English
short-story writer, novelist and poet, remembered
for his celebration of British imperialism and
heroism in India and Burma. Kipling was the first
Englishman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature
(1907). His most popular works include THE JUNGLE
BOOK (1894) and JUST SO STORIES (1902).
Rudyard Kipling
was born in Bombay, India. His father was an arts
and crafts teacher at the Jeejeebhoy School of
Art. His mother was a sister-in-law of the painter
Edward Burne-Jones. India was at that time ruled
by the British.
At the age of six
he was taken to England by his parents and left
at a foster home in South Sea for five years.
His unhappiness at the unkind treatment he received
was later expressed in the short story 'Baa Baa,
Black Sheep', in the novel THE LIGHT THAT FAILED
(1890), and in his autobiography (1937).
In 1878 Kipling
entered United Services College, a boarding school
in North Devon. It was an expensive institution
that specialized in training for entry into military
academies. His poor eyesight and mediocre results
as a student quashed hopes about a military career.
However, Kipling recalled these years in a lighter
tone in one of his most popular books, STALKY
& CO (1899).
Kipling returned
to India in 1882, where he worked as a journalist
in Lahore for the Civil and Military Gazette
(1882-87) and as an assistant editor and overseas
correspondent in Allahabad for Pioneer
(1887-89). The stories written during his last
two years in India were collected in THE PHANTOM
RICKSHAW. It includes the famous story 'The Man
Who Would Be a King.' In the story a white trader,
Daniel Dravot sets himself up as a god and king
in Kafristan, but a woman discovers that he is
mortal and betrays him. His companion, Peachey
Carnehan, manages to escape to tell the tale,
but Dravot is killed.
 Kipling's
short stories and verses gained success in the
England of the late 1880s, to which he returned
in 1889, where he was hailed as the literary heir
to Charles Dickens. Between the years 1889 and
1892, Kipling lived in London and published LIFE'S
HANDICAP (1891), a collection of Indian stories
that included 'The Man Who Was,' and 'BARRACK-ROOM
BALLADS', a collection of poems that includes
'Gunga Din.'
"The
female of the species is more deadly than the
male."
In 1892 Kipling
married Caroline Starr Balestier, the sister of
an American publisher and writer, with whom he
collaborated on a novel, THE NAULAHKA (1892).
The young couple moved to the United States. Kipling
was dissatisfied with life in Vermont, and after
the death of his daughter, he took his family
back to England and settled in Burwash, Sussex.
Kipling's marriage was not in all respects happy.
His wife disliked the vulgar aspects of her husband's
character, and dominated the author. Kipling invented
a persona acceptable to the public and developed
his ideal man of action. During these restless
years Kipling produced MANY INVENTIONS (1893),
JUNGLE BOOK (1894), a collection of animal stories
for children, THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK (1895), and
THE SEVEN SEAS (1896).
Widely regarded
as unofficial poet laureate, Kipling refused this
and many honours, among them the Order of Merit.
During the Boer War in 1899 Kipling spent several
months in South Africa. In 1902 he moved to Sussex,
also spending time in South Africa, where the
influential British colonial statesmen Cecil Rhodes
gave him a house. In 1901 KIM, widely considered
Kipling's best novel, was published. The story,
set in India, depicts the adventures of an orphaned
son of a sergeant in an Irish regiment.
Soon after Kipling
had received the Nobel Prize, his output of fiction
and poems began to decline. His son was killed
in World War I, and in 1923 Kipling published
THE IRISH GUARDS IN THE GREAT WAR, a history of
his son's regiment. Between 1922 and 1925 he was
a rector at the University of St. Andrews. Kipling
died on January 18, 1936 in London, and was buried
in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. Kipling's
autobiography, SOMETHING OF MYSELF, appeared posthumously
in 1937.
Kipling's glorification
of the British Empire and his racial prejudices,
has repelled many modern readers, and such admirers
as W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot. However, contemporary
readers loved Kipling's romantic tales concerning
the adventures of Englishmen in strange and distant
parts of the world. His most uncontroversial books
are considered his tales for children. His own
children appeared in the stories as Dan and Una
- the death of 'Dan' in the WW I darkened author's
later life. Characteristic of Kilping's work is
realism, added with acute observation of men and
landscapes, exploration of myth and fantasy, and
a sharp, racy style.
Selected works:
| SCHOOLBOY
LYRICS, 1881 |
| ECHOES,
1884 (with A. Kipling) |
| QUARTETTE,
1885 (with A., A. and J. Kipling) |
| DEPARTMENTAL
DITTIES, 1886 |
| PLAIN TALES
FROM THE HILLS, 1888 (including 'The Man
Who Would Be a King' - film 1974, dir.
by John Huston) |
| SOLDIERS
THREE, 1888 - film 1951, dir. by Tony
Garnett |
| IN BLACK
AND WHITE, 1888 |
| THE STORY
OF THE GADSBYS, 1888 |
| UNDER THE
DEODARS, 1888 |
| THE PHATOM
RICKSHAW, 1888 |
| WEE WILLIE
WINKIE, 1888. - film 1937, dir. by John
Ford |
| THE LIGHT
THAT FAILED, 1890 |
| THE COURTING
OF DINAH SHADD AND OTHER STORIES, 1890 |
| INDIAN TALES,
1890 |
| IN BLACK
AND WHITE, 1890 |
| SOLDIER'S
THREE, 1890 |
| THE STORY
OF THE GADSBYS, 1890 |
| UNDER THE
DEAODARS, 1890 |
| MINE OWN
PEOPLE, 1891 |
| LIFE'S HANDICAP,
1891 |
| AMERICAN
NOTES, 1891 |
| LETTERS
OF MARQUE, 1891 |
| THE SMITH
ADMINISTRATION, 1891 |
| THE CITY
OF DREADFUL NIGHT AND OTHER PLACES, 1891
|
| BARRACK-ROOM
BALLADS, 1892 |
| THE NAULAHKA,
1892 |
| THE NAULAHKA,
1892 (with W. Balestier) |
| MANY INVENTIONS,
1893 |
| THE JUNGLE
BOOK, 1894 - film 1942, dir. by Zoltan
Korda ; animation film in 1967 (Disney Productions)
|
| THE SECOND
JUNGLE BOOK, 1895 |
| OUT OF INDIA,
1895 |
| SOLDIER
TALES, 1896 |
| THE SEVEN
SEAS, 1896 |
| THE KIPLING
BIRTHDAY BOOK, 1896 |
| DEPARTMENTAL
DITTIES AND OTHER VERSES, 1896 |
| RECESSIONAL,
1897 |
| "CAPTAINS
COURAGEOUS": A STORY OF THE GRAND BANKS,
1897 - film 1937, dir. by Victor Fleming
|
| THE DAY'S
WORK, 1898 |
| AN ALMANAC
OF TWELVE SPORTS, 1898 |
| A FLEET
IN BEING, 1898 |
| STALKY AND
CO, 1899 |
| FROM THE
SEA TO SEA, 1899 |
| RECESSIONAL
AND OTHER POEMS, 1899 |
| THE ABSENT
MINDED BEGGAR, 1899 |
| THE KIPLING
READER, 1900 |
| WITH NUMBER
THREE, 1900 |
| OCCASIONAL
POEMS, 1900 |
| FROM SEA
TO SEA, 1900 |
| KIM, 1901.
- film 1951, dir. by Victor Saville |
| JUST SO
STORIES, 1902 |
| THE FIVE
NATIONS, 1903 |
| TRAFFICS
AND DISCOVERIES, 1904 |
| THE MUSE
AMONG THE MOTORS, 1904 |
| PUCK OF
POOK'S HILL, 1906 |
| COLLECTED
VERSE, 1907 |
| LETTERS
TO THE FAMILY, 1908 |
| ACTIONS
AND REACTIONS, 1909 |
| ABAFT THE
FUNNEL, 1909 |
| KIPLING
STORIES AND POEMS EVERY CHILD SHOULD KNOW,
1909 |
| REWARDS
AND FAIRIES, 1910 |
| A HISTORY
OF ENGLAND, 1911 (with C.R.L. Fletcher,
verse only) |
| COLLECTED
VERSE, 1912 |
| THE KIPLING
READER, 1912 |
| SONGS FROM
BROOKS, 1912 |
| SONGS FROM
BOOKS, 1912 |
| THE HARBOUR
WATCH, 1913 |
| THE NEW
ARMY, 1914 |
| FRANCE AT
WAR, 1915 |
| THE FRINGES
OF THE FLEET, 1915 |
| TALES OF
'THE TRADE', 1916 |
| SEA WARFARE,
1916 |
| THE WAR
IN THE MOUNTAINS, 1917 |
| A DIVERSITY
OF CREATURES, 1917 |
| THE EYES
OF ASIA, 1918 |
| TO FIGHTING
AMERICANS, 1918 |
| TWENTY POEMS,
1918 |
| THE GRAVES
OF THE FALLEN, 1919 |
| THE YEARS
BETWEEN, 1919 |
| VERSE: INCLUSIVE
EDITION, 1919 |
| LETTERS
OF TRAVEL, 1920 |
| SELECTED
STORIES, 1921 |
| A KIPLING
ANTHOLOGY, 1922 |
| LAND AND
SEA TALES, 1923 |
| THE IRISH
GUARDS IN THE GREAT WAR, 1923 |
| SONGS FOR
YOUTH, 1924 |
| A CHOICE
OF SONGS, 1925 |
| WORKS, 1925-26
(26 vols.) |
| DEBITS AND
CREDITS, 1926 |
| SEA AND
SUSSEX, 1926 |
| ST. ANDREWS,
1926 (with Walter de la Mare) |
| SONGS OF
THE SEA, 1927 |
| A BOOK OF
WORDS, 1928 |
| THE ONE
VOL. KIPLING, 1928 |
| SELECTED
STORIES, 1929 |
| POEMS 1886-1929,
1929 (3 vols.) |
| THY SERVANT
A DOG, TOLD BY BOOTS, 1930 |
| HUMOROUS
TALES, 1931 |
| SELECTED
POEMS, 1931 |
| EAST OF
SUEZ, 1931 |
| ANIMAL STORIES,
1932 |
| LIMITS AND
RENEWALS, 1932 |
| ALL THE
MOWGLI STORIES, 1933 |
| SOUVENIRS
OF FRANCE, 1933 |
| COLLECTED
DOG STORIES, 1934 |
| A KIPLING
PAGEANT, 1935 |
| HAM AND
THE PORCUPINE, 1935 |
| SOMETHING
OF MYSELF, 1937 |
| COMPLETE
WORKS, 1937-39 (35 vols.) |
| SIXTY POEMS,
1939 |
| MORE SELECTED
STORIES, 1940 |
| VERSE: DEFINITIVE
EDITION, 1940 |
| A KIPLING
TREASURY, 1940 |
| SO SHALL
YE REEP, 1941 |
| COLLECTED
WORKS, 1941 (28 vols.) |
| A CHOICE
OF KIPLING' VERSE, 1941 (ed. T.S. Eliot)
|
| TWENTY-ONE
TALE, 1946 |
| TEN STORIES,
1947 |
| A CHOICE
OF KIPLING'S PROSE, 1952 (ed. by W. Somerset
Maugham) |
| KIPLING:
A SELECTION OF HIS STORIES AND POEMS, 1956
|
| SIXTY POEMS,
1957 |
| TREASURY
OF SHORT STORIES, 1957 |
| (SHORT STORIES),
1960 |
| KIPLING
STORIES, 1960 |
| THE BEST
SHORT STORIES, 1961 |
| THE KIPLING
SAMPLER, 1962 |
| FAMOUS TALES
OF INDIA, 1962 |
| LETTERS
FROM JAPAN, 1962 |
| PEARLS FROM
KIPLING, 1963 |
| A KIPLING
ANTHOLOGY, 1964 |
| PHANTOMS
AND FANTASIES, 1965 |
| RUDYARD
KIPLING TO RIDER HAGARD: 1965 |
| THE BEST
OF KIPLING, 1968 |
| STORIES
AND POEMS, 1970 |
| SHORT STORIES,
1971 |
| TWENTY-ONE
TALES, 1972 |
| THE COMPLETE
BARRACK-ROOM BALLADS, 1973 |
| TALES OF
EAST AND WEST, 1973 |
| KIPLING'S
ENGLISH HISTORY: POEMS, 1974 |
| KIPLING:
A SELECTION, 1977 |
| KIPLING'S
HORACE, 1978 |
| AMERICAN
NOTES, 1981 |
| THE PORTABLE
KIPLING, 1982 |
| O BELOVED
KIDS, 1983 (ed. E.L. Gilbert) |
| EARLY VERSE
BY RUDYARD KIPLING 1879-1889, 1986 |
| KIPLING'S
INDIA, 1987 |
| KIPLING'S
KINGDOM, 1987 |
| THE ILLUSTRATED
KIPLING, 1987 |
| A CHOICE
OF KIPLING, 1987 |
| KIPLING'S
JAPAN, 1988 |
| THE LETTERS
OF RUDYARD KIPLING: 1900-10, 1996 |
| THE LETTERS
OF RUDYARD KIPLING: 1911-1919, 1999 |
- Other film
adaptations: Elephant Boy, dir. by Robert
Flaherty and Zoltan Korda (1937); The Light
That Failed, dir. by William Wellman, Gunga
Din, dir. by George Stevens (1939), script by
Joel Sayre, Fred Guiol, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur
(1939); Sergeants 3, dir. by John Sturges (1962)
|
