Ultra (7" x 9" x ¾") 85 gsm, 176 pages

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was an honest and probing observer of life and human nature. Though today mostly remembered for his children’s literature such as The Jungle Book, Kipling was an innovative short-story writer and a controversial figure in the British colonial era.

Born in Bombay, Kipling interested himself in the romance and adventure he found in Great Britain’s colonial expansion. Yet he was not the shallow imperialist that critics later tried to make him appear. Many of his works are imbued with the poetry of genuine heartfelt emotion, and he was an indefatigable witness to modern society.

The plainspoken vigour of Kipling’s writing is made manifest on our book cover, which features his illustrated letter entitled “The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s.” Originally written to the British politician Lord Alfred Milner on September 8, 1907, the letter is a humorous lament on Milner’s work in South Africa, his current position in Liberal politics and his attitude toward Winston Churchill. Kipling’s signature wit is on display here, even as he penned a letter of protest to a politician.

In his lifetime, he was one of the most popular writers of both verse and prose in England. Kipling’s extraordinary narrative talents earned him great fame and notoriety in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was also the first Brit awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and he remains the youngest person to receive that honour.

Kipling’s stories and poems continue to be read and celebrated for their candid celebration of everyday life. His children’s books are enduring classics and his best works of poetry and prose serve to exhibit his luminous gift. Let yourself be inspired by the handwriting of the man Henry James called the “most complete man of genius” he had ever known. May the soul of Kipling, with his endless thirst for adventure, fill your words.