'Hear and attend and listen...' Rudyard Kipling is a supreme master of the
short story in English and a poet of brilliant gifts. His energy and
inventiveness poured themselves into every kind of tale, from the bleakest
of fables to the richest of comedies, and he illuminated every aspect of
human behaviour, of which he was a fascinated (and sometimes appalled)
observer. This generous selection of stories and poems, first published in
the acclaimed Oxford Authors series, covers the full range of Kipling's
career from the youthful volumes that brought him fame as the chronicler of
British India, to the bittersweet fruits of age and bereavement in the
aftermath of the First World War. It includes stories such as 'The Man who
would be King', 'Mrs Bathurst', and 'Mary Postgate', and poems from
Barrack-Room Ballads and other collections. In his introduction and notes
Daniel Karlin addresses the controversial political engagement of Kipling's
art, and the sources of its imaginative power. About the Series: For over
100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum
of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects
Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a
wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by
leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date
bibliographies for further study, and much more.