The Man Who Would Be Kipling : The Colonial Fiction and the Frontiers of Exile

This study places Kipling's fiction in its original cultural, intellectual and historical contexts, exploring the impact of India, America, South Africa and Edwardian England on his imperialist narratives. Drawing on manuscripts, journalism and unpublished writings, Hagiioannu uncovers the historical significance and hidden meanings of a broad range of Kipling's stories, extending the discussion from the best-known works to a number of less familiar tales. Through a combination of close textual analysis and lively historical coverage, The Man Who Would Be Kipling suggests that Kipling's political ideas and narrative modes are more subtly connected with lived experience and issues of cultural environment than critics have formerly recognized. Annotation "The Man who would be Kipling offers a detailed critical reappraisal of one of the most compelling and influential authors in the history of British imperial culture. Covering the international phase of Kipling's career - which saw him living in India, America, South Africa and Edwardian England - the volume explores the relationship between Kipling's writings and the politically complex times and environments in which they were written. Drawing upon manuscripts, journalism, uncollected and rarely collected writings, the study uncovers the historical significance and hidden meanings of a wide range of stories, from popular works such as The Jungle Books to a number of less-familiar tales. Combining careful textual analysis with lively historical coverage, The Man who would be Kipling suggests that the author's political ideas and narrative modes are more subtly connected with lived experience and issues of cultural environment than has been formerly recognised. Kipling emerges as a writer informed by such global developments as the expansion in technologies of mass production and communications, the consolidation of US imperial power (with its attendant domestic economic and social upheavals), and the dawning realities of postcolonial Britain."--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved The man who would be Kipling offers a detailed critical reappraisal of one of the most compelling and influential authors in the history of British imperial culture. Covering the international phase of Kipling's career - which saw him living in India, America, South Africa and Edwardian England - the volume explores the relationship between Kipling's writings and the politically complex times and environments in which they were written. Drawing upon manuscripts, journalism, uncollected and rarely collected writings, the study uncovers the historical significance and hidden meanings of a wide range of stories, from popular works such as The jungle books to a number of less-familiar tales. Combining careful textual analysis with lively historical coverage, The man who would be Kipling suggests that the author's political ideas and narrative modes are more subtly connected with lived experience and issues of cultural environment than has been formerly recognized. Kipling emerges as a writer informed by such global developments as the expansion in technologies of mass production and communications, the consolidation of US imperial power (with its attendant domestic economic and social upheavals), and the dawning realities of postcolonial Britain Front Matter....Pages i-ix Front Matter....Pages 1-1 The Sentence for Mutiny: ‘In the Year ’57’, Plain Tales from the Hills, and the Rhetoric of the Punjab....Pages 3-33 Borderline Fictions and Fantasies: The Man who would be King, The City of Dreadful Night, and other Allahabad Writings....Pages 34-57 Front Matter....Pages 59-59 American Fiction: The Day’s Work, US Imperialism and the Politics of Wall Street....Pages 61-95 Mowgli’s Feral Campaign: The Jungle Books and the Americanisation of Empire....Pages 96-114 Front Matter....Pages 115-115 By Equal War Made One: The Scramble for Social Order in The Five Nations....Pages 117-135 Strange Deaths in Liberal England: Traffics and Discoveries, Media War, and the Machineries of Social Change....Pages 136-164 Kipling’s Tory Anarchy: Puck of Pook’s Hill and the Politics of Misrule....Pages 165-178 Conclusion: The Edge of Evening....Pages 179-183 Back Matter....Pages 184-222