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Soldiers Three
The first publication of a collection of seven stories called Soldiers Three was as No 1 of A.H. Wheeler & Co.’s Indian Railway Library, a slim volume of 97 pages printed at the “Pioneer” Press, Allahabad in 1888 called Soldiers a collection of stories setting forth certain passages in the lives and adventures of Privates Terence Mulvaney, Stanley Ortheris and John Learoyd, done into type and edited by Rudyard Kipling. In 1899, it became part of the book Soldiers Three and Other Stories, known to most people by the simpler title Soldiers Three.
386 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1888
About the author
Rudyard Kipling
7,500 books3,811 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 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 8, 2023
I think I’ve accidentally started a personal tradition of beginning the year with Kipling, and I’m not mad about it
A few duds (there always are), but some of these stories are just so good
A few duds (there always are), but some of these stories are just so good
June 7, 2016
Old but sterling silver reading. An evening with this book will be appreciated long afterwards. May even tempt one into some of the rest of the prodigious Kipling prose. No military experience required to generate a laugh at times.
Want to Read
January 10, 2026Unannotated Book in F. Scott Fitzgerald's College of One
August 20, 2015
Between the various dialects, British military terminology and pidgin Hindi, this book would be better read in translation. The three soldiers are an Irish man, a Yorkshire man, and a Londoner. This probably was the opening of some joke back in the days of the Raj, but, alas, lost on a modern audience. Ditto the casual racism (once you figure out what a "nay-gur" is) and class structure (just like in the 1700s, experienced enlisted men are expected to both defer to and teach stripling officers). There are some good stories buried in Soldiers Three, but under a lot of baggage.
January 25, 2017
dialect heavy stories of three enlisted English soldiers in India. dialects hard going at times
December 1, 2019
I liked most of the stories, but unless you are an excellent reader and a champion at staying on task, I cannot recommend this book. It is written phonetically and is very difficult to understand.
October 12, 2018
Je renoue avec le thème ayant fait le succès de « Kim » – une de mes toutes récentes lectures- et auquel Kipling s’attache fortement, à savoir l’occupation anglaise des terres d’Inde.
Dans ce recueil de nouvelles, l’écriture est truffée de mots empruntés au jargon militaire (et quelquefois hindi), ce qui en fait une découverte intéressante.
Lesdites nouvelles se prêtent peu à une analyse littéraire à même de les décortiquer, tellement elles sont décrites et relatées dans un esprit alliant spontanéité et véhémence, sous forme de témoignages notamment :
« ….Je ne me sentais plus capable de continuer à vivre, et je ne voyais plus rien qui valût la peine de vivre. Écoutez, les gars ! Je suis fatigué… fatigué ! Je n’ai plus que de l’eau dans les os. Laissez-moi mourir. »
Les personnages (dit les trois mousquetaires) dans les récits, font montre d’une solide amitié malgré tous les dangers encourus :
« …..Eh bien ! Comme je vous disais, nous restions là, à nous souffler réciproquement dans la figure et à jurer abondamment. Ortheris maudit la mère qui l’a porté parce qu’il n’était pas de dix centimètres plus grand ; puis il dit :
– Baisse-toi, gourde, que je puisse en attraper un pardessus ton épaule.
– Tu vas me broyer le crâne, que je dis, en écartant mon bras ; vas-y plutôt par-dessous mon aisselle, petit sagouin sanguinaire, que je dis, mais ne m’atteins pas ou je t’arrache les oreilles… ».
Dire que l’étude des œuvres de Rudyard Kipling s’achèvera de sitôt me serait un grand déshonneur : Par sa délicatesse et la trame d’imagination que l’écriture requiert pour venir à bout d’un récit d’aventure avec brio, ce genre mérite d’être davantage étudié. Loin des nouvelles, j’aurai l’occasion de retrouver une fois de plus cet auteur dans un de ses best-sellers.
Dans ce recueil de nouvelles, l’écriture est truffée de mots empruntés au jargon militaire (et quelquefois hindi), ce qui en fait une découverte intéressante.
Lesdites nouvelles se prêtent peu à une analyse littéraire à même de les décortiquer, tellement elles sont décrites et relatées dans un esprit alliant spontanéité et véhémence, sous forme de témoignages notamment :
« ….Je ne me sentais plus capable de continuer à vivre, et je ne voyais plus rien qui valût la peine de vivre. Écoutez, les gars ! Je suis fatigué… fatigué ! Je n’ai plus que de l’eau dans les os. Laissez-moi mourir. »
Les personnages (dit les trois mousquetaires) dans les récits, font montre d’une solide amitié malgré tous les dangers encourus :
« …..Eh bien ! Comme je vous disais, nous restions là, à nous souffler réciproquement dans la figure et à jurer abondamment. Ortheris maudit la mère qui l’a porté parce qu’il n’était pas de dix centimètres plus grand ; puis il dit :
– Baisse-toi, gourde, que je puisse en attraper un pardessus ton épaule.
– Tu vas me broyer le crâne, que je dis, en écartant mon bras ; vas-y plutôt par-dessous mon aisselle, petit sagouin sanguinaire, que je dis, mais ne m’atteins pas ou je t’arrache les oreilles… ».
Dire que l’étude des œuvres de Rudyard Kipling s’achèvera de sitôt me serait un grand déshonneur : Par sa délicatesse et la trame d’imagination que l’écriture requiert pour venir à bout d’un récit d’aventure avec brio, ce genre mérite d’être davantage étudié. Loin des nouvelles, j’aurai l’occasion de retrouver une fois de plus cet auteur dans un de ses best-sellers.
November 30, 2019
I wasn't impressed. I like Rudyard Kipling, but I think I'll stay clear of his short stories from now on. The stories in this book struck me as ordinary. One of the reasons I rated it as a three-star instead of a two-star collection was because Rudyard held true to his style of writing which I happen to like. He spells out the phonetics of the speech patterns and stays true to that for the duration of the story. He still did this with this collection and I truly enjoy reading that type of literature. The first story is thick with the language and I had to read it out loud for the first few pages to hear how the characters sounded and I found that is added a realistic dimension to the scenes.
The stories are well written, and I believe they would be appropriate for people who like history, theater, short works of fiction, and Historical Fiction.
The stories are well written, and I believe they would be appropriate for people who like history, theater, short works of fiction, and Historical Fiction.
August 23, 2018
The main part of this book revolves around Learoyd, Mulvaney and Ortheris, which for Kipling he refer's to as 'the three musketeers'. I have found these books and short stories, all unique in there own terms, boring, drab and mundain. They become rather tedious at times. In part a look at Military Life in India, but, they can become quite uncomfortable reading. some of the books are marks of why Kipling has been such a divisive write of his time, being a British Born Indian under the Raj in India. However the play on Gadsby is the main redeeming factor of this book. Like with so much of Kipling, the rare books that do shine, are quite outstanding and worth to treasure.
December 17, 2022
Kipling is certainly fond of his three equivocal "heroes": Mulvaney, Ortheris, and Learoyd--they featured prominently in "Plain Tales" and in every story in this short collection. There are certainly laughs to be had, and wisdom about the slackening of Britain's hold on India, but one must read carefully to appreciate Kipling's steadfast attempt to reproduce the accents of each--an Irishman, a Yorkshireman, and a Cockney.
March 2, 2022
Set of short stories of the British and/or the people of India. The collection’s title really only applies to some of the stories at the beginning of the book.
February 5, 2015
This is a very enjoyable collection of some of Kipling's Indian short stories. The only one I didn't care for was a play about the courtship and marriage of a couple in the army.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews