Rudyard Kipling

Rudyard Kipling Biography

Rudyard Kipling was a very British writer known for his famous book for children, Jungle Book (1894), which became a children's classic all over the world. He is a recipient of Nobel Prize for literature before Tagore won it for Gitanjali. In 1907 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize. Up to date, he is the youngest recipient of Nobel Prize as well. In 1926 he received the Gold Medal from the Royal Society of Literature.

His most memorable works include - The Second Jungle Book (1895), The Seven Seas (1896), Captains Courageous (1897), The Day's Work (1898), The White Man's Burden (1899), Stalky and Co. (1899), If (1910), Just So Stories (1902), Plain Tales from the Hills (1888), Soldiers Three (1888), Kim (1901), Just So Stories for Little Children (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). His collections of poems were published in the year 1933. Kipling was one of the most popular writers in England during late 19^th and earliest 20^th century.     

Rudyard Kipling was born on 30 December 1865 in Mumbai, in the Bombay Presidency of British India. His parents were Alice Kipling and Lockwood Kipling. John Lockwood and Alice had met in 1863, got married and moved to India. Rudyard was born in India. He was taken to England when he was 5 years old. His education was completed in England. In 1882 he returned to India and he worked for Anglo-Indian newspapers. He has worked for Civil and Military Gazette in Lahore.  39 stories appeared in the Gazette between November 1886 and June 1887. As a writer his first work was Departmental Ditties (1886). Later he became widely known for short stories and children’s works. His works about British soldiers in India and kids’ tales were most popular. His works well reflected cultural life and social life of India at that time. He has visited places like Shimla, Allahabad etc as a part of his job.

His first prose collection was published in Calcutta in January 1888 - Plain Tales from the Hills, followed by numerous works. Soldiers Three, The Story of the Gadsbys, In Black and White, Under the Deodars, The Phantom Rickshaw and Wee Willie Winkie are a few of those published short stories. On 9 March 1889, Kipling left India and moved to Britain.  Though born to British parents in India, his works during first stage of his career truly reflected Indian life style and culture a lot.

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Updated: October 08, 2013