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Great Adventure Stories
From the back "Two British adventurers strike out to a remote area of India in Rudyard Kipling's world-famous 'The Man Who Would Be King.' In Anthony Hope's 'The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein,' a young man of the cloth is the only person brave enough to try to rescue a kidnapped princess. A brave cavalry officer secretly crosses enemy lines in 'How the Brigadier Saved an Army,' by Arthur Conan Doyle. These and other dramatic stories explore the qualities of courage and heroism in this special collection of Great Adventure Stories."
160 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1986
About the author
Rudyard Kipling
7,433 books3,804 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 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 23, 2018
This Watermill Classics edition and its anonymous editor present five historical adventure stories, some of which were fairly great, others provided padding. Alright, Kipling's “The Man Who Would Be King” is not strictly historical as he set it in his own time, but it's also the best story of the lot, so it's an exception all over the place.
Not to dwell on the bad, but let me just get it out of the way that Robert Louis Stevenson's “The Sire de Maletrit's Door” is easily the worst story here. It has a promising setup, with a guy in a town in France in the 15th century being trapped by a madman to be forced into an instant marriage, essentially at random. After the setup, however, the story degrades out of the adventure genre entirely and becomes a terrible half-baked romance. I kept wishing it would become like “The Challenge from Beyond” and the next author would take the reigns and have the hero start chopping up guys for great justice.
The Anthony Hope and Stanley Weman stories are shorter and play the book off nicely. Those both have kings and gambling and all that jazz.
I am very much not an Arthur Conan Doyle fan, although his story here, “How the Brigadier Saved an Army” is fairly solid. This one is set during the Napoleonic wars and has a soldier going into captured territory to light a beacon and do what the title says.
The middle three stories all concern France at various periods. Even though most of these stories revolve around war or wartime events, only Anthony Hope's story has an honest fight scene.
Anyhow, this was a decent little collection on the whole. Once I got over how pissed-off I was at the Stevenson story it went fine.
Not to dwell on the bad, but let me just get it out of the way that Robert Louis Stevenson's “The Sire de Maletrit's Door” is easily the worst story here. It has a promising setup, with a guy in a town in France in the 15th century being trapped by a madman to be forced into an instant marriage, essentially at random. After the setup, however, the story degrades out of the adventure genre entirely and becomes a terrible half-baked romance. I kept wishing it would become like “The Challenge from Beyond” and the next author would take the reigns and have the hero start chopping up guys for great justice.
The Anthony Hope and Stanley Weman stories are shorter and play the book off nicely. Those both have kings and gambling and all that jazz.
I am very much not an Arthur Conan Doyle fan, although his story here, “How the Brigadier Saved an Army” is fairly solid. This one is set during the Napoleonic wars and has a soldier going into captured territory to light a beacon and do what the title says.
The middle three stories all concern France at various periods. Even though most of these stories revolve around war or wartime events, only Anthony Hope's story has an honest fight scene.
Anyhow, this was a decent little collection on the whole. Once I got over how pissed-off I was at the Stevenson story it went fine.
June 17, 2013
PLUNGE INTO SWASHBUCKLING ADVENTURE!!!
This swashbucking anthology for boys contains five ripping yarns of daring, action and cleverness by British authors: Rudyard
Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stanley Weyman and Anthony Hope. The settings, however, are decidedly continental: India during the Raj, medieval France, the mountains of Spain during the Napoleonic wars, southern France during the pre reign of Henry the 4th, and a fictitious Germanic principality. Savor the excitement of Romantic milieus, where bold adventurers risk all for love or power!
The heroes are mainly audacious young men to whom Honor means everything- yet readers meet some surprisingly brave young women as well. This anthology provides not only a fun read for kids of all ages, but may serve as a springboard for classroom discussion in the area of Comparative Litterature. This slender volume of 160 pages provides an excellent introduction to the Short Story genre and the literary output of authors famous in adult realms. Classics for Beginners--the easy way!
(December 11, 2011. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
This swashbucking anthology for boys contains five ripping yarns of daring, action and cleverness by British authors: Rudyard
Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, Arthur Conan Doyle, Stanley Weyman and Anthony Hope. The settings, however, are decidedly continental: India during the Raj, medieval France, the mountains of Spain during the Napoleonic wars, southern France during the pre reign of Henry the 4th, and a fictitious Germanic principality. Savor the excitement of Romantic milieus, where bold adventurers risk all for love or power!
The heroes are mainly audacious young men to whom Honor means everything- yet readers meet some surprisingly brave young women as well. This anthology provides not only a fun read for kids of all ages, but may serve as a springboard for classroom discussion in the area of Comparative Litterature. This slender volume of 160 pages provides an excellent introduction to the Short Story genre and the literary output of authors famous in adult realms. Classics for Beginners--the easy way!
(December 11, 2011. I welcome dialogue with teachers.)
June 16, 2011
The Man Who Would Be King (Rudyard Kipling) - 1 star.
The Sire de Maletroit's Door (Robert Louis Stevenson) - 3 stars.
How the Brigadier Saved An Army (Arthur Conan Doyle) - 4 stars.
The King's Stratagem (Stanley Weyman) - 4 stars.
The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein (Anthony Hope) - 3 stars.
Average: 3 stars
The Sire de Maletroit's Door (Robert Louis Stevenson) - 3 stars.
How the Brigadier Saved An Army (Arthur Conan Doyle) - 4 stars.
The King's Stratagem (Stanley Weyman) - 4 stars.
The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein (Anthony Hope) - 3 stars.
Average: 3 stars
August 5, 2024
When I read this collection in elementary school, I didn't like it very much. No wonder! Between the it isn't exactly lower elementary appropriate (ages 6-10, for you non-United States folks.) However, I did like "The Sin of the Bishop of Modenstein," even at that tender age. I'm still a little baffled by how it got onto the classroom bookcase, but I can only assume that my teacher hadn't read it and thought a thin collection meant it was appropriate for small children. It isn't. Yet, it's a lovely classic short-story collection for high schoolers and older.
September 24, 2021
For an adventure anthology, these stories aren't very adventurous. The first fits the theme the best and is also the best overall. Most of the others move very slowly with not much happening overall. By far the most disappointing of the Watermill anthologies.
January 20, 2011
I borrowed this from my parents' library upon finishing THE NAKED AND THE DEAD and still having a few days in Texas on my Thanxgiving break. It contains the stories (in this order):
"The Man Who Would Be King" by Rudyard Kipling
"The Sire De Malétroit's Door" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"How The Brigadier Saved An Army" by Arthur Conan Doyle
"The King's Stratagem" by Stanley Weyman
"The Sin Of The Bishop Of Modenstein" by Anthony Hope
On the whole it was good to get a dose of classic short fiction between longer novels. The Stevenson story seemed more a love story than an adventure story, but had some elements in the early part of it. My favorites were the Conan Doyle story (espionage! intrigue! war!) and the Anthony Hope story, which was a real swashbuckler about honor, romance, and of course SWORDFIGHTING! Overall a good, and quick read (I mean, it took me the entire month between Thanxgiving and Xmas to read--I finished it on the plane on the way to my parents' place just in time to re-catalogue it on their shelves), and able to be taken in small doses. I had never read any of these stories and was glad to get some of the slightly more "off the beaten path" works of some of these authors (e.g. a non-Sherlock story from Doyle, a Stevenson story that didn't take place largely at sea, et cetera).
"The Man Who Would Be King" by Rudyard Kipling
"The Sire De Malétroit's Door" by Robert Louis Stevenson
"How The Brigadier Saved An Army" by Arthur Conan Doyle
"The King's Stratagem" by Stanley Weyman
"The Sin Of The Bishop Of Modenstein" by Anthony Hope
On the whole it was good to get a dose of classic short fiction between longer novels. The Stevenson story seemed more a love story than an adventure story, but had some elements in the early part of it. My favorites were the Conan Doyle story (espionage! intrigue! war!) and the Anthony Hope story, which was a real swashbuckler about honor, romance, and of course SWORDFIGHTING! Overall a good, and quick read (I mean, it took me the entire month between Thanxgiving and Xmas to read--I finished it on the plane on the way to my parents' place just in time to re-catalogue it on their shelves), and able to be taken in small doses. I had never read any of these stories and was glad to get some of the slightly more "off the beaten path" works of some of these authors (e.g. a non-Sherlock story from Doyle, a Stevenson story that didn't take place largely at sea, et cetera).
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews