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Collected Stories
This selection covers the full range of Kipling's extraordinary short stories throughout his career. Ranging in subject matter from the Indain to the Occult, from children to animals, from domestic comedy to public tragedy, each is masterly in its way. Above all, they convey a wonderful sense of life and energy and reveal Kipling as a far greater and more diverse writer than most people suspect.
This is an ideal gift-book, perfect for reading in short snatches or long stretches, according to taste.
This is an ideal gift-book, perfect for reading in short snatches or long stretches, according to taste.
911 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1888
13 people are currently reading
350 people want to read
About the author
Rudyard Kipling
7,043 books3,647 followersJoseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), 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 classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), 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 classics of children's literature; and one critic described his work as exhibiting "a versatile and luminous narrative gift".
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Henry James said: "Kipling strikes me personally as the most complete man of genius (as distinct from fine intelligence) that I have ever known." In 1907, at the age of 41, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize, and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 "in consideration of the power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration which characterize the creations of this world-famous author."
Kipling kept writing until the early 1930s, but at a slower pace and with much less success than before. On the night of 12 January 1936, Kipling suffered a haemorrhage in his small intestine. He underwent surgery, but died less than a week later on 18 January 1936 at the age of 70 of a perforated duodenal ulcer. Kipling's death had in fact previously been incorrectly announced in a magazine, to which he wrote, "I've just read that I am dead. Don't forget to delete me from your list of subscribers."
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 8, 2023
By the ripe age of five and twenty
This Arthur Rimbaud of the Raj
Having written more than plenty
Really yearned for a massage
Words flowed out of him in torrents
Poems novels sketches stories
Depicting in fine shades the torments
Of colonial British Tories
They all said he was a natural
At least that’s what the great James said
His genius (far from gradual)
Sprung fully formed from his young head
Rudyard was unstoppable
While his pen was running hot
But he awoke one day unable
To write like James Joyce and whatnot
He changed his subject not his manner
And went on publishing good stuff
Which helped him pay for his large manor
But the critics on him were tough
I guess you can’t stay cool forever
Especially when your stock and trade
Consists of not deciding whether
To sit out in the sun or shade
Can’t have your cake and eat it too
Not when your cake’s an empire
Now any reader sees right through
Your words when you’re a vampire
But I’m not here to point a finger
At Tom Dick Harry or Jane
I do not like to dwell or linger
On an author’s slightest stain
What I look for is good writing
And what a writer Kipling was
(Though I don’t think I would invite him
Over for dinner at my house)
For all the length of this fat book
A single page I could not skip
Yes I confess my spirit shook
Under the spell of Master Kip
July 7, 2015
Rudyard Kipling, who lived in India during the time of the British Raj (1865-1936), was a master storyteller with an undisputed genius for creating the beauty and lure of his exotic world on paper in such an enchanting and yet believable form that we as readers must refer to Shakespeare and Dickens to find writers as precocious.
As his career developed, Kipling's talent grew, and he refined his style and continued to become a better writer. Reading these forty stories, which span his entire career, it is obvious that the writings at the end of his life are significantly better than the remarkable work at the beginning. It is also important to note that his work mirrors the emotional milestones in his life. For example, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" is a heart-wrenching revisiting of Kipling's childhood trauma. Due to this trauma, revenge is a common theme in his early stories; however, when Kipling himself experiences the loss of his beloved six-year-old daughter Josephine in 1899 and his son John in the war in 1915, he begins to reveal his feelings and deal with them in his fiction. He emerges from themes of revenge to embrace themes of healing. These come at the end of the book and include stories like "Dayspring Mishandled," "The House Surgeon," and "Mary Postgate."
There are so many delightful and varied stories: the mystical "The Gardener," the superb adventure "The Man Who Would Be King," and "The Wish House," which deals with old age and death, and may be Kipling's finest story; however, there are so many fine, true stories. How can we choose just one? Reading the collection in its entirety is the only way to get a true sense of Kipling's achievement as the master short story writer.
As his career developed, Kipling's talent grew, and he refined his style and continued to become a better writer. Reading these forty stories, which span his entire career, it is obvious that the writings at the end of his life are significantly better than the remarkable work at the beginning. It is also important to note that his work mirrors the emotional milestones in his life. For example, "Baa Baa, Black Sheep" is a heart-wrenching revisiting of Kipling's childhood trauma. Due to this trauma, revenge is a common theme in his early stories; however, when Kipling himself experiences the loss of his beloved six-year-old daughter Josephine in 1899 and his son John in the war in 1915, he begins to reveal his feelings and deal with them in his fiction. He emerges from themes of revenge to embrace themes of healing. These come at the end of the book and include stories like "Dayspring Mishandled," "The House Surgeon," and "Mary Postgate."
There are so many delightful and varied stories: the mystical "The Gardener," the superb adventure "The Man Who Would Be King," and "The Wish House," which deals with old age and death, and may be Kipling's finest story; however, there are so many fine, true stories. How can we choose just one? Reading the collection in its entirety is the only way to get a true sense of Kipling's achievement as the master short story writer.
April 10, 2014
The 40 stories collected here cover a wide range of styles: tragedy, comedy, supernatural, and science-fiction. Some stories were written in late 19th century, others in early 20th century, and they're not necessarily collected in the order in which they were written. Most of the stories I enjoyed, though there were a few that I couldn't get into and couldn't wait to finish (just to get to the next one).
Of course some stories stood out more than others, my favourites being:
A Bank Fraud
The Drums Of The Fore And Aft
The Man Who Would Be King
The Mark Of The Beast
The Strange Ride Of Morrowbie Jukes
Baa Baa, Black Sheep
The Maltese Cat
"In Ambush"
"Wireless"
The House Surgeon
The Janeites
The Eye Of Allah
Dayspring Mishandled
The Church That Was At Antioch
Which is not to say that the rest aren't any good, far from it, but these are the ones that I enjoyed reading most (even more so the ones in bold), "In Ambush" getting top honours.
It should be noted that 24 of the 40 stories included in this book can also be found in The Man Who Would Be King: Selected Stories. Of the fourteen stories listed above, nine can be found in both volumes (these are the ones NOT underlined). Out of both collections, I think I prefer this one. It has a slightly bigger print font (which makes it easier to read), and has more stories that I liked. To clinch it, it's also a hardcover with a nice dust jacket.
It was a great pleasure for me to discover Rudyard Kipling, as well as his versatility. If you haven't read Rudyard Kipling yet (or much, aside from The Jungle Book), you should give this book a look. Because its contents are so varied, you are sure to find something to your liking in this collection (or the other one!).
Of course some stories stood out more than others, my favourites being:
A Bank Fraud
The Drums Of The Fore And Aft
The Man Who Would Be King
The Mark Of The Beast
The Strange Ride Of Morrowbie Jukes
Baa Baa, Black Sheep
The Maltese Cat
"In Ambush"
"Wireless"
The House Surgeon
The Janeites
The Eye Of Allah
Dayspring Mishandled
The Church That Was At Antioch
Which is not to say that the rest aren't any good, far from it, but these are the ones that I enjoyed reading most (even more so the ones in bold), "In Ambush" getting top honours.
It should be noted that 24 of the 40 stories included in this book can also be found in The Man Who Would Be King: Selected Stories. Of the fourteen stories listed above, nine can be found in both volumes (these are the ones NOT underlined). Out of both collections, I think I prefer this one. It has a slightly bigger print font (which makes it easier to read), and has more stories that I liked. To clinch it, it's also a hardcover with a nice dust jacket.
It was a great pleasure for me to discover Rudyard Kipling, as well as his versatility. If you haven't read Rudyard Kipling yet (or much, aside from The Jungle Book), you should give this book a look. Because its contents are so varied, you are sure to find something to your liking in this collection (or the other one!).
March 26, 2024
Kipling’s story, “The Gardener,” perhaps more than any other short story I have read, simply put, blessed me. It gave me such a salient picture of God’s grace - palpable, overwhelming, familiar, and yet, otherworldly.
So many of the other stories in this volume astound, although non equal to the Gardener. That high bar aside, Kipling is a master. He tells stories through conversation, which is, to be sure, how stories are told. Short stories are the true test of any writer - how to develop plot and theme and character, all within a handful of pages? Kipling does it, repeatedly. His use of language is exquisite. His similes, perfect (a ship comes in to port quietly like a vailed woman walking in a bazaar …), his characters, unique yet knowable. His diction and prose, superlunary.
Some of the stories are “hard.” Hard to follow, difficult to understand. The fault lies in the reader.
Good literature transports. That’s what these stories do. My gaze has been widened, and I am grateful.
So many of the other stories in this volume astound, although non equal to the Gardener. That high bar aside, Kipling is a master. He tells stories through conversation, which is, to be sure, how stories are told. Short stories are the true test of any writer - how to develop plot and theme and character, all within a handful of pages? Kipling does it, repeatedly. His use of language is exquisite. His similes, perfect (a ship comes in to port quietly like a vailed woman walking in a bazaar …), his characters, unique yet knowable. His diction and prose, superlunary.
Some of the stories are “hard.” Hard to follow, difficult to understand. The fault lies in the reader.
Good literature transports. That’s what these stories do. My gaze has been widened, and I am grateful.
December 15, 2021
Only 4 stories out of 40 did I enjoy!
January 7, 2020
This is a very good cross-section of stories from Kipling's vast repertoire. Two which strike one are his war stories "Mary Postgate" and "The Gardner." Both deal with young men cut down by war in their prime and the lingering emptiness, grief and sense of loss faced by loved ones left behind. The anguish is all the more poignant because in both stories those bereaving are not direct relations and thus the love is based on actual depth of relationship rather than mere nature of relationship. Of the two "Mary Postgate" is the more complex and in many ways harrowing one with the appearance of another dark theme on display in Kipling's work - revenge. It is followed by a poem that leaves one somewhat stunned by its calm exploration of the theme of hate. Written in the same year - 1915 - when he lost his son it is easy to gauge where the depth of despair is coming from.
"The Eye of Allah" on the other hand has Kipling bringing to life a medieval abbey and a discourse over whether the discovery of an early microscope brought back by one of the artist monks during his travels in Spain ought to be promoted to fight mysterious diseases and discover a whole new world of life or whether it would be ushering in something before its time, inviting also the wrath of the church. 'City of the Dreadful Night" is a masterpiece of powerful description and mood creation - a hot August moonlit night in Lahore with its inhabitants struggling to catch some sleep in the stifling air, the many sleeping in the open appearing like corpses in white shrouds - a superb phantasmagoria. 'The Disturber of Traffic' is about a lighthouse keeper who is disturbed by streaks in the tides caused, as he thinks, by ships, and therefore contrives to keep them away from the Indonesian strait that he guards - it is a hard to read but still compelling narration of descent into madness. 'The Maltese Cat' has a competitive polo match from the perspective of the horses and ponies participating in it and is rich in excellent description of the sport and ingenious in its exploration of animal psychology and relationship with humans.
'Without Benefit of Clergy' is a particularly tragic love story between a sahib and a native girl who bears him a child, the transience of life, the unbearableness of the pain of loss, and how natural calamity scythes down that which has been joyful and intact (the descriptions of cholera coming to the city are fantastic).
'The Head of the District' is as good a Kipling story as any for insights into his complex relationship with colonialism. Sentimental at one level it shows - through the eyes of a dying sahib - his love for India; but also deep contempt for successor Bengali officer. Ultimately the sensitive, caring & paternal Gora Sahib far better suited to and popular an administrator of Indians than a bright, aloof and more British than the British Bengali - a classic display of his White Man's Burden perspective on things. 'The Bridge-Builders' is masterful in its detailed descriptions of bridge-building as well as the menace and actual arrival of a flood in the river Ganga that threatens the under construction bridge. However, it contains also a bizarre opium-induced dream sequence that has the dreaming sahib witnessing a conversation between old Hindu gods fearing their eventual demise with the arrival of fire-carriages (trains) and their makers (reminiscent a little at times of the Jungle Books) - once again a typically complex & problematic Kipling fascination with empire, power and upending world orders. A related theme is that of the perpetual contestation between the spiritual and the material. 'A Sahib's War' is a first person account by a Sikh orderly devoted to his white sahib who perishes in the Boer war in South Africa (the story provides a good insight into the guerilla tactics used in the war as well as Kipling's frustration at what he thinks are more restrained tactics used by the British). While one can well imagine such a bond the story has many characteristic more nauseous Kiplingian features such as stereotypes, mockery and caricatures of Indians; elevation of the White Sahib as a noble, superior and benevolent being; justification and glorification of empire;,and, a propensity to at times, celebrate and extol violence and revenge.
'Mark of the Beast' firmly belongs to the empire-Gothic sub-genre of stories and one of those tales where Kipling explores the ghostly and the super-natural. A dead-drunk sahib commits a sacrilege in a Hanuman temple, gets touched and stalked by a strange faceless, silver, naked human figure and starts turning into a beast.
"The Eye of Allah" on the other hand has Kipling bringing to life a medieval abbey and a discourse over whether the discovery of an early microscope brought back by one of the artist monks during his travels in Spain ought to be promoted to fight mysterious diseases and discover a whole new world of life or whether it would be ushering in something before its time, inviting also the wrath of the church. 'City of the Dreadful Night" is a masterpiece of powerful description and mood creation - a hot August moonlit night in Lahore with its inhabitants struggling to catch some sleep in the stifling air, the many sleeping in the open appearing like corpses in white shrouds - a superb phantasmagoria. 'The Disturber of Traffic' is about a lighthouse keeper who is disturbed by streaks in the tides caused, as he thinks, by ships, and therefore contrives to keep them away from the Indonesian strait that he guards - it is a hard to read but still compelling narration of descent into madness. 'The Maltese Cat' has a competitive polo match from the perspective of the horses and ponies participating in it and is rich in excellent description of the sport and ingenious in its exploration of animal psychology and relationship with humans.
'Without Benefit of Clergy' is a particularly tragic love story between a sahib and a native girl who bears him a child, the transience of life, the unbearableness of the pain of loss, and how natural calamity scythes down that which has been joyful and intact (the descriptions of cholera coming to the city are fantastic).
'The Head of the District' is as good a Kipling story as any for insights into his complex relationship with colonialism. Sentimental at one level it shows - through the eyes of a dying sahib - his love for India; but also deep contempt for successor Bengali officer. Ultimately the sensitive, caring & paternal Gora Sahib far better suited to and popular an administrator of Indians than a bright, aloof and more British than the British Bengali - a classic display of his White Man's Burden perspective on things. 'The Bridge-Builders' is masterful in its detailed descriptions of bridge-building as well as the menace and actual arrival of a flood in the river Ganga that threatens the under construction bridge. However, it contains also a bizarre opium-induced dream sequence that has the dreaming sahib witnessing a conversation between old Hindu gods fearing their eventual demise with the arrival of fire-carriages (trains) and their makers (reminiscent a little at times of the Jungle Books) - once again a typically complex & problematic Kipling fascination with empire, power and upending world orders. A related theme is that of the perpetual contestation between the spiritual and the material. 'A Sahib's War' is a first person account by a Sikh orderly devoted to his white sahib who perishes in the Boer war in South Africa (the story provides a good insight into the guerilla tactics used in the war as well as Kipling's frustration at what he thinks are more restrained tactics used by the British). While one can well imagine such a bond the story has many characteristic more nauseous Kiplingian features such as stereotypes, mockery and caricatures of Indians; elevation of the White Sahib as a noble, superior and benevolent being; justification and glorification of empire;,and, a propensity to at times, celebrate and extol violence and revenge.
'Mark of the Beast' firmly belongs to the empire-Gothic sub-genre of stories and one of those tales where Kipling explores the ghostly and the super-natural. A dead-drunk sahib commits a sacrilege in a Hanuman temple, gets touched and stalked by a strange faceless, silver, naked human figure and starts turning into a beast.
March 23, 2019
Overall rating is 2.5. It's hard to like these stories because so many of the characters say derogatory words and are racist. It's a waste of a fine talent, but just goes to show the reader how awful the English treated the people and the country of India. Here were a few of the better stories:
4stars
The Man who Would be King
4stars
The Finest Story in the World
4stars
The Mark of the Beast
4stars
The Strange Ride
4stars
Ba Ba Black Sheep
4stars
The Man who Would be King
4stars
The Finest Story in the World
4stars
The Mark of the Beast
4stars
The Strange Ride
4stars
Ba Ba Black Sheep
December 12, 2012
Strange tales with weird, wonderful, and engaging characters.
January 25, 2019
I've read a good deal of Kipling over recent years, including his novels and poetry. What makes this collection so special is the sheer range of his powers - schoolboy stories, fighting in Afghan stories, and then those that genuinely bring tears to one's eyes, those about old soldiers and the immense suffering they have endured. Some are even a little bit funny. Of course to us in the 21st century he looks like an anachronism, all empire and racism, but allow for the period, even as we do with Mark Twain, and this is the cream.
November 22, 2023
This is probably the definitive collection of Kipling's short stories, some 40 of them. Even at that, it's only a small portion of his work--novels, plays, poems and more. I read about ten, aiming for the "best" ones, as identified in the introduction. I didn't love most of them, excepting the wonderful "The Man Who Would Be King" (also made into a great movie). If you're a Kipling fan, this is your meat; otherwise, pass on.
June 11, 2022
A fine selection of Rudyard Kipling's that cover the board scope of his writings from the realist to the fantastic. Will I didn't love every story the same when Kipling is at he best he is the finest short story writers in any language
January 5, 2022
I read volume 1 and it was 627 pages. It doesn't take 627 pages of Kipling's short stories to get the point. Definitely go for the 'selected' version if you can.
July 9, 2024
Possible the finest selection of Kipling vast bibliography of shorts stories, show his mastery of different genera,topics, and settings.
February 5, 2016
This book is a chronological collection of Kipling's short stories, not including the Just So Stories. This arrangement by itself is enough to show Kipling's evolution and experimentation as a fervent and prolific writer. Leaving aside his politics and the different refraction of meaning - inevitable when reading an author not only from a different century but also a different cultural and moral perspective - Kipling's range and talent have few equals. Interesting characters and compelling narratives are difficult to produce in a novel let alone a short story, yet this collection offers some excellent constructions. Though some stories are barely potboilers, some such as "Baa Baa Black Sheep" and "The Bridge Builders" can truly resonate. I would recommend this compact collection as an introduction to his work, to be read at first in no particular order and perhaps more critically on the second pass.
October 30, 2010
A wonderful collection of stories, this reminds us why Kipling was revered as an author. Certainly his most famous work, The Man Who Would Be King, is a startlingly fantastic story and finds a place in this collection. However my particular fondness comes more from Kipling's muted stories about small people acting in small settings.
Wireless is wonderful little gem that can't help but transport the reader to it's both mystical and completely pedestrian environment. Stories from the point of view of the ponies playing polo, or small romantic plots pervade the pages. This is the perfect book for a rainy day.
Wireless is wonderful little gem that can't help but transport the reader to it's both mystical and completely pedestrian environment. Stories from the point of view of the ponies playing polo, or small romantic plots pervade the pages. This is the perfect book for a rainy day.
May 15, 2009
I was pretty disappointed with this one.
First off, I have never before seen a book called "Collected" when it wasn't all of that persons work of that type. If it's a selection of stories it should be called "Selected".
Secondly, I have read a number of Kipling stories and I know that there are a lot of them that I like. While there were some that I was happy to see in this collection, I felt like a lot of the stories were sort of mediocre.
First off, I have never before seen a book called "Collected" when it wasn't all of that persons work of that type. If it's a selection of stories it should be called "Selected".
Secondly, I have read a number of Kipling stories and I know that there are a lot of them that I like. While there were some that I was happy to see in this collection, I felt like a lot of the stories were sort of mediocre.
December 12, 2014
I am a fan of Rudyard Kipling, but there some short stories that are more interesting than others. For instance "the man who would be king" and "the house surgeon".
I like his writing style and the era of his writing fascinates me. I bought his collected works on my book and will be reading his other novels later.
Overall, some stories were good while others failed to fascinate me.
I like his writing style and the era of his writing fascinates me. I bought his collected works on my book and will be reading his other novels later.
Overall, some stories were good while others failed to fascinate me.
Read
March 22, 2015"...for when young lips ace drunk deep of the bitter waters of Hat, Suspicion, and Despair, all the Love in the world will not wholly take away that knowledge; though it may turn darkened eyes for a while to the light, and teach Faith where no Faith was."
(concluding note from: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)
A disturbing anecdote reflecting Kipling's own dark childhood - left me quite perplexed.
(concluding note from: Baa, Baa, Black Sheep)
A disturbing anecdote reflecting Kipling's own dark childhood - left me quite perplexed.
July 14, 2011
Somehow I had never read anything by Kipling before and did so more for academic purposes than for pleasure. Accordingly, I was pleasantly surprised by these stories. I would recommend this collection and look forward to reading Kim and other works.
July 29, 2014
Read this so many years ago in childhood. Loved it. Returned to it many times.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews