Super-Beast

Oliver Soden has done the impossible … One of the best literary biographies I have ever read. But it is more than a literary biography … A window onto the cultural and political meaning of much of the twentieth century and therefore much of our own … Thrillingly readable … Soden’s phrase-making is almost as masterful as his subject’s … He has weaved something miraculous – STEPHEN FRY
The mystery of Saki unravelled. A quite extraordinary story, quite beautifully told – GYLES BRANDRETH
Oliver Soden’s gorgeous study of Saki is a resurrection of an exquisite extinct animal, brought back to life in flash-lit scenes. Far more exciting than mere biography, it reclaims, darkly and in beautiful prose, a fascinating figure of queer literature whose transformative stories stand as a slyly subliminal alternative history - a vivid and elegant record of a lost world – PHILIP HOARE
Wise, witty and wry - the biography that Saki, and all devoted Sakiphants, deserve – BEN SCHOTT
A triumph. Delivering detailed research and captivating insights with wit and candour throughout, Soden brings a life full of ‘scuttering footsteps and hurried embassies’ brilliantly to the page. A marvellous act of chronicling, clear-sighted and delighting in equal measure – ELEY WILLIAMS
I cannot think of a biographer I would sooner reach for to make sense of the contradictions of Saki’s life, character and writing than Oliver Soden. A marvellous book – THE REVEREND RICHARD COLES
Soden has written the story of more than a fascinating writer - Super Beast traces the arc of an oppressive Edwardian childhood, through the blossoming of a talented social satirist, to a maturity rendered speechless by brutality in the trenches of WWI, and finally to an early grave. In this, Soden has written the biography of an entire generation – MEG ROSOFF

Oliver Soden is a writer and broadcaster, and the critically acclaimed author of:

• Michael Tippett: The Biography (2019)
• Jeoffry: The Poet’s Cat (2020)
• Masquerade: The Lives of Noel Coward (2023)

Soden’s essays and reviews have appeared in publications including the Guardian, Literary Review, and Art Newspaper. He grew up in Bath and Sussex, and lives in London.

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