The Man Who Would be King and Other Stories

‘The Man Who Would be King and Other Stories’ is a classic collection of some of the most loved short stories of Rudyard Kipling, one of the most influential and accomplished English authors of the twentieth century.

Contained here in this volume are some of his most lasting and captivating short stories, such as the titular “The Man Who Would be King”, a story of two young British adventurers who believe they can talk and intimidate their way into being kings of a small country near Afghanistan. It is a fascinating and brutal tale of greed, imperialism, arrogance, and desperation.

Also included is the haunting ghost story “The Phantom Rickshaw”, where a young man is driven mad by the ghost of the young lady he once spurned, and the dark and heartbreaking “Baa Baa, Black Sheep”, a story of an unwanted young ward who is driven to desperate acts by his cruel and heartless aunt. Together this collection includes seventeen of Kipling’s best short stories.

Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was born in Bombay, but educated in England at the United Services College, Westward Ho, Bideford. In 1882 he returned to India, where he worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers.

His literary career began with Departmental Ditties (1886), but subsequently he became chiefly known as a writer of short stories. A prolific writer, he achieved fame quickly. Kipling was the poet of the British Empire and its yeoman, the common soldier, whom he glorified in many of his works, in particular Plain Tales from the Hills (1888) and Soldiers Three (1888), collections of short stories with roughly and affectionately drawn soldier portraits. His Barrack Room Ballads (1892) were written for, as much as about, the common soldier. In 1894 appeared his Jungle Book, which became a children's classic all over the world. Kim (1901), the story of Kimball O'Hara and his adventures in the Himalayas, is perhaps his most felicitous work. Other works include The Second Jungle Book (1895), The Seven Seas (1896), Captains Courageous (1897), The Day's Work (1898), Stalky and Co. (1899), Just So Stories (1902), Trafficks and Discoveries (1904), Puck of Pook’s Hill (1906), Actions and Reactions (1909), Debits and Credits (1926), Thy Servant a Dog (1930), and Limits and Renewals (1932). During the First World War Kipling wrote some propaganda books. His collected poems appeared in 1933.
Kipling was the recipient of many honorary degrees and other awards. In 1926 he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Society of Literature, which only Scott, Meredith, and Hardy had been awarded before him.
Rudyard Kipling died on January 18, 1936.