the belief they have their own back-up men somewhere behind them. When a falling tree branch traps them under a log, they start shouting for help. They soon see “men” coming to their rescue. Except, of course, the “rescuers” are something much scarier.
QUAIL SEED
The owner of a grocery store in an outlying town is finding his business is losing sales to bigger stores from larger companies. Soon, there appears in town a mysterious boy and an equally mysterious “Black Beard”. They both spend money on unusual items, drawing the attention of the townspeople, who start shopping again at the little store just to be around the foreign-looking newbies. However, all is not what it seems and the little twist provides a lesson for those who look down upon “foreigners”.
THE SHEEP
A man of property finds his future brother-in-law a complete nuisance. The dullard is not able to play bridge properly, shoots a protected bird, and ruins a local election. The man of property has no heir, his own boy lay underground somewhere on the Indian frontier, so his sister and her future husband will inherit his estate. The idea of a “sheep” inheriting all he has worked for upsets the man of property, but there doesn’t seem much that can be done to change his sister’s choice of fiancée. Until, that is, they visit an Alpine resort where a frozen lake and a dutiful dog change the future.
IMAGE OF THE LOST SOUL
An old cathedral provides resting perches for the many birds of the local area. When a tired songbird arrives to find shelter, the fat pigeons and noisy sparrows refuse to move over, as they don’t want to leave their stone angels and carved saints. So, the little bird finds itself the sole occupant of a brooding gargoyle, a “demon” to the other birds. Each day the songbird whirls a melodious tune then rests at night in the arms of the ugly sculpture. But the strange figure seems to change, its countenance becoming softer each day. When the little songbird is captured by the locals so it can sing to them, the Figure Of The Lost Soul finds itself missing its little friend, ending in a last foray. As the church bells ring, ”After joy…sorrow”.
When I started reading, I found I wasn’t really into the book. Perhaps the editors felt they had placed the strongest stories in the beginning, but I found my favorites to be in the later sections. Saki clearly sets up the reader to expect one ending or result, only to turn it all the way around, which is what a short story wizard must do. I didn’t realize he died during The Great War, another British writer lost in the mud of France. He seemed too old to enlist, but he joined the army anyway and returned to the Front even after he had been injured. After joy, sorrow.
‘You are not on the Road to Hell,’
You tell me with fanatic glee:
Vain boaster, what shall that avail
If Hell is on the road to thee?
Book Season = Spring (lives of mild content)
October 5, 2015
Given that this volume of short stories was published after Saki's death during the First World War, I suspect that it comprises various items that he perhaps did not rate as highly as some of his better known stories.
There are still lovely Saki moments of course: a description of members of the Salvation Army as "spruce and jaunty and flamboyantly decorative, like a geranium bed with religious convictions." In another story, about a young man whose female relatives thought it was time he was married: "His most innocent flirtations were watched with the straining eagerness which a group of unexercised terriers concentrates on the slightest movements of a human being who may be reasonably considered likely to take them for a walk."
In particular I liked the stories "Shock Tactics" and "The Occasional Garden". Definitely worth reading if you are a Saki fan, but if you haven't tried him before, read "The Chronicles of Clovis" or "Beasts and Superbeasts" to enjoy him at his most glorious.
There are still lovely Saki moments of course: a description of members of the Salvation Army as "spruce and jaunty and flamboyantly decorative, like a geranium bed with religious convictions." In another story, about a young man whose female relatives thought it was time he was married: "His most innocent flirtations were watched with the straining eagerness which a group of unexercised terriers concentrates on the slightest movements of a human being who may be reasonably considered likely to take them for a walk."
In particular I liked the stories "Shock Tactics" and "The Occasional Garden". Definitely worth reading if you are a Saki fan, but if you haven't tried him before, read "The Chronicles of Clovis" or "Beasts and Superbeasts" to enjoy him at his most glorious.
December 28, 2020
Downloaded from Gutenberg. An amusing collection of Saki's last works. He was a funny guy with an eye to the absurd and with a gift for words. Sadly killed in WWI.
January 26, 2026
A tongue in cheek snipe at earnest parenting from a hundred years ago . Made me think of the toys ( for girls ) depicting housework when I was growing up in the nineteen sixties .
October 13, 2024
Tenía este libro en la estantería desde al menos 15 años cuando lo compre a 1 euro en una tienda de segunda mano de mi ciudad, Alcalá de Henares. Creo que había escuchado algo de Saki, y su maestría como cuentista.
Hace escasos 2 días al fin le llego su turno y empecé a devorar esta colección de cuentos, escritos a finales del siglo XIX pero que se siguen disfrutando enormemente.
Los cuentos ofrecidos son todos muy cortos, apenas llegando a las 10 páginas e incluso menos y aunque casi siempre tienen protagonistas o personajes infantiles, en absoluto es su público objetivo.
Saki, se deleita en descubrirnos el mundo de maldad, venganza, insidia y lógica retorcida que los niños de su s relatos muestran, casi en guerra permanente con los adultos. Guerras que suelen ganar.
Se ve claramente la influencia que este autor tuvo en muchos otros relatos, incluyendo Roal Dhal, y nos ofrece, en definitiva, una lectura imprescindible para los que amamos los cuentos como género literario. Ha sido el primer, pero sin duda no el último libro de Saki que voy a leer.
Hace escasos 2 días al fin le llego su turno y empecé a devorar esta colección de cuentos, escritos a finales del siglo XIX pero que se siguen disfrutando enormemente.
Los cuentos ofrecidos son todos muy cortos, apenas llegando a las 10 páginas e incluso menos y aunque casi siempre tienen protagonistas o personajes infantiles, en absoluto es su público objetivo.
Saki, se deleita en descubrirnos el mundo de maldad, venganza, insidia y lógica retorcida que los niños de su s relatos muestran, casi en guerra permanente con los adultos. Guerras que suelen ganar.
Se ve claramente la influencia que este autor tuvo en muchos otros relatos, incluyendo Roal Dhal, y nos ofrece, en definitiva, una lectura imprescindible para los que amamos los cuentos como género literario. Ha sido el primer, pero sin duda no el último libro de Saki que voy a leer.
July 3, 2020
Light and amusing shorts. Saki's humor is pure escapism.
February 15, 2023
Good satire short story.
January 28, 2026
When reading the collected works of Saki, one becomes overwhelmed, one's senses dulled, one's ability to appreciate the wit, wisdom, and gently piercing insights of Hector Hugh Munro (as "Saki" is sometimes known) suffers.
Re-reading this short story for the Short Story Club, I liked it, I remembered it, but still do not think it is one of Saki's best. But they can't all be the best, can they?
The toys of peace is well-meaning, but children have their own agenda, and they learn quickly, perhaps too quickly, from their elders and their culture.
Re-reading this short story for the Short Story Club, I liked it, I remembered it, but still do not think it is one of Saki's best. But they can't all be the best, can they?
The toys of peace is well-meaning, but children have their own agenda, and they learn quickly, perhaps too quickly, from their elders and their culture.
October 2, 2014
This was my first work of Saki and I must say I do look forward to reading more. I found the stories, while dated to the period, still quite humorous and enjoyable. Regardless of their age, there was much that was just as applicable to our current period.
I was very much drawn into getting a feel for the norms of the societies Saki moved through. I am at a loss for words here but I do recommend this book. Fun, entertaining, and delightful.
I was very much drawn into getting a feel for the norms of the societies Saki moved through. I am at a loss for words here but I do recommend this book. Fun, entertaining, and delightful.
July 13, 2013
A collection of rather enjoyable short stories by Saki all covering a variety of topics... Some, such as 'Louise' are quite humourous...
October 18, 2014
witty and elegantly written. Some are laugh out loud funny - very embarrassing when reading at work.
May 1, 2021
Boys were created to be men and they're always going to strive to fulfill their roles of protecting and providing no matter what the misguided adults do.
July 4, 2021
predictable, but nice
November 26, 2023
A short story written by the witty British author, Hector Hugh Munro, better known by his pen names "Saki" or "H. H. Munro." The story is a humorous tale of trying to indoctrinate young boys with a culture of peace rather than war, by a Mother Eleanor and her brother, Harvey, who give her boys "peace toys" for Easter instead of toy guns, tin soldiers, and the like.
"A quantity of crinkly paper shavings was the first thing that met the view when the lid was removed; the most exiting toys always began like that. Harvey pushed back the top layer and drew forth a square, rather featureless building.
"It’s a fort!" exclaimed Bertie.... "It’s a municipal dustbin," said Harvey hurriedly; "you see all the refuse and litter of a town is collected there, instead of lying about and injuring the health of the citizens." The boys were not impressed by such gifts as tin statues of economists, scientists, sanitary inspectors, and politicians, rather than soldiers and heroes; models of municipal buildings rather than forts; toy hoes instead of toy guns. Left to play with the new politically correct toys, the boys manage to completely thwart the plan, to the frustration of the well-meaning adults.
This was my first work of Saki, and I must say I do look forward to reading more. I found the story, while dated to the period, still quite humorous and enjoyable. Regardless of their age, there was much that was just as applicable to our current period. In all likelihood as the boys grow up and mature, they will discard their old toys and play with new toys and soon they will stop playing with toys altogether. There will be other things that will grab the boy’s attention as they grow up. Despite the good intentions of both Harvey and Eleanor the boys have not been persuaded to redefine how they play with their toys, nor should they be. Like a lot of young boys, it is just a period that they are going through. It would be unhealthy to force the boys to change the games that they play as this would only lead to the stifling of their independence. I just wish it wasn't guns and computer software games that promotes killing. Nothing like promoting peace when it comes to that.
"A quantity of crinkly paper shavings was the first thing that met the view when the lid was removed; the most exiting toys always began like that. Harvey pushed back the top layer and drew forth a square, rather featureless building.
"It’s a fort!" exclaimed Bertie.... "It’s a municipal dustbin," said Harvey hurriedly; "you see all the refuse and litter of a town is collected there, instead of lying about and injuring the health of the citizens." The boys were not impressed by such gifts as tin statues of economists, scientists, sanitary inspectors, and politicians, rather than soldiers and heroes; models of municipal buildings rather than forts; toy hoes instead of toy guns. Left to play with the new politically correct toys, the boys manage to completely thwart the plan, to the frustration of the well-meaning adults.
This was my first work of Saki, and I must say I do look forward to reading more. I found the story, while dated to the period, still quite humorous and enjoyable. Regardless of their age, there was much that was just as applicable to our current period. In all likelihood as the boys grow up and mature, they will discard their old toys and play with new toys and soon they will stop playing with toys altogether. There will be other things that will grab the boy’s attention as they grow up. Despite the good intentions of both Harvey and Eleanor the boys have not been persuaded to redefine how they play with their toys, nor should they be. Like a lot of young boys, it is just a period that they are going through. It would be unhealthy to force the boys to change the games that they play as this would only lead to the stifling of their independence. I just wish it wasn't guns and computer software games that promotes killing. Nothing like promoting peace when it comes to that.
December 16, 2025
This is one of Saki’s most quietly radical stories, precisely because it disguises its ferocity as domestic comedy.
On the surface, it concerns childhood play. Beneath that surface, it interrogates how societies manufacture obedience long before ideology requires it.
Saki understands play as rehearsal. The objects given to children are not neutral; they encode futures.
What makes the story postmodern is its awareness that meaning is imposed, resisted, and reinterpreted simultaneously. The children do not simply accept instruction—they mutate it.
The adults in the story are sincere, progressive, and catastrophically naive. They believe that virtue can be engineered through symbolism.
Saki gently dismantles this belief without sermon or outrage. He allows intention and outcome to drift apart—and lets irony do the work.
There is something chilling in how calmly the narrative proceeds. Saki does not raise alarms. He observes. The humour is dry, almost bureaucratic. That restraint makes the implications deeper. Ideology, he suggests, fails not through malice but through misunderstanding human imagination.
Read now, the story resonates with modern anxieties about education, propaganda, and moral instruction. It asks an uncomfortable question: can violence be eliminated by decree, or does it simply change costume?
Saki offers no answer. He shows the gap between aspiration and reality—and leaves it open.
Classic Saki. Try it out.
On the surface, it concerns childhood play. Beneath that surface, it interrogates how societies manufacture obedience long before ideology requires it.
Saki understands play as rehearsal. The objects given to children are not neutral; they encode futures.
What makes the story postmodern is its awareness that meaning is imposed, resisted, and reinterpreted simultaneously. The children do not simply accept instruction—they mutate it.
The adults in the story are sincere, progressive, and catastrophically naive. They believe that virtue can be engineered through symbolism.
Saki gently dismantles this belief without sermon or outrage. He allows intention and outcome to drift apart—and lets irony do the work.
There is something chilling in how calmly the narrative proceeds. Saki does not raise alarms. He observes. The humour is dry, almost bureaucratic. That restraint makes the implications deeper. Ideology, he suggests, fails not through malice but through misunderstanding human imagination.
Read now, the story resonates with modern anxieties about education, propaganda, and moral instruction. It asks an uncomfortable question: can violence be eliminated by decree, or does it simply change costume?
Saki offers no answer. He shows the gap between aspiration and reality—and leaves it open.
Classic Saki. Try it out.
February 4, 2026
Here is Saki again, with his happy, mean-spirited humour. Got many sensible chuckles out of these, but the suffragette jokes were becoming repetitive. I understand it was the hot topic of his time but he must have made a point of them in four or five stories, at least. He also wrote not one, but two stories where a child tries to feed a smaller child to the pigs, which I found quite funny--not so much the stories themselves but that he'd find the idea so amusing as to repeat it. He must have been laughing to himself imagining such a thing, but it wasn't his style to permit the action to come to its natural conclusion. At least, involving a child--adults, I am aware, are fair game.
I have known Saki for a long time and I'm glad to say there are two stories I would add to my favourites: "The Interlopers" and "The Image of the Lost Soul." This was his last and posthumous collection. It's a pity that he died so young and so uselessly.
I have known Saki for a long time and I'm glad to say there are two stories I would add to my favourites: "The Interlopers" and "The Image of the Lost Soul." This was his last and posthumous collection. It's a pity that he died so young and so uselessly.
December 19, 2021
When a group of children are presented with “Peace Toys” instead of toy soldiers the children are at first unsure what to do. Lead figures of notable civilians and other non-violent toys, the children put their resourceful minds to work and soon find a way to combine the new toys with their history homework for entertainment. If you have ever babysat or interacted with a child for a long period of time, you might know how hard it is to control them. In The Toys of Peace gives you a glimpse into how children do what they want, and we learn that some behaviours may be too instinctive or ingrained to change. Set in 1914, the story satirizes the campaign by the National Peace Council, a coordinating committee of anti-war organizations, against violent toys. iT is a fun interesting read that feels playfull and fun.
January 26, 2026
I've read quite a few stories by Saki and to be honest I enjoy but don't do somersaults over them. I generally find them a bit dated. This week's GR Short Story Club selection was Saki's, The Toys of Peace. I vacillated between three and four stars and decided to put my head in a different time zone and realize that the social comment was progressive for the period (it still is today).
What can I say? Boys (and girls) will prefer Army/Navy toy soldiers and accoutrements (Barbie inspired skinny fancy dress dolls) even today over mini post office or newspaper office toy figures and the like.
To think that a mini post office or newspaper office toy and figures are going to amuse even today's or yesteryear's kids for more than a few minutes is ridiculous - especially considering where our kids' heads are glued today!
So all things considered, I guess this satirical story merits the fourth star from me - tho' I can't say I turned somersaults over it.
What can I say? Boys (and girls) will prefer Army/Navy toy soldiers and accoutrements (Barbie inspired skinny fancy dress dolls) even today over mini post office or newspaper office toy figures and the like.
To think that a mini post office or newspaper office toy and figures are going to amuse even today's or yesteryear's kids for more than a few minutes is ridiculous - especially considering where our kids' heads are glued today!
So all things considered, I guess this satirical story merits the fourth star from me - tho' I can't say I turned somersaults over it.
February 6, 2026
I read this story for Goodreads' Short Story Club, which discusses a different short story each week.
This story "The Toys of Peace" is a quick but thought-provoking read. Even though this story is more than a hundred years old, I think it's still relevant because these issues of peace vs. war still persist.
My parents told me that when I was a girl in the early '70s, they tried not to influence me in my choice of toys. My dad apparently bought me a Tonka truck, but I wouldn't play with it. However, I do remember enjoying my playhouse and dolls.
When I became a mom and had two sons close in age, we didn't allow any toy guns in the house, so they made their own out of LEGOs, plastic pens and rubber bands. They also fought with each other all the time and threw cypress balls at each other that they found in the front yard. I think all children are unique, and their behaviors can be influenced by both nature and nurture. But this story makes some good points about unchecked male aggression and the influence of the patriarchy.
I was particularly horrified by the misogyny shown in the boys' treatment of the YWCA "girls," killing a hundred of them and then trafficking the remaining 500 back to France to endure lives of pain and suffering. But at least there is one heroine who makes a stand and "says, 'Never!' and stabs Marshal Saxe to the heart." Good for her! I'm glad to see she didn't go down without a fight.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this story is violent and depressing, because Saki also wrote "The Interlopers," another violent and terrifying story, which I taught to my high school students. I should go read some more of his stories now.
This story "The Toys of Peace" is a quick but thought-provoking read. Even though this story is more than a hundred years old, I think it's still relevant because these issues of peace vs. war still persist.
My parents told me that when I was a girl in the early '70s, they tried not to influence me in my choice of toys. My dad apparently bought me a Tonka truck, but I wouldn't play with it. However, I do remember enjoying my playhouse and dolls.
When I became a mom and had two sons close in age, we didn't allow any toy guns in the house, so they made their own out of LEGOs, plastic pens and rubber bands. They also fought with each other all the time and threw cypress balls at each other that they found in the front yard. I think all children are unique, and their behaviors can be influenced by both nature and nurture. But this story makes some good points about unchecked male aggression and the influence of the patriarchy.
I was particularly horrified by the misogyny shown in the boys' treatment of the YWCA "girls," killing a hundred of them and then trafficking the remaining 500 back to France to endure lives of pain and suffering. But at least there is one heroine who makes a stand and "says, 'Never!' and stabs Marshal Saxe to the heart." Good for her! I'm glad to see she didn't go down without a fight.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised that this story is violent and depressing, because Saki also wrote "The Interlopers," another violent and terrifying story, which I taught to my high school students. I should go read some more of his stories now.
Want to read
October 24, 2023Contains the stories:
The Toys of Peace -
Louise -
Tea -
The Disappearance of Crispina Umberleigh -
The Wolves of Cernogratz -
Louis -
The Guests -
The Penance -
The Phantom Luncheon -
A Bread and Butter Miss -
Bertie’s Christmas Eve -
Forewarned -
The Interlopers -
Quail Seed -
Canossa -
The Threat -
Excepting Mrs. Pentherby -
Mark -
The Hedgehog -
The Mappined Life -
Fate -
The Bull -
Morlvera -
Shock Tactics -
The Seven Cream Jugs -
The Occasional Garden -
The Sheep -
The Oversight -
Hyacinth -
The Image of the Lost Soul -
The Purple of the Balkan Kings -
The Cupboard of the Yesterdays -
For the Duration of the War -
The Toys of Peace -
Louise -
Tea -
The Disappearance of Crispina Umberleigh -
The Wolves of Cernogratz -
Louis -
The Guests -
The Penance -
The Phantom Luncheon -
A Bread and Butter Miss -
Bertie’s Christmas Eve -
Forewarned -
The Interlopers -
Quail Seed -
Canossa -
The Threat -
Excepting Mrs. Pentherby -
Mark -
The Hedgehog -
The Mappined Life -
Fate -
The Bull -
Morlvera -
Shock Tactics -
The Seven Cream Jugs -
The Occasional Garden -
The Sheep -
The Oversight -
Hyacinth -
The Image of the Lost Soul -
The Purple of the Balkan Kings -
The Cupboard of the Yesterdays -
For the Duration of the War -
September 25, 2025
the toys of peace takes on new meaning knowing it was published in 1919. saki's quirky tale about children rejecting peaceful toys for war games becomes haunting commentary on ingrained violence, written fresh off the devastation of the great war. these young men had no idea yet another was to come. the story suggests our fascination with conflict runs so deep that even attempts to cultivate peace in the youngest minds fail against natural human inclination. still, ought we not try to fight against our nature?
January 20, 2026
mildly humorous easy reading story with a giveaway plot; the only subterfuge being instead of lambasting the militarism, he takes not so subtle unintended jabs at the gentler society"
"This seems to be another municipal dust-bin--no, it is a model of a school of art and public library."
Okay it really is slightly funnier while reading it in situ, trust me. And at three stars, I'm not really knocking it, a quick and easy entertaining read, yet nothing to sneeze at.
Might have had better luck depicting the sanitarian as making war on germs and bugs and so forth
"This seems to be another municipal dust-bin--no, it is a model of a school of art and public library."
Okay it really is slightly funnier while reading it in situ, trust me. And at three stars, I'm not really knocking it, a quick and easy entertaining read, yet nothing to sneeze at.
Might have had better luck depicting the sanitarian as making war on germs and bugs and so forth
February 12, 2019
Deze verhalen zijn de laatste die Saki geschreven heeft voor hij vertrok naar het front waar hij sneuvelde. Voor mij behoren ze tot het beste wat ik tot nu toe van hem gelezen heb.
Misverstanden, satire, maar zonder de scherpe cynische kantjes die ik in andere bundels meen te voelen. De humor heeft de bovenhand en de kleinheid van het menselijke wezen, natuur versus opvoeding (nature nurture) wordt heel mooi in beeld gebracht.
Saki lezen is altijd weer een plezier.
Misverstanden, satire, maar zonder de scherpe cynische kantjes die ik in andere bundels meen te voelen. De humor heeft de bovenhand en de kleinheid van het menselijke wezen, natuur versus opvoeding (nature nurture) wordt heel mooi in beeld gebracht.
Saki lezen is altijd weer een plezier.
October 30, 2017
It's an unusual story which is based on historical facts. We analysed it at the University. You should always read the story more than once to understand the message. I don't like his macabre and cynical satire. But all of his stories are really useful to mind. Try to read it!
August 3, 2018
Interesting plot when people start to make only Peace toys! How the kids will react and what the effect will be? Can we remove fighting from kids toys?
Read
November 2, 2022Funny. Predictable. Adults try to force toys on to kids to stop them from playing with war toys. Kids find their own ways to use the toys.
December 7, 2023
3.5 ⭐
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