Rudyard Kipling: The Books I Leave Behind

Equally adept at humor writing, tales for children, and adventure stories, Rudyard Kipling holds a singular place in the pantheon of great English writers. This book celebrates the Nobel Prize winner’s multifaceted achievements and, with 80 full-color illustrations, underscores the variety and breadth of his printed production. An introductory essay by David Alan Richards, whose extensive Kipling collection is among the finest in the world, traces the challenges and joys of building a Kipling bibliography. Thomas Pinney, emeritus professor of English at Pomona College, contributes an essay on how collecting Kipling reflects the writer’s literary status.

The book is organized chronologically, beginning with Kipling’s birth in India in 1865 and extending to movies, plays, and new editions of his works that have appeared since his death in 1936. The selected items create a time line of his life and popular works, including The Jungle Books and The Just So Stories. Admirers of Kipling’s genius and lovers of literature in general will appreciate this rare glimpse into his extraordinary world. 

David Alan Richards served as guest curator for the Rudyard Kipling exhibition at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library in 2007. A graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School, he is partner, McCarter & English LLP, New York City.