Kim Paperback - 2006

Name: Kim
Price: 21.54 GBP
Availability: InStock
Author: Rudyard Kipling
ISBN: 9781406791273

by Rudyard Kipling

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About this book

Rudyard Kipling’s Kim tells the story of Kimball “Kim” O'Hara, an imperial orphan scavenging a hand-to-mouth existence in British India during the late 1890s. The novel functions as a fictionalization of Kipling’s own Indian childhood, but it is also a strong example of the adventure stories that became especially popular in the heyday of the British Empire. Kim has been noted for its detailed portrait of the people, culture, and varied religions of India.

Kim was serialized in McClure's Magazine from December 1900 to October 1901 as well as in Cassell's Magazine from January to November 1901. It is ranked 34th on The Guardian’s list of the 100 best novels and 78th on Modern Library’s “100 Best” English-language novels of the 20th century. In 2003, the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novel.”

From the publisher

"Kim" is a novel by English author Rudyard Kipling, originally published as a serial in McClure's Magazine between December 1900 and October 1901. The story revolves around the young Kim and aged priest Lama who together venture off on a mutual quest, although for very different reasons. Though now a controversial novel, "Kim" is considered Kipling's greatest literary accomplishment and offers poignant insights into the religious, social, and political issues of the time. Joseph Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) was an English novelist, journalist, poet, and short-story writer most famous for his stories set in and related to colonial India. He innovated the art of short story writing and was one of the most popular writers in the U.K. during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Other notable works by this author include: "The Jungle Book" (1894), "The White Man's Burden" (1899), and "The Man Who Would Be King" (1888). Read & Co. Classics is republishing this classic story now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

First Edition Identification

Doubleday, Page & Company of New York and Macmillan of London both published Rudyard Kipling’s Kim in October 1901, but the US edition was copyrighted two weeks earlier than the UK edition. Doubleday, Page & Company’s 460-page edition is bound in green ribbed cloth and has 10 illustrations. This first edition has sold for up to $500. Macmillan’s edition is bound in red cloth and has illustrations by HR Millar. Interestingly, this edition has sold for upwards of $25,000 (more than 50-times the value Doubleday, Page & Company’s).