Rudyard Kipling Collection Series

Kim is Rudyard Kipling's finest work. Now controversial, this novel is a memorably vivid evocation of the life and landscapes of India in the late nineteenth century. Kim himself is a resourceful lad who befriends a lama, an ageing priest; and both embark on a combined quest. Whereas Kim has an insatiable interest in the varied activities around him, the lama seeks redemption from the ‘Wheel of Life’. Kim becomes involved in the ‘Great Game’, undertaking espionage for the British rulers.This engrossing and moving novel, with its diversity of memorable characters, offers many insights into political, religious and social tensions. In 1998, the Modern Library ranked Kim No. 78 on its list of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling is a 1902 collection of origin short stories by the British author Rudyard Kipling. Considered a classic of children's literature, the book is among Kipling's best known works. Kipling began working on the book by telling the first three chapters as bedtime stories to his daughter Josephine. These had to be told "just so" (exactly in the words she was used to) or she would complain. The stories describe how one animal or another acquired its most distinctive features, such as how the leopard got his spots.  

Best known for the 'Mowgli' stories, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book expertly interweaves myth, morals, adventure and powerful story-telling. Set in Central India, Mowgli is raised by a pack of wolves. Along the way he encounters memorable characters such as the foreboding tiger Shere Kahn, Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear. Including other stories such as that of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, a heroic mongoose and Toomai, a young elephant handler, Kipling's fables remain as popular today as they ever were.

The Man Who Would Be King is a story by author Rudyard Kipling which was originally published in 1888. The story involves two former British soldiers who were sent in the early 19th century to British controlled India to search for adventure. These two soldiers end up becoming kings of Kafiristan. This story is inspired by Josiah Harlan, an American adventurer who claimed the title of Prince of Ghor after leding a military force into Afghanistan in the mid-19th century. This is an excellent addition to any library for individuals who are enthusiasts of the writings of Rudyard Kipling and also those who are interested in classic adventure stories.

Indian Tales is a collection of 36 connected short stories and narratives, published by A. A. Wyn in 1953. The stories revolve around an anthropomorphic animal family traveling across California, and encountering various mythological figures, such as Old Man Coyote, Loon Woman, and various animal tribes who live as the indigenous peoples of California did in pre-European times. The book is an imaginative retelling of many of the folktales and myths collected by de Angulo as an erstwhile anthropologist. The stories are written to be of interest to younger readers, but are also read by adults.

The tales in The Second Jungle Book includes five further stories about Mowgli) are fables, using animals in an anthropomorphic manner to give moral lessons. "How Fear Came": This story takes place before Mowgli fights Shere Khan. During a drought, Mowgli and the animals gather at a shrunken river for a 'water truce', during which Hathi the elephant tells the story of how the first tiger got his stripes. "The Miracle of Purun Bhagat": An influential Indian politician abandons his worldly goods to become an ascetic holy man. Later he must save a village from a landslide with the help of the local animals whom he has befriended. "Letting in the Jungle": Mowgli has been driven out of the human village for witchcraft, and the superstitious villagers are preparing to kill his adopted parents Messua and her (unnamed) husband. Mowgli rescues them and then prepares to take revenge. "The Undertakers": A mugger crocodile, a jackal and an adjutant stork (erroneously referred to as a crane in the story), three of the most unpleasant characters on the river, spend an afternoon bickering with each other until some Englishmen arrive to settle some unfinished business with the crocodile. "The King's Ankus": Mowgli discovers a jewelled object beneath the Cold Lairs which he later discards carelessly, not realising that men will kill each other to possess it.

The Light That Failed is Kipling’s first novel, written when he was 26 years old, Most of the novel is set in London, but many important events throughout the story occur in Sudan or India. The Light that Failed follows the life of Dick Heldar, a painter who goes blind.

Soldiers Three is a collection of short stories by Rudyard Kipling. The three soldiers of the title are Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, who had also appeared previously in the collection Plain Tales from the Hills. The current version, dating from 1899 and more fully titled Soldiers Three and other stories, consists of three sections which each had previously received separate publication in 1888; Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris appear only in the first section, which is also titled Soldiers Three. The books reveal a side of the British Tommy in Afghanistan rarely seen in the Twilight of the British Empire. The soldiers comment on their betters, act the fool, but cut straight to the rawness of war in the mid-east as the British began to loosen their Imperial hold.