Rudyard Kipling

Palmer, John, 1885-1944Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.8

Word count: 115K words
Chapters: 12

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Rudyard Kipling by John PalmerAuthor: Palmer, John, 1885-1944,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Mar 24, 2006

Editor's review

This critical biography of Kipling by John Palmer is a typical product of early twentieth-century English literary criticism. Writing as a contemporary, the author traces Kipling's creative development from the Indian short stories to the long imperial narratives, combining biographical threads with commentary on the works. Its value lies not in fresh material but in preserving the judgments and discursive style of critics at the height of Kipling's reputation, making it useful for the study of reception history. The text is in English and of moderate length, written with the ease and moral concern of the late Victorian essay, and it conveys the tastes of its time. The Project Gutenberg edition is easy to search and cite, suitable as supplementary material for Kipling studies and as background reading for readers interested in British imperial literature and colonial writing. A caveat: the book's views carry clear period limitations and say little about the controversies of Kipling's later reputation, so it should be read alongside contemporary criticism.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of English literature studying Kipling and the reception history of his time
Comparative literature readers interested in British imperial and colonial writing
Those who want to understand the style of early twentieth-century biographical criticism
Enthusiasts with some English reading ability who want to broaden their late Victorian literary background

Not a good fit for

Beginners expecting a systematic survey of all Kipling's works and controversies
Ordinary readers who find English difficult and want a Chinese translation
Readers looking only for Kipling's own works rather than secondary criticism

Reading tips

Read a few representative Kipling short stories first, then return to the corresponding commentary to see the gap between period judgment and present-day views.
Treat the book as reception-history material, noting the evaluative vocabulary and moral judgments the author uses, for later comparison with contemporary scholarship.
Read it alongside later postcolonial criticism to form a timeline of changing assessments of Kipling.
The electronic edition is good for searching names and titles; jump by theme rather than proceeding chapter by chapter.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this Kipling's own work or someone else's commentary?

This is a critical biography by John Palmer, a study and commentary on Kipling's life and works, not a novel or poem by Kipling himself. It helps to have read some Kipling first to follow the commentary.

Are the book's views still reliable?

The book preserves the typical early twentieth-century critical judgment of Kipling and has value for reception history, but it carries clear period limitations and reflects too little on imperial narrative and colonial writing. Read it against contemporary postcolonial scholarship rather than as a sole reference.

How difficult is the English, and is it suitable for non-native readers?

The prose is early twentieth-century critical biography, with fairly long sentences and vocabulary that is not very difficult but carries the feel of its period. Readers with university-level English can manage; if it proves hard, read Chinese translations of Kipling's short stories first for background, then return to this book.

Comments

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About the author

Palmer, John, 1885-1944 Author

John Palmer (1885–1944) was a British writer and literary critic known chiefly for his biographical and critical writing. His representative work, Peter Paragon: A Tale of Youth, centers on youth and coming-of-age, with close attention to character psychology and the turns of fate; his other work, Rudyard Kipling, is a critical study of the British writer that surveys Kipling's creative profile and literary standing. Palmer's prose is plain and clear, combining narrative and critical elements and forming a personal style between biography and literary criticism. His output is modest, focused on figures and coming-of-age narratives, and offers some reference value for understanding early twentieth-century British criticism and biographical writing. Other public information about his life is limited.