The Kipling Reader

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 343K words
Chapters: 35

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.The Kipling Reader by Rudyard KiplingAuthor: Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936,Language: English, Class: PR: Language and Literatures: English literature, Release Date: Aug 21, 2005

Editor's review

The Kipling Reader is a selection of Kipling's work, drawing on both poetry and short stories and serving as an accessible introduction to his literary world. As a reader's anthology, its value lies in presenting the range of Kipling's writing in relatively compact form, so that readers need not begin with the bulk of a complete edition. Since the original is in English, it can be read both as literature and as graded reading material for English learners. The Project Gutenberg edition is easy to obtain and suits fragmented reading on commutes or trips, and it is also convenient for teachers selecting pieces for classroom reading or discussion. Note that a selection is not a complete works: those who wish to study a particular genre systematically should return to the full texts.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature enthusiasts who want an initial taste of Kipling through a selection
Upper-level students with good English who want to sharpen their sense of the language through literature
English teachers looking for pieces for reading aloud or classroom use
Readers who enjoy mixed short stories and poetry and can read in scattered moments

Not a good fit for

Researchers who need complete texts for scholarly citation
Readers with weak English who want to start from zero
Readers who prefer only long continuous narratives and dislike selections of fragments

Reading tips

Read through the table of contents first, group the poems and stories, and concentrate on a few pieces in the category that interests you.
Read one short piece or poem a day, then retell the main points aloud, balancing literature and language.
When a piece's historical background is unclear, note the question first and look it up after finishing the section.

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 book a complete works of Kipling?

No. It is a reader's anthology compiled from selected poems and stories by Kipling, relatively compact in length. For systematic research, you will need fuller collections or individual volumes; the selection is better suited to introduction and browsing.

Can readers with average English read this book?

You can try, but some foundation is needed. The selection includes poetry and narrative prose in a period-flavored style, so readers with weak English may need to look up words frequently. Try one or two pieces first; if there are too many unfamiliar words, use a translation alongside or choose easier material.

What should I note when reading the electronic edition?

The Project Gutenberg edition is a public-domain electronic text, mainly plain text without the layout of a printed book. Adjust font size and line spacing, and use the table of contents or search function to locate pieces quickly, so that scrolling through a long text does not disrupt your reading rhythm.

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About the author

Kipling, Rudyard, 1865-1936 Author

Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) was a British writer, and this library holds sixty-five of his works. Publicly available material on his life is limited, so the following introduction focuses on his writings. He is known chiefly for fiction and fairy tales, often dealing with animals, the jungle, exotic adventure and youthful growth. His language is vivid, his narrative pace brisk, and his stories combine imagination with moral meaning. The Jungle Book and The Second Jungle Book, set in the Indian jungle, tell of the boy Mowgli among the animals and have been widely read; Just So Stories explains in a light manner how animals came by their features; Kim portrays growth and the search for identity in an Indian setting; Puck of Pook's Hill draws on history and legend to tell of England's past; and The Man Who Would Be King displays adventure and ambition. His works are often classed as inspirational coming-of-age reading and have had a lasting influence on children's literature and English-language readers.