

Implied throughout the stories is the question 'What happened to these fifteen-year-old boys, and how did the lessons they learned at school apply to the world of warfare and imperial government?' Kipling portrays school as the first stage of a much larger game, a pattern-maker for the experiences of life.

He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined.Īwarded 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." 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. 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. 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".

His poems include Mandalay (1890), Gunga Din (1890), The Gods of the Copybook Headings (1919), The White Man's Burden (1899), and If- (1910).

Kipling's works of fiction include The Jungle Book (1894), Kim (1901), and many short stories, including The Man Who Would Be King (1888). Joseph Rudyard Kipling was a journalist, short-story writer, poet, and novelist.
