Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

In Black and White

Rate this book
In Black and White is an unchanged, high-quality reprint of the original edition of 1895. Hansebooks is editor of the literature on different topic areas such as research and science, travel and expeditions, cooking and nutrition, medicine, and other genres. As a publisher we focus on the preservation of historical literature. Many works of historical writers and scientists are available today as antiques only. Hansebooks newly publishes these books and contributes to the preservation of literature which has become rare and historical knowledge for the future.

412 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1888

Loading...
Loading...

About the author

Rudyard Kipling

7,497 books3,813 followers
Joseph 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."

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
1 (3%)
4 stars
5 (17%)
3 stars
16 (57%)
2 stars
5 (17%)
1 star
1 (3%)
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
388 reviews1 follower
July 17, 2025
Eight short stories written in 1888:

"Dray Wara Yow Dee" - told by an Pathan (Pashtun, Afghan) narrator. I didn't see the point of this one at all.

"The Judgement of Dungara" - a Protestant missionary catastrophically fails to convert tribal Hindus called the Buria Kol. An interesting theme Kipling used for multiple short stories.

"At Howli Thana" - a Pathan narrates to an Englishman at length why he deserves a job. Just seems like imperial fluff.

"Gemini" - a very funny story about how an Indian moneylender gets English justice... for a crime committed against his twin brother.

"At Twenty-Two" - just fluff, IMO.

"In Flood Time" - Indian coal miners heroically save their own lives when the mine floods. Moderately interesting.

"The Sending of Dana Dee" - about a fictional New Religious Movement in the Raj (compare Theosophy, if you know anything about the sociology of that) and a member trying to raise his status by cursing an English officer with kittens.

"Under the City Wall" - by far the best story in this collection. A courtesan is a secret agent for rebels against the British. Kipling attempts to realistically sketch Lalun the courtesan, a Western-educated Muslim and an elderly Sikh freedom fighter against a backdrop of violence between Hindu and Muslim burghers.
Profile Image for Selamawit .
74 reviews
February 24, 2025
I liked the cover (different than one above, it was maroon), so I bought it. The first story was about a man who kills the woman he loves bc she cheated with the man she loved, awkward.
Profile Image for Jodi Lu.
130 reviews
December 11, 2010
These stories were mostly really enjoyable. Somewhat difficult, but good. Short stories are hard for me to read in any case, because of the gauge of how much information I want held back in order to balance the thing with interest that I'm not getting from the full disclosure of a novel.
But the writing was good, the length was good, and things moved along but sometimes gave me too much resolution. But I'm being too picky. There's one in here about a curse of pathetic white kittens that had me AGing (um, audibly giggling? no? okay, sorry, I am left with no viable or tongue-in-cheek way of saying I laughed audibly from the bathtub in a forum where that counts as an absolute benchmark.)
Profile Image for Brett.
150 reviews30 followers
August 7, 2008
The collection of short stories entitled "in Black and White" felt like i was reading the Old Testament. Very bizzare, content and style. The play that concluded my edition, "The Story of the Gadsbeys," I enjoyed more.
Profile Image for Manuel Sanchez.
340 reviews11 followers
March 31, 2015
Interesting read. Short stories about the culture and lives of British service men and officers in India.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews