Kipling: A Life

by Jad Adams

A writer who made his home in four continents, Kipling occupies a unique place in the hearts and minds of readers and remains to date one of the most widely read authors in the world. Why so? This accessible biography by Jad Adams aims at an understanding of the man behind the works and seeks to explain his enduring popularity. Kipling, a life analyses this enigmatic author not only as an imperialist but also as a sensitive artist of his time.

224 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Jad Adams is a historian working as an author and an independent television producer. He has specialized in work on radical characters from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and 'the decadence' of the 1890s.

Reviews

[Hamza Shafiq · Rating 3 out of 5]

I believe that a biography should not be judged on the merits of the individual rather than on the artistic style of the biographer. While I found Kipling to be a slightly complex writer, I still feel that this biography could have done a better job at painting a complete picture.

What I didn't like was that the author routinely dropped famous names and acquaintances without context, which sometimes made me wonder what's up and if the timeline is linear or not. Overall, I would've appreciated a little more detail and a more coherent style of story-telling that actually gave an insight into what anguish made Kipling great, rather than just everything trickling down to bias and the death of his children.

[Christophe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but not superficial biography of Kipling. Adams doesn't shun the sensitive issues : the guy who wrote The Man Who Would Be King when he was 23 years old was a an imperialist, a reactionary and a misogynist. And he didn't get any better with age.