Rudyard Kipling

by Andrew Lycett, Frederick Davidson (Read by)

This gripping biography mixes intimate detail with a thorough understanding of the social, intellectual, artistic, and political climate of the time to unravel the intricate story of the misunderstood genius who wrote Kim, The Jungle Books, and the poem "If." Growing up in both England and India, this descendant of a high-achieving family crossed India's established divide between ruler and subject as he explored the urban underworld and dabbled with opium. Recently discovered letters shed light on Kipling's most intimate relationships and help explain how India influenced his personal, political, and literary development. Later, suffering from marital stress, the deaths of his son and daughter, and a wavering sanity, only iron self-control and love of the English countryside enable him to transmute his sadness and growing disillusion into his crystalline late short stories, which are gaining new appreciation today.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Literature

2 pages, MP3 CD

First published September 9, 1999

About the author

(born 1950)

Reviews

[Salli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long hard slog of a read for research for a project. I still have some pages to go and to be honest not a lot useful to say. The start was hard but useful for ideas and philosophy. Somewhere about half way through it merely became readable. A man in three dimensions certainly, a product of his time. I am really not quite sure why he was so famous and so quoted. A lot of fairly poor verse. I have not read his short stories, so think I must read a few. A lot of time spent by Lycett assuming his stories reflected the man and his personality. I admire Lycett's stamina for research but will be glad to finish and give this back to the library. It has taken up a lot of hours and I am not sure to profit.

[Jonathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that beautifully uses microhistory to talk about larger historical trends. I was mostly unfamiliar with Kipling (other than his most famous poems), and so it was fascinating to realize how much he defied his own stereotypes.

[Sigrid Fry-Revere · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this biography. It was well written but not exceptional.

[Hollie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 -- could have been much shorter but is a very detailed look at his life.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Run of the mill biography of a high empire writer. Either the biography was sub-par or Mr. Kipling is not worthy of a biography.

Recommendation: for Kipling fanboys

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars.

[Norma Bush · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't finish. Too many tangents which really weren't about Kipling.