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Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling
Charles Allen traces the Indian experiences of Kipling's parents, Lockwood and Alice, and reveals what kind of culture the young writer was born into and then returned to when still a teenager.
426 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2007
14 people are currently reading
154 people want to read
About the author
Charles Allen
141Ìýbooks105ÌýfollowersCharles Allen is a British writer and historian. He was born in India, where several generations of his family served under the British Raj. His work focuses on India and South Asia in general. Allen's most notable work is Kipling Sahib, a biography of Rudyard Kipling. His most recent work, Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor, was published in February 2012.
Selected works
1975. Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century.
1977. RAJ: A Scrapbook of British India 1877-1947.
1979. Tales from the Dark Continent: Images of British Colonial Africa in the Twentieth Century.
1982. A Mountain in Tibet: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers of India.
1983. Tales from the South China Seas: Images of the British in South-East Asia in the Twentieth Century.
1984. Lives of the Indian Princes, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi.
1987. Kipling's Kingdom: His Best Indian Stories.
1986. A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Journals of Charlotte Canning.
1988. A Soldier of the Company: Life of an Indian Ensign 1833-43.
1989. Architecture of the British Empire, Ed. R. Fermor-Hesketh.
1990. The Savage Wars of Peace: Soldiers' Voices 1945-1989.
1991. Thunder and Lightning: the RAF in the Gulf War.
1999. The Search for Shangri-La: a Journey into Tibetan History.
2000. India Through the Lens: Photography 1840-1911, Ed. Vidya Dehejia.
2000. Soldier Sahibs: the Men who Made the North-West Frontier.
2002. The Buddha and the Sahibs: the Men who Discovered India's Lost Religion.
2004. Duel in the Snows: the True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa.
2005. Maharajas:Resonance from the Past.
2006. God's Terrorists: the Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad.
2007. Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling.
2008. The Buddha and Dr Fuhrer: an Archaeological Scandal.
2011. The Taj at Apollo Bunder: the History of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai', with co-author Sharada Dwivedi.
2012. Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor.
Selected works
1975. Plain Tales from the Raj: Images of British India in the Twentieth Century.
1977. RAJ: A Scrapbook of British India 1877-1947.
1979. Tales from the Dark Continent: Images of British Colonial Africa in the Twentieth Century.
1982. A Mountain in Tibet: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers of India.
1983. Tales from the South China Seas: Images of the British in South-East Asia in the Twentieth Century.
1984. Lives of the Indian Princes, with co-author Sharada Dwivedi.
1987. Kipling's Kingdom: His Best Indian Stories.
1986. A Glimpse of the Burning Plain: Leaves from the Journals of Charlotte Canning.
1988. A Soldier of the Company: Life of an Indian Ensign 1833-43.
1989. Architecture of the British Empire, Ed. R. Fermor-Hesketh.
1990. The Savage Wars of Peace: Soldiers' Voices 1945-1989.
1991. Thunder and Lightning: the RAF in the Gulf War.
1999. The Search for Shangri-La: a Journey into Tibetan History.
2000. India Through the Lens: Photography 1840-1911, Ed. Vidya Dehejia.
2000. Soldier Sahibs: the Men who Made the North-West Frontier.
2002. The Buddha and the Sahibs: the Men who Discovered India's Lost Religion.
2004. Duel in the Snows: the True Story of the Younghusband Mission to Lhasa.
2005. Maharajas:Resonance from the Past.
2006. God's Terrorists: the Wahhabi Cult and the Hidden Roots of Modern Jihad.
2007. Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling.
2008. The Buddha and Dr Fuhrer: an Archaeological Scandal.
2011. The Taj at Apollo Bunder: the History of the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai', with co-author Sharada Dwivedi.
2012. Ashoka: the Search for India's Lost Emperor.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 20, 2015
This book left me feeling underwhelmed.
Firstly there was not enough insight into Kipling. This may well not be the fault of the author. Kipling was obsessed with keeping his privacy and went to great lengths to retrieve and destroy personal correspondence and other private documents. I suspect there was not much flesh on the bones for a biographer.
Secondly there was too much analysis of his writing. This relates to a personal foible. I dislike fiction nowadays. I wanted to know about India (which endlessly intrigues me), and about this iconic and peculiar man, who fell from grace in the 20th century. I did not want literary insights.
Finally, the book ended when he was 35 years old, whilst in fact Kipling lived until he was 71. Okay, so in the last 35 years he was not a popular writer, but having followed the trajectory of his life so far, it seemed very abrupt and peculiar to stop at 35.
But...... the book was certainly not without nuggets, and herewith some of the things that I found interesting. (Much of this is copied directly from the book.)
Firstly there was not enough insight into Kipling. This may well not be the fault of the author. Kipling was obsessed with keeping his privacy and went to great lengths to retrieve and destroy personal correspondence and other private documents. I suspect there was not much flesh on the bones for a biographer.
Secondly there was too much analysis of his writing. This relates to a personal foible. I dislike fiction nowadays. I wanted to know about India (which endlessly intrigues me), and about this iconic and peculiar man, who fell from grace in the 20th century. I did not want literary insights.
Finally, the book ended when he was 35 years old, whilst in fact Kipling lived until he was 71. Okay, so in the last 35 years he was not a popular writer, but having followed the trajectory of his life so far, it seemed very abrupt and peculiar to stop at 35.
But...... the book was certainly not without nuggets, and herewith some of the things that I found interesting. (Much of this is copied directly from the book.)
June 3, 2012
A biography of Kipling through his early '30s and the writing of The Jungle Books and Kim, written by a uniquely qualified author. Charles Allen is the great-grandson of the man who gave the 16-year old Kipling his first job as a journalist in Lahore, India. Not only that, but Allen was one of the last generation of "Anglo-Indians" to grow up in colonial India, in the '40s.
Young Ruddy was the spoiled son of non-aristocratic but artistic parents in mid-19th century India, only to be sent back, with his sister, to spend years in a brutal boardinghouse in England, not to mention being an outside in public school. When he got back to India, he was neither fish nor fowl, but his passion for and curiosity regarding India and all of its complexity was stronger than ever.
An excellent literary biography, and the rare one that knows when to say when.
Young Ruddy was the spoiled son of non-aristocratic but artistic parents in mid-19th century India, only to be sent back, with his sister, to spend years in a brutal boardinghouse in England, not to mention being an outside in public school. When he got back to India, he was neither fish nor fowl, but his passion for and curiosity regarding India and all of its complexity was stronger than ever.
An excellent literary biography, and the rare one that knows when to say when.
January 1, 2016
Sort of hovering between 3/4. 4 for being an engrossing read and getting the contradictions of Kipling, but inclined to mark it down for author's pretty much dismissing anything Kipling wrote later than Kim. Is rather anti his mother, which may or may not be a justifiable position given the standards of and attitudes to parenting at the time - though at least Allen understands the whole thing about sending tiny children home from India to often horrible guardians (relatives or not) at 'Home', which I have come across some authors of biographies who do not.
September 19, 2013
An engaging and interesting account of Kipling's childhood in India, his unhappy return to England at the age of six, and his return to the country of his birth after he left school, and the six and a half crucial years he spent there. But what comes across particularly clearly, from the quotations of Kipling's early teenage poetry and then the stories he wrote in his early twenties, is his quite extraordinary talent. Has there been a writer since Shakespeare more naturally gifted at conveying and creating language, not to mention his ability to form a landscape and culture in the reader's mind with a phrase. For anyone interested in Kipling, in particular his Indian stories, this is well worth reading.
August 29, 2019
A interesting story on how he became famous for his poems and short stories with a lot of background information on India and how England treated its citizens and their natives as masters.
June 2, 2015
This biography is based on Kipling's life from his birth in 1865 in Bombay to his early years in India. As a precocious, opinionated six year old boy his parents had him leave India and travel to England for his education. Unfortunately he suffered greatly from physical/ mental abuse by his caregivers. He became deeply depressed, and later returned home to India which was the beginning of his writing career. Kipling lived in India for thirteen years. He suffered from insomnia (childhood struggles), so he would walk the streets which gave him the opportunity to observe life of the less fortunate to make into short stories, and poems. Excellent read.
September 22, 2011
Always having been fascinated by the British Empire in India, I could not put this book down. It is important to note that this is not a full biography, as it only covers Kipling's life just up to the publication of Kim. Allen, a child of the Raj himself, is also not at pains to criticize the morality or ethics of the Empire. Within those boundaries, it is an excellent, well-researched account of Kipling's life in India.
February 18, 2008
An excellent biography full of colour and excerpts from a wide range of Kipling's work. This book provides a wonderful insight into the young Kipling and the childhood events that helped form him into the writer he later became. I've been lucky enough to attend a lecture by Charles Allen on this subject and can assert that his passion for Kipling comes through into this fascinating book.
June 23, 2011
What an easy excellent read. Did so much to help me understand "Kim" and admire it even more. How fascinating that he sat down to write a rah-rah British raj book and came away with something so utterly different. Did he not know his own mind or what? Just fascinating for its real-life detail of life in India back then and for Kipling's connection with the Pre-raphaelites. Just great
May 7, 2016
Very well researched book covering Rudyard Kipling's life in India. Also keep a nice balance between Kipling's professional and personal lives. Must read for anyone who wants to understand Kipling's works in more detail including his influences, motivations and the man behind the cover.
May 14, 2010
Most enjoyable.
July 6, 2010
Enjoyable read. The book would be of interest to people having an inclination for Kipling or the British Raj.
January 17, 2012
Bought this in a bookstore in Kathmandu. A good read.
May 8, 2024
A book specifically focusing on Kipling's time in India was long over-due! India was not only where Kipling made his crucial apprenticeship in journalism and emerged as a very accomplished writer indeed (and at a relatively young age too!) but, also, had been the cradle of most his opinions on Britain, from its ruling elites and establishment to its supposed role to play in the world. Did Allen succeeded in shedding some light into this impactful period? Well...
First of all, when it comes to his life back-and-forth over there (e.g. his childhood in Bombay; his stays in Lahore, Allahabad, Simla and else; his travelling in Asia before settling in the USA for a while, and then go back etc.) I haven't learned very much here. It's not the author's fault: Kipling and his relatives have done their outmost to erase as much evidence as could be from this period of his life, and so there's not much material left to begin with. That said, it doesn't mean that, as a biography, this book is uninteresting.
Where it gets fascinating, for instance, is when Allen tries and explains how Kipling became the Kipling whom we know: the admirer of foreign cultures, yet who could be highly prejudiced when not downright patronising; the Jingoist in full support of colonial conquests, yet despising the ruling Establishment which was the backbone of the Empire; the Conservatives who sneered at Liberals and upheld obedience and traditions, while being quite the misfit and maverick himself; the massive celebrity using his fame as a drumbeat to his ideas, yet who was obsessed with privacy and otherwise quietness... His was a complicated personality (to say the least!) so how did the author managed to assess it all?
I understand that Allen is rather sympathetic to the man, especially given that he brilliantly succeeds in putting him back into the context of his time and, of course, place. Kipling's indeed owed a great deal to his Anglo-Indian heritage and background; and here was a microcosm whose views could align with Imperial England as much as its lifestyle could be completely alien to Victorian expectations. The picture offered of the Anglo-Indian world is, by the way, very detailed and engaging. It's fair enough. The thing is, I was left with the impression that he was too sympathetic. Was that an issue?
'The White Man's Burden'? Allen acknowledges that it's appalling from our vantage point, but stresses that Kipling was at a low point in his life when he wrote it and so that we shouldn't let it obscure the rest of his work. His support for Cecil Rhodes? Well, it was merely because he thought that the Dutch Boers were far worse colonialists than the British, and so eh! Don't hold it too much against him either. I could go on, but you get the gist. Now, it's not that Allen is completely blind to some of the appalling views otherwise entertained by Kipling. He, for example, reminds us of the meanings one can give to 'The Jungle Book', like he doesn't shy away from exposing his prejudices towards, especially, Hindus. He also refuses to call him an Orientalists, something that others have been rather blunt to do otherwise. It's just that he wants us to like the man as much as we like the writer, whereas, as far as I am concerned, I admire the writer but deeply dislike the man. As it is, then, the way you will receive this will depend entirely on what you think of Kipling's views in the first place (the mere product of his time? Or, on the contrary, on the wrong side of history even back then?).
All in all, here's a very engrossing portrayal of Anglo-Indian society and how it may have contributed into shaping Kipling's views and persona, no matter how complicated the subject matter. The thing is, because material are sparse to start with there is not much to learn further than what Kipling's readers would already know, if not for biographical details associated with his family and associates at the time. Was I interested in that? Quite frankly: no; and so because it ends by being a book dealing more about personalities around Kipling than about Kipling himself (e.g. his father's career; his social circles then; the people behind the newspapers he worked for...) I felt kind of cheated. It's great when it comes to portray British India, and it does a good job at showing Kipling morphing from an awkward boy to the man that (we think) we know. Sadly, I didn't find it any more deepening than that.
First of all, when it comes to his life back-and-forth over there (e.g. his childhood in Bombay; his stays in Lahore, Allahabad, Simla and else; his travelling in Asia before settling in the USA for a while, and then go back etc.) I haven't learned very much here. It's not the author's fault: Kipling and his relatives have done their outmost to erase as much evidence as could be from this period of his life, and so there's not much material left to begin with. That said, it doesn't mean that, as a biography, this book is uninteresting.
Where it gets fascinating, for instance, is when Allen tries and explains how Kipling became the Kipling whom we know: the admirer of foreign cultures, yet who could be highly prejudiced when not downright patronising; the Jingoist in full support of colonial conquests, yet despising the ruling Establishment which was the backbone of the Empire; the Conservatives who sneered at Liberals and upheld obedience and traditions, while being quite the misfit and maverick himself; the massive celebrity using his fame as a drumbeat to his ideas, yet who was obsessed with privacy and otherwise quietness... His was a complicated personality (to say the least!) so how did the author managed to assess it all?
I understand that Allen is rather sympathetic to the man, especially given that he brilliantly succeeds in putting him back into the context of his time and, of course, place. Kipling's indeed owed a great deal to his Anglo-Indian heritage and background; and here was a microcosm whose views could align with Imperial England as much as its lifestyle could be completely alien to Victorian expectations. The picture offered of the Anglo-Indian world is, by the way, very detailed and engaging. It's fair enough. The thing is, I was left with the impression that he was too sympathetic. Was that an issue?
'The White Man's Burden'? Allen acknowledges that it's appalling from our vantage point, but stresses that Kipling was at a low point in his life when he wrote it and so that we shouldn't let it obscure the rest of his work. His support for Cecil Rhodes? Well, it was merely because he thought that the Dutch Boers were far worse colonialists than the British, and so eh! Don't hold it too much against him either. I could go on, but you get the gist. Now, it's not that Allen is completely blind to some of the appalling views otherwise entertained by Kipling. He, for example, reminds us of the meanings one can give to 'The Jungle Book', like he doesn't shy away from exposing his prejudices towards, especially, Hindus. He also refuses to call him an Orientalists, something that others have been rather blunt to do otherwise. It's just that he wants us to like the man as much as we like the writer, whereas, as far as I am concerned, I admire the writer but deeply dislike the man. As it is, then, the way you will receive this will depend entirely on what you think of Kipling's views in the first place (the mere product of his time? Or, on the contrary, on the wrong side of history even back then?).
All in all, here's a very engrossing portrayal of Anglo-Indian society and how it may have contributed into shaping Kipling's views and persona, no matter how complicated the subject matter. The thing is, because material are sparse to start with there is not much to learn further than what Kipling's readers would already know, if not for biographical details associated with his family and associates at the time. Was I interested in that? Quite frankly: no; and so because it ends by being a book dealing more about personalities around Kipling than about Kipling himself (e.g. his father's career; his social circles then; the people behind the newspapers he worked for...) I felt kind of cheated. It's great when it comes to portray British India, and it does a good job at showing Kipling morphing from an awkward boy to the man that (we think) we know. Sadly, I didn't find it any more deepening than that.
March 23, 2024
3.5 stars
Even though Charles Allen is one of my favourite authors I was wary of this book as 496 pages on my Kindle seemed excessive for the biography of a writer, even one as well-known and beloved in Britain (at the time) as Rudyard Kipling. In the end it wasn’t excessive as a lot of space is taken up by some of his poems and excerpts from his short stories and there is an extensive Glossary, Bibliography and Index. Still, the book was extremely detailed and having finished it I feel that I’ve learned as much about Kipling , his parents, his sister, the extended family, friends and a very large cast of newspapermen as I would want to know,
The highlights, of course, are Kipling’s years in India, his idyllic childhood in Bombay, his later life in Lahore - which he detested at first and came to love - and Allahabad and his extended stays in promiscuous Simla. He was the poet of the Raj who wrote of “the white man’s burden� and “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet�, though according to Charles Allen those quotes were misunderstood. He saw viceroys come and go, among them the infamous Lord Lytton. He grew to respect Muslims, especially the proud Pathans, and despised Hindus (though he softened his attitude in later life) having a particular antipathy towards “hypocritical� educated and Westernised Indians who yet kept their women in purdah. He claimed to feel closest to the simple peasant toiling on his little plot. He was not a particularly attractive-looking man but charmed (most) people with his enthusiasm and sparkling wit. He was a hard-working journalist, poet and short story writer and nobody ever portrayed Anglo-Indian life better than him in his “Plain Tales from the Hills� and other unforgettable works.
Even though Charles Allen is one of my favourite authors I was wary of this book as 496 pages on my Kindle seemed excessive for the biography of a writer, even one as well-known and beloved in Britain (at the time) as Rudyard Kipling. In the end it wasn’t excessive as a lot of space is taken up by some of his poems and excerpts from his short stories and there is an extensive Glossary, Bibliography and Index. Still, the book was extremely detailed and having finished it I feel that I’ve learned as much about Kipling , his parents, his sister, the extended family, friends and a very large cast of newspapermen as I would want to know,
The highlights, of course, are Kipling’s years in India, his idyllic childhood in Bombay, his later life in Lahore - which he detested at first and came to love - and Allahabad and his extended stays in promiscuous Simla. He was the poet of the Raj who wrote of “the white man’s burden� and “East is East and West is West, and never the twain shall meet�, though according to Charles Allen those quotes were misunderstood. He saw viceroys come and go, among them the infamous Lord Lytton. He grew to respect Muslims, especially the proud Pathans, and despised Hindus (though he softened his attitude in later life) having a particular antipathy towards “hypocritical� educated and Westernised Indians who yet kept their women in purdah. He claimed to feel closest to the simple peasant toiling on his little plot. He was not a particularly attractive-looking man but charmed (most) people with his enthusiasm and sparkling wit. He was a hard-working journalist, poet and short story writer and nobody ever portrayed Anglo-Indian life better than him in his “Plain Tales from the Hills� and other unforgettable works.
October 29, 2017
Reading this as background for a block on my MA in English I found this well written and informative. It draws in many sources and like most biographies there may have a degree of speculation or subjectivity but it is a powerful read and helped fill some gaps (shameful I know) of Kipling and what inspired the masterpiece that is Kim.
March 13, 2024
An interesting read.
It became more relatable because of Simla.
The description of some of Kipling's work became a bit boring but it would be wrong to say that it could be entirely skipped.
I enjoy Charles Allen's work and his writing style so no complaints.
It became more relatable because of Simla.
The description of some of Kipling's work became a bit boring but it would be wrong to say that it could be entirely skipped.
I enjoy Charles Allen's work and his writing style so no complaints.
April 21, 2024
An interesting read. This book covers the first half of the author’s life. The book is quite well researched, a fact made more difficult by Kipling’s destruction of most of his correspondence!
A well written book, it’s not a bit dry.
It has inspired me to read “Kim.�
A well written book, it’s not a bit dry.
It has inspired me to read “Kim.�
September 25, 2017
Nearly a four but not quite. Slightly dull. The book is 365 pages long, not including notes and I spent too much time seeing how far through I was.
December 27, 2020
Interesting look at the life and times of Rudyard Kipling and how his life and experiences, that spanned India, Britain and America, influenced his writing.
Read
February 13, 2013Amazing book, the evocation of 1850-1900 India is arresting, Calcutta as the capital of India & Shimla as the summer capital of India as well the summer capital of British-Punjab, Punjab's capital is Lahore during winters. The books narrates the traivails of the sahibs & the Punjabis, Afghans, Buddhists... replete with Kipling's one-liners... must read to understand the India of that half-century, at Bombay (Kipling's father was working at JJ School or Arts Bombay) & later transferred to Lahore (As Curator for Lahore's museum) .. Kipling born at Bombay was shipped to england for 10 yrs of studies, came back to Lahore & worked for the Pioneer Lahore for 5-10 years, travelling in between to Allahabad, Benaras, Calcutta & Chittorgarh.
Kipling was one of the trumpeteerer of British-colonialism & initial held the natives (Hindus) in contempt & was fond of the Indian-Muslims, so be wary a bit of the chauvanism in his prose & verse, but he was a genius-poet neverthless!
Kipling was one of the trumpeteerer of British-colonialism & initial held the natives (Hindus) in contempt & was fond of the Indian-Muslims, so be wary a bit of the chauvanism in his prose & verse, but he was a genius-poet neverthless!
April 3, 2008
One of the problems I have with biographies is that I tend to forget the reams of information about the author's life almost from the moment I put the book down. And so it is here as well -- which doesn't, of course, mean that it's a bad book. Allen takes pains to establish his hypothesis that India furnished Kipling with his literary raw material, and distance from the country led to an enervation of his imagination. (The biographer's take isn't uncritical; many of Kipling's particularly egregious Empire-praising ballads are singled out for censure.) Particularly absorbing are details of life in Lahore and Simla in the latter part of the last century, as well as Lokwood Kipling's contribution to the composition of 'Kim'.
May 2, 2009
A well-written story. The rating is merely my reflection on how much I enjoyed it--not the quality of the book. I thought I would be more interested in Kipling's story because I've enjoyed his writing. Although I'm a fan of biographies, I found I just wasn't that interesting in his. Again, not a reflection of the author's talent and efforts. Just my take.
January 12, 2009
Fascinating biography of Kipling emphasising the Indian years.
Want to read
March 19, 2009I'll have to check and see if I have already read this one...
Read
September 24, 2009both london and india defines him
December 27, 2012
Fascinating story of the inspirations behind Kipling's writing.
Want to read
June 30, 2018loved this Book......a look into the Man who Broight Us The Jungle Book and Kim.
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