The Essential Kipling

By: Rudyard Kipling

Narrated by: Rupert Degas, Martin Jarvis, Richard Pasco, Liza Goddard

Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865 - 1936) was an English author and poet born in Bombay, India. Educated in Britain, he later returned to Lahore, India, to work as a journalist. Kipling travelled widely and also lived in Vermont, having married Carrie Balestier, an American.

Throughout his life, Kipling never stopped writing. He was greatly revered during his lifetime and received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Essential Kipling celebrates a truly prolific and varied career; with his poetry and stories interpreted vividly by wonderful actors.

©1898 CSA Word (P)2008 CSA Word

Critic reviews

"Very readable, with good characterisation and a light touch of bugeoing romance" (Leicestershire Libraries' Book of the Month)

Kipling as you never knew him.

If you could sum up The Essential Kipling in three words, what would they be?

The whole shooting-box!

Any additional comments?

This startling compilation of Kipling's life and constant critique of the British Empire around him was a revelation to me. I have always admired him for seeing the Empire as it was. With this sympathetic reading he has become a true hero in my eyes. Well worth buying!

Fine Readings of Many of Kipling's Best Works

The only thing wrong with this collection is its title. While it offers a lot of Kipling's best works, it does not give all the works that are essential to understanding him.

Aside from that, there is little to do but listen to the book and forward it to your friends. I may have heard one word I thought was mispronounced, which is a good record for any reading and exceptional for one full of dialect of all kinds and foreign words from French, Urdu, and less well-known tongues. More importantly, each story, poem, and letter is read with understanding and clarity.

I just wish the narrators of this collection had been able to present more of Kipling's world to us.

No Index, No Reference

I LOVE Kipling! This Audible Book however has no Titles and no way to reference the various story or poem titles individually. I want to be able to go straight to the story or poem I’m looking for; alas, not in this Audible book!