Biography 1
Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was born in Bombay, but educated in England at the
United Services College, Westward Ho, Bideford. In 1892 he returned to India, where he worked for
Anglo-Indian newspapers. His literary career began with Departmental Ditties (1886), but
subsequently he became chiefly known as a writer of short stories. A prolific writer, he
achieved fame quickly. Kipling was the poet of the British Empire and ts yeoman, the common
soldier, whom he glorified in many of his works, in particular Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) and
Soldiers Three (1888), collections of short stories with roughly and affectionately drawn soldier
portraits. His Barrack Room Ballads (1892) were written for, as much as about, the common soldier.
In 1894 appeared his Jungle Book, which became a children's classic all over the world.
Kim (1901), the story of Kimball O'Hara and his adventures in the Himalayas, is perhaps his most
felicitous work. Other works include The Second Jungle Book (1895), The Seven Seas (1896),
Captains Courageous (1897), The Day's Work (1898), Stalky and Co. (1899), Just So Stories (1902),
Trafficks and Discoveries (1904), Puck of Pook's Hill (1906), Actions and Reactions (1909), Debits
and Credits (1926), Thy Servant a Dog (1930), and Limits and Renewals (1932). During the First
World War Kipling wrote some propaganda books. His collected poems appeared in 1933.
Kipling was the recipient of many honorary degrees and other awards. In 1926 he received
the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature, which only Scott, Meredith, and Hardy had been
awarded before him.
From Nobel Lectures, Literature 1901-1967.
Rudyard Kipling died in 1936.
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