Letters of Marque

254 pp. "...we have a collection of those delightful and charming commentaries on India which fall so easily and interestingly from Rudyard Kipling's pen. But we find that it is a far different India from the usual that Kipling treats here. He has abandoned the tales of Her Majesty's men, the intrigues of the military, and as a plain citizen wanders in out of the way places of that mysterious country, with the freedom of a horse let loose from pasture. The book glows with the descriptions of the Taj Mahal, of charming Jeypore, "a pink city set on the border of a blue lake," and of the thrill of the Dead City of Amber, not included in the impertinently curious itinerary of the Globe-Trotter, who comes in often for gentle and not-so-gentle raillery. The author impresses us with the curious mixture of ancient and modern in this strange country of India; brings us under her mystery, and disillusions us in the same moment; but leaves us the impression finally of her unusual charm." "Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was one of the most well known writers of the 20th century, chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Born in Bombay, he was taken by his family to England when he was five years old, going on to become a famous Briton. Kipling is best known for his works of fiction, including The Jungle Book, Just So Stories (1902) (1894) (a collection of stories which includes "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi"), Kim (1901) (a tale of adventure), many short stories, including "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888); and his poems, including Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The White Man's Burden (1899) and If- (1910). He is regarded as a major "innovator in the art of the short story"; his children's books are enduring classics of children's literature; and his best works are said to exhibit "a versatile and luminous narrative gift"."